How do I Supplement my Dog's Diet to Control Shedding?

srsly?: Can I supplement my dog's diet to keep her from shedding?
One of my dogs sheds a lot. Her hair is coarse and thick. She's a very mixed breed and also craves craves craves (Begs) food which makes me wonder if she's deficient in something.
Both of my dogs eat Iams from a constantly refilling source. ( I don't know what that's called).
The shedder will eat almost anything including fruits, vegetables, cardboard, and even dollar bills.
Her diet is 99.9% Iams which may or may not be providing what she needs.

Photo Credit: reader of the pack/Flickr CC
If I could reduce the shedding somehow, that would be great though she's not shedding so much that she needs a vet.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Jeannine Depalma
Iams has corn gluten wheat soy known allergens to come dogs. I don't feed those ingredients anymore. Google dog food analysis, u can read about your food.

Answer by Kris L
Give your dog MALT PILLS and the equivalent of a cube of butter (if she's a larger dog like a Lab or German Shepherd) every day. The 'shedding' may be a 'breed trait' but most dogs who shed excessively need the 'fat' and the 'vitamins' in malt pills ... and the 'constantly refilling food dish' is called a 'self-feeder' and that is the BEST way to feed your dogs.

Answer by ♥catsndogsrth
Be careful of over-supplementing. Most dog food is fortified with enough nutrients.

Iams is not the best dog food (as I'm sure many are going to tell you here). Better foods are brands like Innova and Canidae.
Also, there was some debate that Iams had tested very cruelly on animals (especially the tests done on dogs such as removing kidneys and deliberately causing kidney disease in healthy puppies and dogs)

Anyway, if you do choose an over the counter supplement, Pet-Tabs is a very good one.

But unless you see bald spots (which then you should go to the vet) the shedding might be normal.

Oh, and do try to think about getting the dogs on a feeding schedule. They get bored of their food with free-feeding. It might help stop them from begging so badly for something else to eat. And when your dogs are seniors or with the disease, their appetite usually decreases, and the free feeding will make that stage even worse.

Answer by Emma V
well, if you're really worried about your dog, you should take her to a vet.
other than that, you could try brushing more often, on a hard surface like tiling or laminate flooring.
this way, you take the hair that was going to be shed off and when you do it on a hard surface it makes it easier to clean up.
for your dog's eating habits, you might want to talk to the vet about that too.

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