I guess I was lucky. I never had this problem. My dogs where shih tzu, and shed very little.My brother’s cat…now that’s a different story! The cat had his own chair…and you knew not to sit in it. I used to tease my brother and ask if he had two cats! He tried everything and finally got a hand vacuum cleaner that seemed to work for him.
When we think of pets that shed hair, we think of dogs and cats.
Dogs:
Shedding is a natural process for a dog. Shedding allows a new coat to come in, however, it can be different amongst different breeds of dogs, some with a longer coat may shed more often, while some with a shorter coat may shed little. The point of shedding is to get rid of the current fur coat and allow a new one to grow in its place. It is important that dogs shed because it keeps the hair healthy, when a new coat comes through it is getting rid of the old coat which usually contains dirt and is generally quite unhealthy.
Cats:
This is a normal event in the life of a cat and it is largely influenced by daylight. There is a word for this phenomenon: photoperiod. The number of hours a cat is exposed to sunlight in a day (photoperiod) triggers the shedding process. It is more noticeable in outdoor cats in the spring and fall.
Did you know that Chinchillas, Rabbits and Horses shed?
Chinchillas - All chinchillas shed year-round, with increased fur loss during spring and summers. Shedding hair tends to drop off chinchillas with thinner coats, so they only require infrequent combing.
Rabbits - Rabbits shed every 3 months. Every alternate time they'll have a light shedding that may not be very noticeable. Next they'll have a heavy shedding that you will not be able to escape. Bald spots on rabbits are quite common when they are shedding.
Horses - Just like dogs and other animals, horses shed because of temperature change. Horses shed so that their body feels comfortable during the hot months.
Tips to get hair off of furniture:
- Pet hair clings to furnishing because of static electricity, so you want to break the static bond.
- Good Housekeeping says a handy tool to get hair off upholstered furniture: rubber gloves. Put on a clean pair, dampen, and run your hands over cushions (for silk, use dry gloves).
- Heloise says, We love our messy and oh-so hairy pets. They seem to leave hair everywhere, mainly on our furniture. You can prevent much of this by brushing/combing and washing pets regularly. However, if you see hairy remains on your couch or chairs, here are several ways to remove it. Wipe a lightly dampened clean sponge over it to lift off. You also can swipe the rubber bottom (sole) of a tennis sneaker to lift up hair or roll a couple of lengths of tape around your hand (sticky side out) to pick up small amounts of hair.
- Here is a trick that I heard of, but have never tried. Lightly spray water on the furniture to break the static cling, then vacuum. Not too much, you don’t want to soak your vacuum cleaner bag.
- Use a damp sponge and the hair pulls right off. You have to make sure it is not really wet.
- If it's not an extreme amount... I've used tape...real good sticky tape... wrap it around your hand with the sticky side "out"...and start patting the furniture.... tape picks up the animal hair! Might have to use this a few times to get it all... Also a good "fun" way to get the kids to help!
- Vacuum, vacuum vacuum - at least 2 times a day.
