What is the deshedding treatment for dogs?

If you find yourself picking up hair constantly around your house, it may be time to consider applying a deshedding treatment for your dog.

Your friend's natural hair replacement cycle never stops. It is nature's way of replacing the old with the new. It may slow down during some seasons based on your dog's age and environment, but it never ceases to run its course.

Deshedding is beneficial to reduce the amount of hair floating around your surroundings and used on short and long-coated dogs. When done right, a deshedding treatment is a long, time-consuming process, as you will see below, but the results are worth every minute.

The 3 steps to a successful deshedding

Step #1 - Clean the coat

Proper deshedding begins with a thorough cleaning of all coat layers, including the undercoat. Most low-value treatments will focus on cleaning the topcoat since it is what we "see." A combination of powerful unrefined cleansing agents is needed to remove natural oils to release debris and open up the hair clusters on all coat layers.

Step #2 - Loosen up dead hair

After rinsing out the entire top and undercoats, it is time to do away with dead hair. This step is the most critical in the whole process as the shampoo needs to be worked in carefully, section by section from head to tail, to get to every hair in the coat.

A high-quality deshedding treatment will employ shampoos that include some natural alternatives to silicone, including argan oil, bamboo extract, or any other naturally-based substitute. This further isolates hair shafts from each other, where disconnected hair follicles (those that are "off the shaft" and therefore no longer attached to the skin) "melt" off the coat during rinsing. At this time, some dense undercoats may require a high-speed blowout as well.

Step #3 - Rinse, Replenish, Rinse

Whereas the last step is considered the most critical to accomplish notable results, this final step is crucial to your dog's overall health.

There are 3 phases to this last step.

First, the coat is rinsed off at high pressure at a safe level and distance from the top down following a circular, back-and-forth motion. This first rinse is the part where most pet parents are always surprised to see just how much dead hair their furry friend was carrying on their backs!

Second, a high-quality conditioner blended with skin and coat nutrients needs to be applied. This step helps replenish natural oils that were stripped off and restore the surface of the healthy hair shafts that survived the previous phase. However, it is the most overlooked and usually skipped stage in the process by most groomers. Again, it requires additional time to allow the conditioner as much contact time as possible to do its magic.

Finally, after the required time for nourishment is achieved, a full-body rinse with oxygenated warm water follows to rehydrate the skin.

Not all deshedding treatments are equal

It is important to note that every pet parent should always ask their groomer how they do deshedding and what tools they use during the treatment. Asking what type of cleaning formulas are employed (natural? organic?) plus the ingredients those are made of is never out of order when dealing with a professional.

Sadly some grooming salons may use low-quality formulas made with harmful ingredients to cut costs and maximize gains per treatment. Coat cleaning formulas made with soap-based detergents or shampoos with alcohol are solutions used by some to help complete baths quicker and reduce drying times. And you should always stay away from those treatments.