This page is dedicated to the works of Jóna Rúna Kvaran. The Shedding of Dog Hairs: Emergency Solutions Photo: Nína Rúna Kvaran Increasing Troubles It is very vital that there be harmony in the relationship between a dog and it´s master. In that kind of relations, dissatisfaction can naturally be troublesome and ruin a relatively good relationship. In this article will be told a tale of enormous shedding of dog hair and the consequences it held for those who had to deal with the problem. It was a problem of furry hairs and it increased in such a way that extreme measures had to be taken in search of a solution. Two-legged on the Verge of Desperation At this time three bitches were in our home, Sunna, Kola and Sara. All of them fine dogs although very different. In the last few months the household has been in an exceptionally good harmony. But in the past, many things have made this intimate and sensitive dog-man relationship both painful and tiresome. At one time the cohabitation almost broke up because of the unreasonable work required to rid the carpeted floors of unwanted, dark and wool-like dog hairs. The hairs seemed little by little to be elevating the thickness of the carpets and the original light colour of the rugs had been transformed to an ugly shade of black. When the situation was finally dealt with, all the two-legged individuals in the home were on the verge of the utterly complete and painful desperation. At the worst of times, certain unnamed members of the family household were seriously considering packing their bags to go live on the streets for some time. Unnatural Shedding When this occurred it had been about two years since Sara had been taken in by the family. Sunna and Kola had the already been living with us for some years. They don´t seem to have a problem with unnatural shedding. It was fairly soon after her move to us, that we realized that Sara sheds at incredible and repetitive speed. Until her arrival to the home, we simply assumed that shedding occurred at spring and possibly autumn in healthy dogs. Sara, to our great annoyance, seems to shed constantly. For some time we thought that the reason for her abnormal shedding was contributed to the change of home and masters, that it had stressed her and the result was increased shedding. That turned out to be wrong. Pitiful Staring and Obsession The situation was to put it mildly, unbearable and since Kola´s and Sunna´s shedding seemed to be limited to the seasons of spring and autumn, it´s no wonder that Sara´s popularity was in jeopardy. Hysteria and dismay towards her were reaching an all-time maximum although everyone was trying to be tolerant towards the problem. She was never blamed personally but she did receive a few pitiful stares from frustrated family members. Occasionally she overheard a martyr´s monologue coming from the person that was forced to vacuum the layers of hair that were shedding freely from her fur. She ate the same food the other dogs did, so it couldn´t have been some sort of nutrition problem. She´s actually quite robust and frisky. She also maintains rather generous proportions due to her adventurous and obsessive appetite. Various Advice but Useless Sara´s shedding problem was brought to the attention of many specialists with little or no results. The advice they gave weren´t nearly sufficient enough to lessen the problem. It´s save to say that everyone that were within a meter´s radius of Sara, were at their wits end. We were told to give her “lýsi” (Icelandic health product made out of fish fat) and vitamin B. We were also told to comb her fur firmly and then vacuum her afterwards. Endless other and familiar advice poured over us charge-free. But there wasn´t much of a change in Sara´s shedding. The dog continued to effortlessly carpet every inch of the floors to the family´s great grief and annoyance. The apartment was literally black. Shaving Treatment a Last Resort One day, the actual owner of the dog, my daughter Nína Rúna, got so tired of these unwelcomed hairs that she borrowed an electronic razor for dogs, specifically used on poodles. She decided as a last resort, to shave most of Sara´s fur off, knowing very well that all true dog lovers would disapprove of this primitive but useful strategy. Kola and Sunna also received the same treatment as Sara, just to be on the save side and also so poor Sara wouldn´t be bald alone. Shy and Downcast Eyes I won´t try to state that the dogs liked this treatment, it was quite time consuming and nasty. But they eventually gave in to the procedure, reluctantly though. The dog´s appeal and grace was dramatically changed. They didn´t exactly brandish a full set of hair for the next few days. You could say that they really enjoyed themselves best lying on the floor, eyes shy and downcast. Unproved Methods and Less Hairs Shortly after the shaving of the dogs, our carpets started to change rapidly and looking again like their original self. Whether this method is something the works in the long run hasn´t been proved. But it does seem to work well for at least a few weeks. After continuously repeating the method there are much fewer hairs although by no means does it the stop shedding altogether. Hairs are more scarce and therefore don´t manage to form a new layer of carpets, which is a great relieve for the victims of dog hairs. This shaving procedure must be performed carefully so as not to hurt the animal in any way. Preventative Methods and Food Certainly there will be different things said of these methods used to handle the awful situation. The main thing is that the method showed good results although it isn´t a permanent solution. The haircut is first and foremost preventative. It probably works differently with different species of dogs. Sara and Sunna are pure bred Labradors but Kola is mixed. All the dogs have healthy looking fur. It has grown well and has a shine to it. Their food is the same as before the haircuts. The shaving of dogs is not recommended unless in an emergency.        We are sorry to inform you that Kola passed away on the 13th of Agust 1999. She is greatly missed by us all. Please send her goods thoughts where-ever she is now. Written by: Jóna Rúna Kvaran;      Translated by: Nína Rúna Kvaran; Email