There is a conspiracy going on in my home. It's happening right under my nose, right before my eyes and yet I am helpless to stop it. It is not as if I am not paying attention. It isn’t as if I don’t try to stay on top of it. It continues silently without much effort. I’m living among creatures who give more than their share. They are conspiring to make me a crazy lady. A lunatic, raving mad, trying to control what is not controllable. I look around and all I see is dog and cat hair. I’m being covered by animal hair!
All of our animals are shedders. Some are more subtle than others. Others are more generous than the rest. I’m talking about the profuse expulsion of excess hair that is evident all year but twice a year is exceedingly excessive. During summer and spring the dogs and the cat all shed a coat of hair that does not quit. I can (and do) vacuum daily or every other day trying to keep up on the hair flying around the house only to find it once again lying in clumps on the carpet, the bed cover, every corner in the house. We have found animal hair in the bathroom and in closets. We find hair in the shower and in rooms that are closed off to the animals. We joke that that the Newfoundland’s hair is so fine that we can crack an egg and find a hair in it. I can’t walk down the hall without finding dog or cat hair in clumps, waiting for me to pick it up.
I get obsessive with the cleaning which only makes matters worse. As much as I love my pets, I hate all of the hair they leave behind. When we lived in a previous house I refused to let the dogs enter our upper floors. The dogs had to stay in a lower level of the house where we had a walk out basement door. I didn’t feel like the dogs were a part of our family like I do with Max and Beeker. This is the trade off. I know they are a part of us, I know their personalities better, and enjoy them a heck of a lot more now that they are living with us in our space, but…
So what else can I do? Excluding getting rid of my pets, which is out of the question I have to think of something to do to get the hair under control.
I suppose I could do what my sister has done. She regularly shaves JesseJames. She believes he is cooler with a summer cut (I know he must be). Brad doesn’t believe he could bring himself to shave a Newfoundland, and there isn’t much to shave on Beeker. Besides, in winter the dogs still shed a coat and year around there is dog hair on my carpets and floors. We live in continual dog hair! I remember my mother saying she found dog hair ten years after our family dog died. I will be finding dog hair until my dying day!
Or I could do what I read others are doing with their hair. They are sending it to the people in the Gulf region who are using human and animal hair to absorb the oil that has leaked into the Gulf from the BP spill. Turns out that hair from animals and humans make an excellent oil soaking mat. Just my three animals may be all that is needed to clean up the entire Gulf Coast.
Did you know there are specific vacuums just for sucking up dog hair? Turns out that there are quite a number of vacuums from multiple manufactures, which highlight dog features or call themselves dog vacuums. I personally like the attachments that act like the old Flowbee. On one pet site it is recommended that the upright vacuums are better than the canister vacuums for getting up dog hair. You decide.
Remember when a student worker of Brad’s used Max’s hair for her weaving? I have looked on line to find an out source for selling dog hair but haven’t been successful. Previous to using Max’s hair, this student and her classmates were getting hair on line somewhere so maybe I can find a use for the hair that way. This however, still doesn’t take the place of the hair conspiracy.
Chez the cat has the finest hair. His floats everywhere and is extremely soft. If I even stroke him, he leaves a fist of hair for me. Beeker has more coarse hair but his is slick and if I pet him it just keeps coming. Max on the other hand has hair that comes in the giant form. His hair comes in two layers and all textures. The under coat is soft and light and fluffy. His is the hair that floats up and ends up in our food. The outer coat is the thick heavy and long hair that gathers like a storm. It is the hair that could clean the entire gulf coast of the oil spill.
Well, I have to quit blogging for now; I have a house of animal hair I have to clean up. It’s about to attack and take…
I have been reading some research that says it is not a good idea to shave a dog. It proposes that a dog's fur is used to keep him cool as well as warm. I guess they could be right.... and while I do not 'shave' Jessejames, I do give him a sort of buzz cut. It doesn't stop him from shedding, but it does make each hair shorter (resulting in less hair overall). And shorter hair results in less grooming.... :-)
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