I know dogs shed and it's normal, but Gryphon has been shedding pretty excessively since fall. I think this goes above being normal, does anyone know or can point in the right direction of what to look for? I've been thinking that perhaps his food isn't giving him a certain nutritional item and perhaps that's what going on or maybe an allergy? I feed him the All Stages Canidae Chicken and have used the Salmon (I think- the orange bag) before, thinking he might need the omega 3's, but that didn't help.

He's not going hairless or anything and I brush him practically every day now, bathe him about every two weeks, but less over the past winter.

He's been in the vets and they didn't seem to notice anything, maybe I'm just being paranoid?

Any thoughts?

Not sure what your weather is like in OR, but here in KY it has been VERY humid this Summer...our two have been shedding A LOT as well...way more than they ever have...I was thinking it may be the heat since they go from the cool AC out into the HOT air frequently???

This is a great link with some helpful info...

http://www.mastiffonlinecommunity.net/viewtopic.php?t=16119&highlight=shedding

Thank you for responding. I would have thought weather too, but he has been shedding like this since fall. I can pet him and pull a handful of hair with it...it's bad. There is still a part of me that thinks it might be the food...I'm just not sure what go to. He does seem to have an extra sensitive tummy. We've been on Innova, then Canidae... he didn't she as bad on Innova, but the poos were bad, still are for the most part on Canidae. Not as bad though and the cost was why I switched. I noticed the shedding after the switch though..hmmm.

Anyway, thank you for the link, it was helpful.

Have his thyroid checked just in case, and send it out, not the in house test. It isn't usually a really expensive test
But you might try some Salmon Oil, it helps sometimes.
But depending on his age.. he may have just lost his puppy coat, Nova didn't seem to shed at all until he lost his and then we had about 4-5 months of constant shedding starting at about 8 months or so. Now as long as I keep him brushed he isn't too bad.
Missy

I would think it could be a combination of Summer heat and losing his puppy coat.
Does it seem his soft thin fur is thicker and longer now?

Yea, that makes sense. He started it at about 8 to 9 months and is still going. He is a year and a half now, so ... still losing puppy coat? He has had his coarse fur for a while now. It's not the summer heat, as it was this bad in the dead middle of winter and we only just began having heat for the summer.

I'll definitely try the salmon oil, I brush him a lot... doesn't seem to help. I'm thinking I might change his food and try to determine if he might have an allergy I don't realize...

Thank you all for your help and suggestions. Definitely given me some ideas of the avenues I should take.

Meeko is just getting over some massive shedding. His hair was really dry and almost brittle. It didn't matter how much I brushed with the furminator, it just kept on coming out and his skin was really dry. I took him to the vet and they checked him for mange. That was negative (thank goodness). The vet suggested salmon oil. He told me to make sure to get the kind with EPA and DHA. I ended up getting grizzly salmon oil which I have been using for a month or so. I took him back to the vet to have him weighed and all of the techs told me how great his coat looks now. His hair is thickening up and he is really shiney. He also gets brewers yeast. I think that helps too.