Grooming a Lab

I don't clip my lab, but there are a bunch of things I do to minimise shedding in the house.
 
First, he gets groomed outside.  Every day.  I'm not sure how much your lab likes to be groomed - I sort of created a monster with mine.  I groomed him every day as a puppy to get him used to being handled, and now he whines at his grooming kit if I don't do it every day.  It can't harm him, so I do.  That definitely helps with the mess around the house.
 
Second, I use a rubber glove similar to a horse's curry glove on him.  It takes off hair like CRAZY...I couldn't do without it.  I also use it when Ben gets a bath, to lather up the shampoo.  It takes out all his loose hairs and then I just need to take them out of the little sieve I use in the drain.  Much easier than vacuuming the whole house lol/
 
In my toolkit I have the above rubber glove, a zoom groom and a slicker brush.  He gets at least one of those used on him every day.
 
Kate

Hmm... I wonder if one of those pumice-stone-like black bars used for de-shedding horses might work with a shortish haired lab?

Many people have used the furminator tool with great success.  I have removed mounds of dead hair off of labs by bathing alone.  I work the shampoo deep into the coat with a zoom groom, and rinse very well.  Make sure you have some kind of hair strainer  for your tub drain to avoid clogs.  Whatever remaining loose hair is then blasted-off with the force drier.  You might consider wearing goggles.[] 

I really wouldn't suggest clipping a Lab.  It would be a lot easier (and cheaper) just to have him groomed.  I've never tried it, but I imagine that guard coat would beat the crap out of a set of clippers.  The two best tools I've found for Lab undercoat are the shedding blade and the furminator.  Hartz or some other cheap company that Walmart carries makes a shedding blade that's not half bad for how cheap they are.  There's a picture of a shedding blade here:  [linkhttp://www.doggoneclean.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=40]http://www.doggoneclean.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=40[/link].  The one at Walmart has a green plastic handle.  They're pretty hard to miss in either of the Walmarts I go to, so they shouldn't be too hard to find.  The hair just floats away. 

I've never tried it, but I imagine that guard coat would beat the crap out of a set of clippers.

Nah. I've shaved lots of Labs[] It grows back in prickly, and when the clipped hairs shed out, they are sharp. They'll stab into your feet, off of the carpet.

I wouldn't reccomend it, but that's not to say that it isn't done... alll.... the.... time. Furminators and Zoom Grooms rock, for shedding. So do force dryers. You can get a little force dryer for $50-100 online. It's well worth it, in the long run.

We've never shaved our Lab, but it is an ongoing responsibility to keep her nice. I got a smile when the above post said to wear goggles. The things we do sometimes for our pets makes me laugh.

ORIGINAL: fuzzdomestic

I really wouldn't suggest clipping a Lab.  It would be a lot easier (and cheaper) just to have him groomed.  I've never tried it, but I imagine that guard coat would beat the crap out of a set of clippers.  The two best tools I've found for Lab undercoat are the shedding blade and the furminator.  Hartz or some other cheap company that Walmart carries makes a shedding blade that's not half bad for how cheap they are.  There's a picture of a shedding blade here:  [linkhttp://www.doggoneclean.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=40]http://www.doggoneclean.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=40[/link].  The one at Walmart has a green plastic handle.  They're pretty hard to miss in either of the Walmarts I go to, so they shouldn't be too hard to find.  The hair just floats away. 

 She has a longer coat than usual for labs and her tail seems to get really long. So I just trim the longer hairs off just to keep her looking sharp. I got the shedding blade and the dog curry you were talking about and it seems to work great. Its getting warmer here finally so I'm thinking about giving her a bath tomorrow. Unfortunetly my mom won't let me use the tub. lol.. but I don't think she'd like the flood. haha
Thanks for the advice everyone!

This is what I do with my lab. I bring him in to a petco and I either give him a bath or have the groomers do it. They have better water pressure than I do at home and it really helps getting the loose hair off. I then use 3 tools,a shedding rake,pin brush and a teflon comb. Everyday I will brush him for about 15-30 mins. This has helped reduce the hair floating all over my house. After a couple of weeks I can stop using the shedding rake and just use the pin brush and comb. I am down to a light combing with the teflon comb everyday. Good luck. I hope I helped some.

I swear by the Zoom Groom and an undercoat rake to keep up with Lab fur.  I haven't tried it yet with Caleb, but I also used to hook up our shop vac on exhaust and blow Mick with it while I was back combing him.  If you do that, just make sure you do it outside!  LOL

don't shave your lab! shaving only makes the hair grow back thicker, then that adds to more shedding (vicious cycle!!) I prefer using furminator shampoo/conditioner (amazing stuff) a lot of people like the furminator tool too (I am not crazy about it, matter of opinion though) after washing and blowing dry (with a power drying) just that alone will remove tons of hair!! I like to finish with a zoom groom!!

I also have a lab and prior to this year would turn our house black when she was blowing her coat. This year is much improved I think it is the food we are feeding not sure. My girl LOVES her furminator, and she hates being brushed. We tried rubber mitts, curry combs, wire brushes, soft brushes she stands for nothing but the furminator.

We bathe fairly regularly and give good brushings (with the furminator) after she is dry. So far so good.

Labs shed ALOT that I do know.

don't clip your lab! it does absolutely nothing for shedding, it just makes the hair shorter and spikier. whenever you go to pet your clipped pup, you'll get an uncomfortable handful of hair. Clipping is a shed antidote misconception.
 
If you clip him, only do it for his comfort if he gets overheated. even then, its a waste.
 
definitely use the furminator 1x a day. you can get suppliments/shampoo that reduce shedding as well. you can run a new rubber cleaning glove over his back a couple times, BTW-  it does wonders on carpets (esp. stairs) if your vaccuum can't pick it up.
 
good luck!

don't clip your lab! it does absolutely nothing for shedding, it just makes the hair shorter and spikier. whenever you go to pet your clipped pup, you'll get an uncomfortable handful of hair. Clipping is a shed antidote misconception.

I find it amusing that so many people say this. Have you guys shaved your dogs down?

I work as a pet grooming assistant. I shave down LOTS of dogs, including my own, and my mom's. My shaven dog is a JRT. Mom's is a Corgi mix. I'm sorry to tell you, but it does dramatically cut down the amount of hair shed in the house, because it is SO easy to get the undercoat out of the double coated dog, and the JRT just doesn't shed a bit when she's shaved down. I can carry her around, wearing black, and not have white hairs all over me.

I don't find their shaved coats uncomfortable at all. In fact, I LIKE them.

i've worked with show-dog groomers and personal business groomers with 30+ years experience a piece. Honestly, do you think that making hair SHORTER will make it NOT fall out?

if may be true, of large dogs with massive amounts of hair, that it reduces shedding from friction etc... but labs will always shed. it might look like he sheds less, but it just means that the hair he sheds is shorter. if that's what you wanted - shave 'em - its your dog after all.

He might be shedding excessively from different reasons;
dry skin. overbathing. nerves/anxiety/excitement. skin condition.

i would check out suppliments and shampoos first -- while using the magical FURMINATOR!

good luck