Forced-air dryer and Shedding

 I don't have a lab but a forced air dryer works wonders on my husky and aussies for shedding. I have not used it on them while dry though. When I dry them after a bath it really does a great job to get out all of the dead and loose fur.

I contacted my groomer and bought one of their used K9-II driers. That is probably bigger than you need though. Mine has 2 motors which is good for huskies which have a really dense undercoat.

I've heard good things about the metro driers for home use. 

yes, they are extremely useful, especially for labs. labs are difficult to brush because of their short hair, so these dryers get out everything that you cant. i know many labs who shed worse than huskies. you can use them without bathing the dog, but if the dog is dirty, just be prepared to have dander, dirt, sand, and dirty hair all over you (this all depends on how dirty your dog is). i normally go over them quickly with the force dryer before the bath, just to break up the hair. then you use a good quality shampoo/conditioner and just really massage it into the dogs fur and skin. you will get a lot of hair off while bathing. then you dry the dog.

any of these dryers are good:

http://www.ryanspet.com/ryanspet/category.asp?categoryCode=393&

Inspired by this thread I just blew out my husky while dry. Sheesh. She's blowing her coat early this year for some reason and it pretty much looked like it snowed inside my house when I was done. SO MUCH HAIR everywhere! She also tolerates the dryer better than she does brushing so that's a plus. I swear this dryer is worth it's weight in gold. 

My aussie didn't want to be left out so sat in my lap for a blow dry too ;p He's not shedding his coat yet though. 

Agreed. Any of the Metro dryers are fine, for home use. I'm about to get a cheapy one to use on my rotten brat child. I'm getting mine from Upco.com. Their prices are a little better.

Wet or dry, force dryers are awesome. You can dry the dog with just conditioner on it, before you bathe it. Dry it again, after you bathe it. The results are pretty awesome. 

 I need a video!  Does anyone have a video of a force dryer being used? 

Jewlee, Crusher's blowing coat already too...grrr.... 

I would video myself blowing out a husky, but you wouldn't see me for long. Seriously, this is an activity that should be kept in a grooming room, or outside. You might want safety goggles and possibly something to cover your nose/mouth if you're sensitive. I wear safety glasses, nerdy things, while I'm doing lo-sheds. The hair gets EVERYWHERE and it really irritates my eyes.

And you definitely need one! They're great! If there's a groom-your-own-dog place near you, go try it out. Huskies do "sing" while you blow them. Just be warned 

I should have thought to video it! darn it. I will video it next time I blow her out. That should be in a couple of weeks the way she's blowing her coat already. You just have no idea. Huskymom, if you don't already have a dryer you should get one! There's nothing like it with a husky. I had to change my clothes after drying her this weekend. I was covered head to toe in fur. there was fur on my kitchen table, up and down the hallway, in the back bedroom, throughout the dining room, living room, bathroom, etc. You get the idea. I just brought the vacuum out after. It was literally EVERYWHERE.

And yes, Dakota sings when I dry her...more like complaining but it's only half hearted.  

 Wow!  That almost scares me.  I've been using our furminator on him and it does a good job, coupled with the vacuum.  I have almost not mess afterwards either, but the vacuum canister is full.  I wonder if I could somehow hook the vacuum up to run at the same time.  It might cut down a bit of the snow storm. 

Normally I dry her in the basement or outside. The birds take her fur for their nests so I don't even worry about cleaning it up outside. (well most of it anyway). In the basement *shrug* I clean it up but don't stress over it like I do upstairs. The thing with Dakota is that she hates to be brushed so brushing her is a total PITA. She also swims nearly every day in the spring/summer/fall so I have to dry her or she gets a mildew smell - which is disgusting!

I have a video of my grooming instrcutor drying a Schipperke in the tub.  Black hair is going EVERYWHERE!  The video is at my shop, I'll upload it sometime tomorrow if you like.  The video isn't as scary as Jennie describes, I think you have to be in the middle of it all to understand how it feels.  Very gross feeling, IMO.

I force dried a Great Pyr with packed undercoat, today. HA! That would have made a good video. It started out with nothing happening. As the dog dried, he went POOF, like a dandelion. Suddenly, hair started flying.

I think it's pretty gross, too, but those packed undercoat dogs amuse the heck out of me. 

LOL, sorry Jennie, I didn't phrase that right!  I meant that while the dog in my video is blowing coat out of the wazoo, it's not as crazy and blinding as you were describing.  NOT to say that it doens't happen all the time like that.  I was NOT saying you haven't lived and breathed it all.  It can be totally blinding and choking like you say.

If I may, a question for the groomers here:

I've never taken Ben to a groomer - I can bathe him, trim his nails, clean his ears etc myself.  But I am sorely tempted to take him to the groomer just so they can take a force dryer to him.  If that means they have to bathe him first that's cool, but from my perspective it's not necessary.

So, given what an icky experience you guys say this is....would it annoy the heck out of you if you got a customer who came to you just do have their dog force-dried? 

Oh, I understood, LOL. I was just reliving my little dandelion. That stage is sooo funny. I wish I'd have taken a picture.

And Kate, it wouldn't bother me at all. I'd probably charge you $15 for a good brushing and blow dry, and offer you a spray of cologne and a bandanna.