DIY dog hair UQ

**Medecine Hat** · 05-04-2011, 19:28

I should look into this; my dog sheds like crazy--especially this time of year!

**Theo** · 05-04-2011, 19:49

Don't know how well it would work for humans, but it sure worked well for my Husky/Malamute/traveling salesman. I have seen her covered in thick frost and a good coating of ice from sleet/ice storms. When she blew her coat, it took three weeks to get all of the fur out and I was left with about three or four good sized hairy dogs.

**Danalex** · 05-04-2011, 20:36

Originally Posted by TiredFeet

Not any more creepy than sheep's wool.

Kind of like eating lamb or dog meat, right

**jred** · 05-04-2011, 22:26

I know in a lot of countries people eat dog and cat. I don't really have a problem with it unless it's *my* dogs

I think the yarn chick is just the opposite. I think using dog hair for yarn is creepy *unless* it's my dog.

Of course, that yarn is insanely expensive. I'd be more likely to DIY it

I think it could be worth it, depending on what kind of dog it is. If it's a long-hair that's bred to work in colder climates, I bet you get a better insulation/weight ratio. Your biggest problems would be cleaning it. Not only does my doghair reproduce in the corners & behind doors, I think it excretes dust, paper & other little bits. Once you get that cleaned out you're ready to deodorize. If you were patient & saved it, you'd get cleaner hair from brushings, but it'd take a while. Actually, that's probably the best way to do it for insulation purposes. The stuff that sheds is usually the course outer layers. Similar to feathers & down?

When it comes to the deodorizing part I draw a blank. I can't think of anything other than washing it, and it seems like that would felt it & you'd lose loft. Maybe use the felt for a "fleece-ish" UQ? Febreze teh crap out of it?

Just stuff off the top of my head. I've never thought about it or considered it before :P

**Cannibal** · 05-04-2011, 22:35

Originally Posted by kayak karl

i used to have 14 cats. a vacuumed and opened the cleaner and what did i find, a fifteenth cat. i don't vacuum anymore for this reason.

I think that cat fur would be one of the best warmth/weight ratios going. I'm a cat guy (and dog guy and donkey guy) and of those three, the cat fur is easily the warmest. A small handful of that stuff just sitting in your hand for a minute will cause your palm to sweat like mad, but it still feels like you're holding air.

**anthonysaudiojournal** · 05-04-2011, 22:36

I collected two one gallon freezer bags last winter stuffed full of fluffy shed. My plan was to send it off to have someone make a scarf or beanie out of it. My husky loves to lay on the lounge chair outside in the dead of winter, the colder the better. I think it would work, as a quilt or for anything else. My wife found the bag and tossed it out. She thought it was disgusting, I thought it was pretty cool. Next shed I wont tell her.

**JohnSawyer** · 05-04-2011, 23:06

Originally Posted by Gqgeek81

There's a lady online somewhere that ran a website several years back that did this.

You use the special brushes the comb out the under layer of fur on a dog with two layers and send it to her. She does something to deodorize it and turns it into yarn for you.

Sort of neat, sort of creepy.

Yeah... Creepy... Imagine the crazy cat lady with her knitted cat-hair handbag... "Yes, this was fluffy... he was such a nice kitty that I couldn't part with all of him..."

Q: Hey-- is that a wool blanket?
A: No, husky...

**NewtonGT** · 05-05-2011, 03:10

haha well I really am saving mine from now on. this thread and gotten alot of good ideas. i would think it would be weird if I wasnt the one who thought of doing it. I know people have been using fur for years and years but you dont just walk around and say hey man nice hat what is it? dog? I think ill try and collect enough for a camping pillow. but it compresses alot when I hold it so it would take a good bit

**Gqgeek81** · 05-05-2011, 03:37

I tried saving the fur brushed from my golden retriever for a month or so. Got lots of hair but I imagine it would still take a year or more to get enough to make anything with.

Imagine when poor fluffy goes to the big doghouse in the sky and you're still wearing him around town.
"Where did you buy that scarf"
"its made from Fluffy's fur"
"your dog that died......?"
"oh no, I mean yes, but I removed this fur before he died"
".........."

**Ramblinrev** · 05-05-2011, 06:46

Originally Posted by Cannibal

I think that cat fur would be one of the best warmth/weight ratios going. I'm a cat guy (and dog guy and donkey guy) and of those three, the cat fur is easily the warmest. A small handful of that stuff just sitting in your hand for a minute will cause your palm to sweat like mad, but it still feels like you're holding air.

Any dog I've had with fur long and thick enough to be of use has had a tendency to mat down pretty good whether it is on or off the dog. A blanket of compressed (matted sounded too gross) dog fur would be quite heavy in my estimation. On the dog it works great but then it is part of a living ecosystem. Off the dog I'm not so sure.

The odor issue is really no different than smelling like a wet sheep whenever you get caught in the rain wearing wool.