I only have a real small bag so far. I would like to make a winter hat. I’m pretty sure I have enough so far to do that… When I get more hair I would eventually like to make gloves and a scarf but it might take a few years for that much hair to grow on my miniature schnauzer. I thought about spinning it myself but I can’t even find the materials to do it with. Someone told me I could card it with two dog brushes and I tried for 1 1/2 hours and it didn’t work. Is this incorrect information?.. or is it really hard for someone who has never done it before? I would love to pay someone to spin it for me if it doesn’t cost a fortune. Thank you so much !
Leah
Julianne & I were joking last night about spinning our Abby’s hair. Bet it woud be warm!
i would def say there are people who would take on this task!
and i would say yes myself but i have no info or experience with dog fur yet! 
depending on the fur it might have to be blended with wool or other fiber to make something spinable
this place spins fur http://www.vipfibers.com/
i have no experience with them or know anyone who has …so i can’t comment on the end products
hope that helps!
If you get the fur turned into roving I will spin it for you. Also check outSpinning Straw into Gold. I have met Christine and talked to her about dog hair being spun. FYI: Dog fur is much much warmer than sheep. PM me and we can work something out if you would like.
Well, I have to admit I was a little embaressed to post this thread because I mentioned it to a couple people locally and I think they thought it was pretty creepy. LOL. …but I’m sure you have to consider that nobody knits around here and there aren’t that many nice people here…unfortunatly. lol. Anyways, I don’t mind if everybody thinks it’s creepy I think it’s AWESOME !!! I wish I had MORE of his hair. I look back and think about all the hair I threw away when I gave him his summer schnauzer cuts and I’m like “Why did I do that!?” Leah smacks self in head. lol. Anyhoo, thank you all so much for trying to help me. I have been wanting to do this since last year and I hope I have enough hair. ha ha. PM’ing KnittinMitchie right now.
Leah
I think an afghan or lap throw would be so nice because one day when he’s gone you will have part of him to pet.
I don’t find it creepy at all. My mom is collecting from her chocolate labs and she will eventually have the process done If you want something bigger than a hat keep collecting you’ll need a good bit of fur.
I know !! I don’t know if I’ll ever have that much hair from him though. Also, this is one of the reasons why I want to make things from his hair because I can’t believe he is already 7 years old. It doesn’t seem like I’ve been blessed with him that long. …but sometimes I think about it and I might not even be able to handle keeping the knitted things from his hair…or might have to keep them in the closet. I don’t know what I would do without him. He is my sunshine. I love him so much. He’s my best friend.
Leah
It would take me forever on my 11-pound baby but maybe I’ll start it. The groomer might find it creepy. Then again, my cousin usually does the grooming and she’s seen (and done) it all.
:roflhard: LOL When I first read what you said I was hoping you were talking about a puppy and not a baby. LOL. j/k
Leah 
Yeah…I get a lot of raised eyebrows too when I say I would like to make a coat from my collie/border collie mix…but I think it is a great idea…and a wonderful resource…
I have also heard you need about 6 garbage bags full to do a sweater…sigh it will be a while before I get that coat…
I know how you feel Crycket; I found out a couple days ago I only have under 5 ounces of hair !!! I thought I had more. 
It will take me forever just to do a hat…I’m guessing. It took me a year just to get that! lol.
I have two short haired dogs so I can’t really spin their hair but my next dog (summer 2009) will be a silky terrier. I’ve not thought of spinning the hair, but now that I think about it I just may for one sweet little project. Seems to be a perfect breed to do so with.
If people think it’s gross then they obviously aren’t thinking about alpaca’s, sheep, goats and bunnies and some of the yucky conditions the fur may have been in before ultimately cleaned and spun. 
Sheep are like the dirtiest animals I’ve gotten fiber from so far. To get the oils out of the fiber is a water mess pain in the butt.
You can spin short hairs, my mom has 2 labs and is saving to do thier fur.
My dogs are italian greyhounds and have been sitting by me as I’ve been working on an afghan. Every so often a stray dog hair will find it’s way into the afghan (I probably should tell the person I’m making the blanket for it’s 97% acrylic, 2% rayon, and 1% Italian Greyhound, heehee) and I’ll pull it out. Their hairs are quite short and pointy sharp. I really don’t see how their hair would work to make anything but a bristle brush, lol.
the shorter fibers can be blended with a little wool to help them “stick” so to speak.
One of these days I am going to do this!
My Cyrus is a 100lb LONG HAIRED Rottweiler and anyone who knows Rotties knows they shed like CRAZY! I have gobs and gobs of long black hair all over the place. And along with my long haired cat…
Cyrus and James could probably clothe a small country:)
Boy I’m sure they could. or at least a small army.
I spin cat and dog fur on semi-regular basis. First cat/dog fur is extremly warm and it will shed from the yarn. So, I doubt you’d want to make a wearable item out of 100% dog fur.
I make coin purses, bags, and next will be a sheep doll out of the pet fur yarn.
Or when I make yarn for people that is 100%, I suggest using it as trim. Like I would knit the rib and make a pompom for the hat and do the rest in a nice soft merino wool. The cuff trim on the gloves and maybe an accent yarn in the scarf.
I just finished blending a my cat’s fur in some Jacob wool to soften it up.
There are plenty of people who will spin your fur. I’d volunteer but I’m currently booked up for quiet some time. I have a garbage bag full of great pyranese coming my way, plus some more puppy fur.
Oh, I know of a mill that will process your fiber any way you like! He carries a dog fur yarn that he sells.
[FONT=arial][COLOR=#5588aa]Still River Mill[/COLOR][/FONT] - Greg does excellent work. I bought lots and lots of his amazing yarn.
Like Liliyarn said, there are places that you can send your dogs hair to, and it will come back as a skein of yarn! Whoever told you you could blend it with dog combs was partially right…but I think because the locks of your dogs hair is so short you really need a fiber with a longer staple to blend it with, something like wool or alpaca.