Q:I recently adopted a dog whose fur is coming out in clumps. Is this normal? I've never had a big shedder, so I'm having a hard time getting used to this mess. Do you have any tips?

A: It's not easy to deal with the heavy shedders among us, whether they be dogs or cats. But most of us get by with the help of some basic health care, a few nifty gadgets and a lot of patience when it comes to the inevitable dust bunnies.

For starters, your task is to make sure your new pet is in good health.

Your veterinarian will be able to tell you whether his fur loss is normal or whether it's related to a nutritional, hormonal, parasitic, allergic/immunologic or infectious process (the usual suspects when it comes to abnormal-coat concerns).

If a clean bill of health is the result, then you've simply got a furry problem on your hands -- one that needs some basic, at-home attention so you don't have to live with the tumbleweeds that currently grace your baseboards. To that end, here's my list of tips:

• Brushing: Removing the fur before it falls to the floor (or sticks to your clothing and furniture) seems like a sound approach. But not all brushes are created equal. Consider using a wire, rake-like brush for the heaviest coated dogs and/or a Furminator-brand brushing tool for most other heavy shedders.

• Clipping: If routine brushing seems a Sisyphian task to you, consider that clipping it all off every few months can yield far better results than brushing alone. (Groomers are great at this.) Sure, he's still going to shed, but this way it all comes off in tiny, manageable bits.

• Bathing: Yes, it helps. Somehow, the mechanical action of massaging in shampoo and rinsing it out leads to the removal of large amounts of loose hair.

• Cleaning: Lots of cleaning products are now available to help you rid yourself and your home of free-flying pet hair. Rolls of sticky-tape marketed by 3M and others allow for de-furring of clothing and furniture. Pledge's new de-furring product addresses embedded-fur issues. And the Roomba vacuum cleaner does it all -- all by itself.

Sadly, no product is perfect -- and neither are our pets. But they're worth it -- fur or no fur.

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