Sure can in moderation of course it doesn't decompose very fast but is rich in good things

My lab is black so I don't mind at all if there is some hair that isn't completly composted

One of the things I have seen is to leave it out for the birds to build nests.

You can compost the hair from dogs, people, or about any other animal because it is a protein and will be digested by the bacteria that digest everything else. I have not seen that the hair from dogs, or anything else, will keep rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs, skunks, or much of anything else out of your garden.

Thank you for the info. I'll go ahead and add that to the pile. DH will think I've totally lost it. And if it keeps some critters away, that's a bonus!
Susan

yep any hair it all contains trace elements, have heard of some who collect it from hairdresser shops, we don't compost in heaps bins all our occurs in the garden, so it works well for us.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

Some hair decomposes faster than others.

Oily fur, such as the wooly undercoats of Akitas, Malemutes, and many retrievers, is slower to decompose than silky hair.

But it will eventually decompose.

I compost dog hair. I have two dogs and whenever I brush them, it goes into the compost.

The majority of stuff in my dustpan and vacuum cleaner bags is dog hair, which also gets composted.

As to whether dog hair repels varmints: I have had real dogs, Chow chow cross bred, at this house for nearly 20 years and still have skunks, raccoons, rats, squirrels, cats, and possums. My first dog would kill anything in the yard it could catch, but that doesn't repel them. The rest of them were not killers but they will run them to ground or a tree.

The only repeling nature a dog has in regards to varmints and other creatures is that of running them off the property as Dchall says. That's if you are refering to anything but a porcupine... My Black Lab tries to make friends with them since they will actually stand their ground... We've become experts at removing quills.

If you want to fix a pest problem with an animal, get cats for smaller/medium size pest. I am not a cat person but they eradicated all moles, squirrels, possums, rabbits, pretty much anything that was a threat to my garden. They even are good for indoor pest control.

yeah and those cats take care of all those nice creatures that you don't want to get rid off. They are indiscriminate killers that kill native songbirds, threatened amphibians, and mice alike. They don't respect property lines and will roam neighborhoods defecating on other people's homes, gardens, and patio furniture spreading disease. hmm, maybe people should respect those around them and not let theor cats roam free for cheap lazy pest control.

Free Roaming cats are a good addition to the compost pile.

No comment on cats, reserve my opinion due to ambivalence from personal experience (OK, long, very long ago, 5 cats in succession). Back to dogs. If I composted all of the hair from my retriever the garden would be fibrous. But seriously, I haven't put hair in garden or compost before because of its slow decomp, but may have to try unloading the mounds of hair from brushing into the pile. Might strangle cutworms?
hortster