non traditional animal fiber projects

So about three years ago I had a book circulate through my local library that was called "knitting with cat hair". I thought it was quite funny at the time, but this last year I collected the undercoat from my two alaskan malamutes and filled several large garbage bags. Their fur is clean, warm, and is much more like sheep wool than anything else. I'm not sure how to use it in any shape or form. Do I need to spin it? or can you just start felting? Anyone have experience with using pet hair for projects? I would like to make a hat similar to sunray kelley's as I aspire to look like him in thirty years.

Your have a cool idea about using dog fur for yarn.  I hope solve our problem.

The fur of the beloved family dog was too short to enjoy. The little fibers were so short that the yarn/tread was scratchy to the touch. We loved the dog, but her soft, warm coat became a sweet memory.

Good luck.

Dog fibre is one of the traditional fibre in the Coast Salish tradition.  It's a lovely fibre, but my style is to blend it with wool so it goes further.  

I recommend hand cards for preparing the fibre.  You can felt it or spin it into yarn.  As each fibre is different, it might be good to try some small samples to see how the fibre responds.

Myself, I had a lot of trouble working with pet hair because the shampoos and flea chemicals hurt my skin and gave me nasty blisters.  

I love felting, and would probably start there, playing with it. The simple fact that the fur mats rather easily tells you that felting - especially wet felting - will give you at least some measure of immediate success.

There's a cute book called Crafting with Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make with Your Cat by Kaori Tsutaya about making felted creations.  It sounds like your dog hair would work well!