Continuous Shedding
Albert, the English Springer Spaniel, is a single-coated dog. He sheds consistently all year long. Hair tumbleweeds are always in the corners of our house! This continuous shedding process is typical of most single-coated dogs.
Seasonal Shedding
Daisy, Black Dog Extraordinaire, has a double coat with a thick, soft undercoat and a slick, shiny, black topcoat. True to the heritage she shares with other double-coated dogs, she is shedding like crazy right now. These dogs shed twice a year. The process is known as seasonal shedding. We have even more hair on the floor right now than we usually do!
Non-shedding
It’s just not true. All dogs shed. If they didn’t, they would still have the original hair they first grew as pups, and that hair would be pretty worn out by the time they turned four years old! These “hypo-allergenic” dogs shed somewhat more slowly than other dogs do. Each hair grows for a longer period of time before being released, a.k.a, shed.
Groomers relate seeing huge mats in these dogs, created when their shed curly hair gets tangled into their healthy hair. Sometimes owners don’t brush these dogs enough as they believe they are not shedding. All dogs need to be brushed.
Late Summer/Fall Shedding
If you have a dog like Daisy, you may currently be seeing hanks of hair that have “let go” and are lodged in the coat, sticking out and making your dog look shaggy or lumpy instead of smooth.
Where Does All That Hair Come From?
German Shepherds are famous for this. Their undercoat is typically lighter in color than their topcoat, and you’ll see chunks of light-colored hair pushing their way through the guard hairs and looking messy. You can easily scrape hunks of it out with your fingers. These wonderful, double-coated dogs come with the bonus of wads of undercoat all around your home this time of year! LOL
I’ve been the mom of only Springers and Golden Retrievers for a long time. Goldens have a double coat, but it’s not very thick and I haven’t had a Golden for several years now. I forgot that double-coated dogs shed seasonally, typically twice each year.
You’d expect these dogs to shed their “winter coats” in the Spring. That makes sense, and you’ll see lots of hair at that time. But they also shed at the end of Summer/beginning of Fall. You see, after they shed their winter coats, they put on a lighter, thinner summer coat. That hair needs shedding before they can put their winter coats on again.
Shedding Hanks and Wads of Undercoat
We’ve been brushing Daisy every day for a few weeks now, producing great piles of hair. And then we see more hanks of hair letting go, making her look shaggy again. It seems like she sheds the undercoat on her torso first, then her butt and rear legs, and now she’s starting to shed on her shoulders and neck ruff. I think we’re close to the end!
She looks so much thinner without the undercoat! Showing off her narrow waist with her slick guard hairs lying down on her skin, her body looks narrow and matches her small feet better than when her coat is full and makes her look more round. Soon, she’ll grow that new undercoat that causes her shiny black guard hairs to stick out from her body, looking more like a ball of fluff on toothpick legs. It’s a good winter look for her!
Brush – Don’t Shave
Dogs like Daisy, with double coats, are not meant to be shaved down. We count on their genetics to drive their seasonal shedding and help their bodies work well, physiologically speaking. Regular brushing helps remove the hair that is ready to come out. This helps keep your home clean as well as prevent matting as the loose hairs can intertwine with the hairs that are staying for a while. It can also help keep your dog cool by aligning the hairs to allow air to flow through better and removing any that are lodged and blocking air flow.
Benefits of Brushing
Brushing your dog is a great way to stay familiar with their body condition, too. It’s a good idea to make sure you can feel your dog’s ribs! Daisy has a thick coat that can hide a lot of things. Her weight tends to fluctuate a little, while Albert’s body condition is always the same. But I check both of them, all the time. I’d rather address a small weight change than wait until it’s major. If either of them ever has any kind of growth, I want to know about that right away, too.
Daisy and Albert both enjoy being brushed. If you’ve followed my blog posts, you’ll know that’s because they’ve been conditioned to associate good things with grooming. It’s a pleasant and relaxing activity for us that provides information along with clean, nice-smelling dogs to live with.
Who Needs a Bath?
Brushing can sometimes take the place of bathing! Albert needs a lot of baths because he has somewhat yucky skin. He tends to get yeasty, so we wash him regularly – sometimes as often as every three days – to minimize the yeast population on his skin. (We also address his itching through diet and supplements, along with acupuncture and other treatments.) Daisy, on the other hand, rarely gets a bath.
Daisy stays good-smelling and clean with just brushing, for the most part. She does like to roll in bad-smelling stuff, so there have been times when a bath was necessary. Living in the Houston area also causes mud, so we wash dog feet on the back porch regularly during rainy times. Other than that, Daisy requires no bathing. I trim up the hair on her feet to make them look tidy and keep them easy to clean. Grooming for Leo, the Golden Retriever, was much the same. He had only a few baths in his 14-year life. He simply didn’t need them.
Excessive Shedding Can Be a Sign of Stress
Did you know that dogs increase shedding in times of stress? Completely separate from continuous or seasonal shedding, your dog might dump a pile of hair on the floor of the vet’s exam room. This is a sign that the two of you could work on your cooperative care so that he enjoys visiting the veterinary hospital, instead of feeling fearful, anxious, or stressed during this necessary event.
I have seen a stressed rescue dog throw an inordinate amount of hair off onto a white floor in a foster home, right before my eyes. It’s important to note this symptom so you can immediately take action to reduce a dog’s stress and improve his quality of life.
Shedding As a Sign of Physiological Issues
Sometimes, dogs will start a shedding process after surgery or a dental cleaning, due to the physiological effects of anesthesia. Skin inflammation due to allergies or other problems can result in abnormal shedding. Intact female dogs may shed dramatically after a heat cycle, after having puppies, or even as part of the process of a false pregnancy. This is similar to a stress response due to physiological changes in their bodies. Excessive shedding is a symptom and deserves exploration to determine what is causing it.
These are examples of atypical shedding. If your dog is shedding excessively or at a different time or rate than is typical for him, you should see your vet for an exam, diagnosis, and treatment.
Effects of Diet on Shedding and Haircoat Quality
In talking about dogs’ haircoats, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that a quality diet is key. There is so much information available on dog diets these days that you can easily fall down a rabbit hole and come out confused about what you should feed your dog. I will not tell you that I know “the right answer!”
I choose dog and cat foods that are based on whole foods with names I understand. Beef, pork, lamb, blueberries, kale, carrots, potatoes, kelp, salmon: I know what those are, and I believe in the value of eating a variety of foods to gain the benefits of each when I can. I use the same approach for my dogs and cats.
Some pets are different. They need to eat only certain foods, and they don’t do well eating certain other ingredients. The haircoat is only one body part that can help you notice that something in your dog’s diet might need to change. Make changes deliberately and in a controlled manner so that you can properly track the results in your pet’s health.
Where to Get Nutrition Information
Talk to your vet but also consider consulting someone trained in pet nutrition. I was fortunate to have Dr. Dan Ahrens as my primary veterinarian for decades, as he first studied to be an animal nutritionist before switching to vet school! Now retired, he was an encyclopedia of nutrition knowledge. I soaked up just a bit of that information over the years and it has helped me a lot. I am also a fan of Whole Dog Journal’s nutritional articles. If your dog has a shiny, healthy coat, plenty of energy, a happy attitude, and no obvious problems, you should probably keep feeding what you’re feeding!
Shedding is a Fact of Life with Dogs
All dogs shed. Brush them. Carry out other grooming procedures as needed, like ear-cleaning and of course, toenail trimming. If you have a Springer Spaniel, Schnauzer, Poodle, or other breed that needs a haircut, trim him up so that he looks his best. If he’s a double-coated dog, grab a bristle brush, slicker brush, Furminator, and comb once a day for now, until the shedding process is complete! Give him treats while you brush, tell him softly what a good dog he is, and massage between strokes. Make brushing a special, relaxing time the two of you share, and you’ll keep your floors clean at the same time!
Be the first to read our monthly educational and inspirational blog posts like this one, best enjoyed with a cup of coffee or your favorite relaxing beverage. Subscribers also receive a monthly post with a training application you can try with your own dog, right away. Sign up for our mailing list at the bottom of this page!