Why do dogs shed? Non shedding dog Labradoodle.
When you vacuum the room, and you take the vacuumed object out from vacuum cleaner to a bag,you would surprise how much you pick up the fur around the house.
Our dog does not shed as much as Golden Retriever on promotion video for Furminator you can see at box pet store,but she still shed. During the winter season,when I wear Jacket which is black color, I can see her hair on my jacket. So,why do dogs shed? Before talking about shedding,we may want to look closer to fur itself.
According to peteducation.com, puppy is born with soft,short,sometimes woolly -like hair. Then,for some breed,the fur color when puppy time is different to fur color as an adult. When you compare 2 pictures from my dog:One with puppy-hood,one is adult-hood,you can see how Palette’s fur color has changed.Her fur had more black than brown but as she grew, she had more brown.
Above is when Palette was puppy. Thigh area,flank area has more black.
Interesting thing is that,peteducation.com says, Dalmatian puppy born with few or no black spots.Then,as they grow,they get the black dots on white fur.
Some dogs have 2 type of coat.One is called under coat.It is softer,shorter hair.The other is called primary hair or outer coat and it is stiffer,and longer fur.Most dogs have under coat,outer coat,but depending on the breed,the ratio of each fur is different.
Each hair grow from hair follicle, and eventually die (shed) and then the new hair grow. So, what we see with shedding is cycle of this dead fur replaced with new hair.
Indoor dogs shed more than outdoor dogs because of the artificial light.Outdoor dogs shed in spring and fall about several weeks for seasonal change.In fall,dogs tend to have more under coat to keep themselves warm. Act like insulation.Then come in spring,they loose more under coat and replace it with outer coat.
To read full article,click here.
So,now we know that fur gets shed with cycle due to replacement of under coat or outer coat depending on season,and artificial lights effects shedding as well. so,why do they shed?
By understanding the cycle of the fur,I think dog shed fur because of season change or artificial lights inside the house for indoor dogs. And house is warm even if outside is cold if winter.I think this can do something to shedding.
But according to Shannon Heggem, shedding can be coat loss not shedding:the natural life cycle.
Her article says that dog can loose fur due to extreme stress.
She says that dogs that had puppy tend to shed more than the dogs that had not puppy.
She also talks about diet and coat relationship.
Read more on here.
So,what can you do to reduce the shedding?
One thing is that better diet provides better coat,I think. For skin and coat,fish body oil is great thing. It is what we know as Omega3. If this omega3 was in deficient,coat can be poor,so you can add good fat or fish body oil to your dogs’ meal to help coat looks better and reduce the shedding.
Also,you can blush your dog,which I do daily.It spread the natural oil around body plus you can control the shedding amount of fur so,blushing is good thing. I use Furminator blush and it works really good. I also use slicker blush,and flea comb as well.
Since shedding is dogs’ natural cycle,so I do not think we can stop shedding completely,but by giving better diet and grooming(blushing),it can reduce to some extent.
On the talk of shedding, President Obama is looking non-shedding dog and one of the candidate breed to the White House is Labradoodle.
Incidentally,I happened to see a cute Labradoodle in Christmas time and the dog was so sweet.I petted him and he licked my hands. He was so calm and well-behaved.He had wavy curly hair…
What I did not know was that there are 2 kinds of Labradoodle.
One is Lab and Poodle cross,and the other is called Australian Labradoodle and it is a cross of Lab,Poodle,and cocker spaniels. (see labradoodle website here.)
This site says if you really want a non shedding dog, Australian labradoodle with wool coat or fleece coat is BEST.
Read more on shedding and Labradoodle, here.
So, here are all for shedding matter,but since I am not a nutritionist nor vet,please consult your vet if you think your dog could be deficient in omega3 and may need to add omega3 in the meal etc.
Do you have any good tips on removing pet hair off from furniture/cloth?
I have one. I bought ” Pet Hair Magnet “. It removes pet hair off from place where your vacuum cannot remove the fur pretty good such as couch,car seat.It is with triple squeegee,and it really helps to remove pet hair off from furniture.I think it cost me about 10 dollars.
Jan 27, 2009 | Comments are off | Miscellaneous (dogs)