Double Coated Dog Breeds (More Specifically:Blow Outs)

[Kholts]

Pretty much what the title states.

Who has a double coated breed and is currently battling the nasty coat blow out?

It is fall here in Alberta, CANADA with temperatures fluctuating from +10C to -5C depending the day. Some mornings we are waking up to frost and iced over water dishes only to be in t shirts by noon.

My Great Pyrenees/Turkish Kangal who turned 2 in the spring has been going through HEAVY shed for the last month & I don’t know how but I’m still getting a grocery bag full of undercoat out every week. He has gone from looking like fluffy Butted Royalty to looking like he’s homeless! I can actually feel his skin through his hair and I swear all he’s got left is guard hair which stands up off his body.

We have been battling allergies the last 6 months. He’s gone from a chicken formula dog food to a lamb & rice in the last 4 months & is now hotspot free. I’ve recently put him on a salmon oil supplement in hopes of giving him extra nutrients to help grow back his coat.

I don’t know whether to attribute his loss of this much undercoat to seasonal changes or if it’s allergies manifesting in a different way.

Anyone else’s dogs blow their whole coat out BEFORE winter starts? I could see this type of blowout in the spring but winter?

Any tips you have feel free to share!

Here are some pictures:

This was him in the early spring. I don’t know if you can tell a coat difference.


This is him currently. Well a couple weeks ago...he’s down more hair since

 

[townchicks]

Yes, that can happen both spring and fall. My new dog blew out so much coat last spring, that I could literally see his skin in several places. He's starting to leave hair on the rug again now, it remains to be seen how much will come out. I got him in January this year, so it's all new. He gets brushed twice a week, and bathed every 2 weeks, with a blow dry from a power blower (I'm a professional groomer) which gets out most of the loose hair, but in spring I couldn't even keep up with him. I've seen Huskies blow out their coats like that twice a year too. My sheltie used to blow twice a year, but never to that extent. He did not have a lot of undercoat, however. Just keep up with the brushing, as best as you can.

 

[coach723]

My Pyr is only a year old, so we haven't yet experienced a true annual shed with him yet, but I've had other double coated dogs that have, shepherds, collies, husky. Mine usually do the worst in the spring, with a lighter one in the fall. I always assumed the fall one was more hair coming in for the winter. I'm gonna assume that you've seen a vet to cover all the other possibilities health wise that can cause 'excessive' shedding. I've also had two dogs with absolutely terrible allergies. One was to fleas, and one was to foods, and all kinds of things. Allergies can be cumulative, so if there is more than one thing at work, it makes the reaction worse. I switched to human grade food, navigating the labels of pet food is frustrating to say the least, even some of the better ones have some questionable ingredients, and if you've got one with allergies then you really have to be vigilant about label reading, formula's change all the time with no notice. After chronic ear infections and skin that was red, bald and torturous itchy, I started feeding human grade and it all cleared up. I also use a very gentle shampoo, Halo Cloud 9 Herbal Shampoo. Love the stuff, not perfumy, rinses well. I also do a second rinse with ACV/water (probably 1:4 mix), to make sure all of the soap is out, and then water again. I find it easy to miss soap pockets in all that dense coat.

 

[Kholts]

Yes, that can happen both spring and fall. My new dog blew out so much coat last spring, that I could literally see his skin in several places. He's starting to leave hair on the rug again now, it remains to be seen how much will come out. I got him in January this year, so it's all new. He gets brushed twice a week, and bathed every 2 weeks, with a blow dry from a power blower (I'm a professional groomer) which gets out most of the loose hair, but in spring I couldn't even keep up with him. I've seen Huskies blow out their coats like that twice a year too. My sheltie used to blow twice a year, but never to that extent. He did not have a lot of undercoat, however. Just keep up with the brushing, as best as you can.

I make sure I brush him at least 2 times a week. Bathing only happens 1 time every 6 weeks usually which is then followed by a blow dry & thorough brushing once he’s fully dry (usually the next morning). I’m thinking this may be his 1st full blown shed out. It was nothing like this last spring. I don’t even remember seeing a tuft anywhere in my house.

My Pyr is only a year old, so we haven't yet experienced a true annual shed with him yet, but I've had other double coated dogs that have, shepherds, collies, husky. Mine usually do the worst in the spring, with a lighter one in the fall. I always assumed the fall one was more hair coming in for the winter. I'm gonna assume that you've seen a vet to cover all the other possibilities health wise that can cause 'excessive' shedding. I've also had two dogs with absolutely terrible allergies. One was to fleas, and one was to foods, and all kinds of things. Allergies can be cumulative, so if there is more than one thing at work, it makes the reaction worse. I switched to human grade food, navigating the labels of pet food is frustrating to say the least, even some of the better ones have some questionable ingredients, and if you've got one with allergies then you really have to be vigilant about label reading, formula's change all the time with no notice. After chronic ear infections and skin that was red, bald and torturous itchy, I started feeding human grade and it all cleared up. I also use a very gentle shampoo, Halo Cloud 9 Herbal Shampoo. Love the stuff, not perfumy, rinses well. I also do a second rinse with ACV/water (probably 1:4 mix), to make sure all of the soap is out, and then water again. I find it easy to miss soap pockets in all that dense coat.

Yes been to the vet. She suggested allergies whether food or environment. That is why we made the switch to a lamb & rice which has stopped the hotspots. He’s been hot spot free now for 4 months. He never did have ear infections/irritations only the hotspots.

I try not to bathe him in excess as to not dry out his skin/hair and when I do bathe him I spend FOREVER rinsing lol.

 

[Quackter]

My mom's dog is a double coated dog at about 1/6 scale of yours. Lasa flopsa machu picachu designer prancey little thing, great dog, but pricey. He's never pulled too big of bald spots, but he does shed his undercoat in heavily the fall. We use the heck out of Dollar Tree kids detangler, helps tremendously.
For the hots spots, I've found washing the hotspot with a wash cloth wetted with 1 teaspoon of epsom salt, 1 teaspoon of borax, dissolved in about 1 quart of warm water. The epsom salt will draw out histamines, and the irritants, the borax is a great anti fungal, and also cleanses. Pat dry, then 1 part tea tree oil, 1 part neem oil, 10 parts coco butter, stir with coco butter melted, then chill and stir every few minutes while it solidifies. Take it or leave it, I am just a dude on the net.


** I am going to get flack about the borax, I avoid mentioning it for the stigma. If I would say "a little bit of tide with that magical hydrophylic / hydrophobic molecule", not so many would cringe. The initial "cancer" study was conducted on dogs unfortunately. The lethal dose is considered 250mg per kilogram of weight orally for humans, per day. (Same as table salt.) This number was derived from the study using dogs. The study "proving" it cancerous fed them between three and six times the lethal dose daily, and after about six weeks to eight months, of such, they would die. Surprising, huh? Several virtually incurable diseases have shown not to be only treatable, but sometimes curable with Boron, which is classified as an essential nutrient by the FDA. This includes the "fatal" white line disease in our equestrian friends, rheumatoid arthritis, vaginosis, athletes foot, heavy metal poisoning, loss of bone density, and calcification and scarring in various locations due to autoimmune disorders. (The latter effecting me directly) "Salted the earth so that nothing would grow again", Sodium Chloride does not do that, Sodium Tetra Borate would to an extent. So from the at least the Punic Wars until 1900, people were eating it in ham, bacon, beef jerky, medicines.. and our dogs were too.

 

[WhoDatChick]

Does anyone know if this is true... but I heard that a raw egg everyday helps with shedding....?

 

[rosemarythyme]

As I especially like floofy dogs, my floor is an endless sea of tumbling hair balls. I swear my dogs take turns having blow outs - one starts as soon as another finishes. Thankfully I don't currently have a dog that does one big, full blow out, but instead mine do smaller ones on and off.

 

[Rushdoggie]

Shedding cycles are based on light and hormones, while eggs may contribute to a healthy coat they likely won't make a difference in seasonal shed.

 

[chickens really]

Yes. My Maremma Finn blows his coat in huge chunks and massive amounts.
I use my horse shedding tool on him without much improvement. My spot I have sectioned off in my basement as the dog room off the walkout basement looks like a dog blew up daily..

 

[Kayla's Lunch]

When I took my dogs and cats off of commercial dog food and started feeding them a raw diet, the shedding decreased dramatically. No more puff balls all over the house, no more crazy blow out for the seasonal shedding. I've had 2 Samoyeds, a Great Pyr, 3 Golden Retrievers, and a few mixed breads. I adopted a friend's 5 yr old part Maine Coon cat who doubled in size because of his coat improvement when I put him on raw. When they later saw him, they couldn't believe it. They didn't remember him having so much fur. Also, I rarely bathe them anymore. I used to bathe often, now they don't smell, don't poop as much, don't have skin issues. the raw diet has made them much healthier.