Clumps of hair are everywhere

[Nina]

Hi Everyone, Sadie is a multi-gen labradoodle who is now 8 months old. There are clumps of hair all over my house. When I comb her, the comb is completely full of hair. So far, I haven't found any mats except on her chest where the gentle leader goes against her coat. She has shed some since she was a little puppy. I was hoping that this would stop once she lost her puppy coat. I have 2 questions: (1) how long does the "hair all over the place stage last" and (2) since I am finding clumps of hair already on the floor and not matts in her fur, does this mean that she will always shed? Thanks

[SD Suz - Mom of 3 Doodz]

What type of coat does she have? Sometimes the straighter the hair, the more likely she is to shed. Unless something has changed in Sadie's diet, she's just going through the 'dreaded coat change' ;-) She may just be a light shedder and it also is getting warmer in most areas of the country. Keep brushing her as often and as well as you can and the shedding should lessen as time goes by. One of our Doodles has very soft hair that still tangles/mats in certain spots and she's 5 years old. We just learned to live with it.

[Nina]

Hi, I think that Sadie has a fleece coat...on the straighter side. I attached a picture from her most recent grooming day.

[fergie11]

I had the same shedding problem. It is slowing up a lot but I think I'm going to always some hair around the house. Afterall, my sink has pretty much hair from me too. Nothing like a true golden though. See my discussion on this:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/11-months-shedding

[Mary Beth Sancomb-Moran]

Hi Nina,

Casey only does this when his hair is getting too long - it's our signal to get him groomed. Once his hair is a bit shorter, he doesn't shed at all. He just does this clumping thing when it's long. My parents doodle does the same thing. They're both goldendoodles, but it could be the same situation with your labradoodle.

[2SCdoodles]

I have two multi-gen Australian labradoodles. One was a rehome, and he shed from the time he walked into his new home. It was just as you described- tufts of hair EVERYWHERE! When Joe turned 1 I had him shaved. He has wool hair, and there was no way to get a comb or brush through that spirally wool hair, and he had mats. He also swam twice a day every day. All that wool fur coupled with swims in the middle of winter made me decide to get him shaved down. After I had him shaved he never shed again! I did not expect that at all so it was a very nice surprise!

I am guessing it was all that puppy hair that was coming out that caused the shedding and tufts of hair everywhere!

You can see pictures of Joe on my page. There are some pre-shave photos and the post-shave photos. I haven't had him shaved since December, but I am planning to have him cut short for summer. It gets really hot where we live, and the swimming is a big factor, too!

[Kathy]

I have the same problem ,I thought maybe this is normal after I comb my dog who is 4 months old ,The comb is always full of hair and then after he lays around or plays I find clumps of hair on the rug,I was wonderind if this will stop also .Mine is a australian ladradoodle a fleesce coat.Maybe that special labradoodle brush would be better,Im useing a shedding comb,maybe thats not right,any advice!!!! The matting of the fur comes out as soon as you comb him but like i said he does also lose a lot of hair when combed!!!