Crazy shedding! Help!

[Tammy and Willow]

So, my Willow will be 1 yr old next month, and her coat is shedding like crazy! I knew her coat would favor her lab mother, but I had no idea she would shed this much. 

Is she just losing her puppy coat? Is this a seasonal thing? 

I just read something that said when a dog's hair reaches it's max length, it will fall out. Maybe that's what's going on. In that case, I'm thinking of getting her hair cut shorter. Is there anything specific I should ask the groomer to do around her face or tail, so she will still look doodley?

Thanks

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's not true that when a dog's hair reaches it's maximum length, it will fall out, lol. Dogs who don't shed, like Poodles, never, and I mean never, lose their hair. With dogs who do shed, the shedding happens in cycles, (anagen, catagen, and telogen) and the growth cycle is different with every breed. Some will stay longer in one cycle than another, which will cause more or less shedding. With mixed breeds like doodles, you can get anything, from no shedding at all to seasonal shedding to  shedding day in and day out, year round. My guy falls into the latter category; he sheds all the time, and it's a lot of hair. Keeping your dog's coat shorter isn't going to do anything to lessen the shedding except that you'll have shorter pieces of hair all over instead of longer ones. But the amount of hair falling out will be just as much. 

It's possible that your dog is going through a coat change, which often happens around a year old. If that's the case, the shedding may slow down once her adult coat comes in. But I'd be prepared for a shedder, either way. 

[Tammy and Willow]

Well, the article kind of made sense to me. I know with my hair, once it reaches a certain length, it starts to fall out. LOL!

Thanks for the info. I'm hoping her puppy coat is just falling out. She has changed quite a bit since 8 weeks old! I try to brush her out every week or so. She has gotten some mats in her elbow hair, and the ends of her ears, so I feel like she might need a good little trim.

Jackdoodle is a handsome fella! He really looks like my Willow!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks Tammy, I hope she doesn't shed like him, though! 

[Ginny Nightingale]

As for the shedding--read Karen's reply--as for the grooming, make sure they don't save the pup and keep long hairs on the face and tail-personally, I like a doodle to be the same length all over--with a slightly longer face and tail..I do not like long droopy ears or a shaved doodle with a big long tail and giant puffy head--but you decide what you like and ask for that!

[Tammy and Willow]

Thanks for the info! I like the even length look as well. I also like her scruffy look she has now!

[Stacy]

Since we're talking about coats, here is something I'm curious about. Ava is a F1 and she's been growing her coat from shaved for about 7 months. Her hair is about 2" I haven't had her hair cut at all (except her face trimmed once) since I've had her. She doesn't really shed, but I do get a little hair in the comb when I comb her. I would have thought she would be longer by now. If I let Katie's (curly F1b) hair grow out for 7 months she would be a very long hot mess. So is Ava just a slow grower? Or is her hair not going to grow forever like a poodle? The groomer said something about a broken coat - I haven't really looked into what that means. Ava's hair is way less maintenance than Katie. And she loves to be combed (she loves all of my attention) I just wonder if this is all the hair she will ever have or what her coat type is.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've never heard of a "broken coat" as applied to doodles or Poodles. It's used for a certain type of wirey coat, such as is seen in Jack Russell Terriers, and that's definitely not what Ava has, by a long shot, lol. 

Dogs who are seasonal shedders go through a longer telogen phase, where the hair is basically "resting"...it neither grows very much nor falls out...yet, lol. It might be that Ava is in that category, but I don;t know. Most of my dogs have been completely non-shedding, and the hair grew and grew...and matted if they went longer than 7 or 8 weeks without a haircut. The others were round-the-clock year round shedders, like JD. 

[Stacy]

That's not the first time my groomer has told me something that sounds odd about coats! But she's so sweet and gentle with them, and she makes Katie look so cute that she can say whatever she wants. Katie loves the groomer. The last time Katie was there she ran up to the groomer and gave her a big hug. It was so sweet.

Ava and I haven't been through a spring or summer together yet, so it will be interesting to see what happens. I kind of hope that she won't be a seasonal shedder. I could get used to this nonshedding thing. But whatever will be will be. Before I got the papillons I was somehow led to believe that they didn't shed. I heard it from multiple people. I don't know what kind of papillons they had... The reality was that they were round the clock shedders! They shed dog sized furballs. I don't know how they weren't bald. I loved them, hair and all, but I would prefer to go to the groomer routinely and have the hair stay on the dog the rest of the time. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's weird that multiple people told you Papillons don't shed! 

Jack was the first shedding dog I ever lived with for any length of time; I fostered GSDs, but none of them was with me long enough for me to really experience the true horror of 80 lbs of undercoat all coming out all the time, lol. So JD's shedding was pretty shocking to me at first. The irony of it all is that I wanted to keep a couple of those Shepherds very badly, but I just really didn't want a big dog that shed. LOL! 

[Stacy]

I know, right? I was on a papillon email list and the general consensus was that they didn't shed. They definitely do!

I've experienced how much a 5 pound dog can shed. I don't think I can even imagine how much an 80 pound dog could shed. I'm not a perfect housekeeper. Everything doesn't have to be just so. But I can't imagine getting into a bed that was more dog hair than covers!

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

Stacy, I can tell you from experience that it may very well be food related. When I first brought Lucy home (she is Daphnes mother and was the breeders dog) she had a course coat and was a shedder. Not a heavy shedder but a shedder just the same. Obviously we changed her to a good grain free food (grain free because she was just itchy all the time) and it took a while but her hair is now in MUCH better condition! They eat Zignature now but we had them on Fromm when we first brought Lucy home. Her hair is now much softer and she is NOT a shedder. I get a bit of hair when I comb her but I get that from Daphne too. I think that the transition did take at least 6-8 months for me to see a big difference. That may be what Ava is going thru now. Also Ava has had some medical problems and it's possible that all the medication she has been on has slowed down her hair growth. Now that is pure speculation on my part. I can only tell you that with good nutrition, Lucy's fur is in much better condition!

[Stacy]

That's very interesting. Ava did have a big increase in quality of food when she got here. And she has had a lot of health challenges. I've had a heck of a time getting her all well. It will be interesting to see what her coat ends up being like.