Molting

[Tammie Miller]

Ive been researching grooming doodles. Just preparing for our new baby. What does it mean when someone says "they molt because they dont shed"?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think what you mean is they matt because they don't shed.

The hair of dogs who shed gets to a certain length and falls out; that's shedding. The hair of dogs who don't shed keeps growing, and if you don't keep it trimmed, and well combed and brushed, matts form down close to the skin, which are painful for the dog, and necessitate shaving the coat. Matts are like big tangled, knotted clumps of hair, and when they get bad, they actually pull the skin. Eventually, the matted areas are like one solid piece of fur.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Personally I think it's much of a muchness as to whether they shed or don't shed.  Not shedding means lots of grooming and if you don't keep on top of it you end up having to shave it off. I have to groom Riley daily if I leave him for a few days then it's a matt fest and requires teasing out those snags which takes an age.  The next puppy is an F1 so it will be a surprise coat lol

[Ginny Nightingale]

I have to add here that I have one dog that sheds a bit and mats a bit, one who sheds more and doesn't mat and one who sheds the least and mats the most--so that follows what others are saying--but the real difference I see in the three coats is the coarseness of the hair--the softer the coat, the more it mats. It is as if the soft hairs have little hooks on them that stick the hairs together--I know sheep have that, so maybe it is true! With my dogs, the softer hairs tend to mat more. My black and white dog has coarser white hairs and that part of his coat never mats--but the black is soft and every mat he gets is in the black part of his coat.