Shedding?

[The Dude and his person, Kristi]

How many of your doodles shed?  Dude is now 5 months old and I've had Dude bunnies floating all around the house for a while now.  Part of the problem is that he's very itchy and the hair falls out when he scratches.  Are your doodles itchy?  I've just started putting fish oil on his kibble to see if that will help.

 

Is this shedding perhaps normal loss of the puppy coat?  I hope it stops or slows down.  But if he's a shedder I'll love him anyway.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Hi Christi,

Owen is 5 months also and has been leaving tumbleweeds of fluff around the house since 3 months. His coat is so funny thought... parts regular dog hair and parts bunny-fur. It seems like the bunny-fur is falling out but not the long hair. He does not seem itchy though. So, I don't know what is ahead for us! His half brother Kona is 4 and doesn't shed and never did, even puppy hair. They are not alike in most ways. You can post this on Puppy Madness or the Grooming group, too. There is lots of help out there on Doodlekisses.

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Izzy was getting those "bunnies" but it's gotten much better. It could be part of the puppy coat. She has been on the fish oil for about a month now and it seems to be helping with the itchies. Her coat is actually (finally) starting to thicken up.Yay!!!

Their "real" coat comes in by around 8 months.

[Lynn D.]

Echo is 8 months and sheds like mad sometimes. But he isn't itchy. I wash him nearly every week with a organic shampoo and make sure I rinse him well, then natural conditioner.

Having him clipped short has helped with the hair as well.

[Stephanie and Jellybean]

Hi Kristi, we have a 5 month old doodle from Ruben/Babette that is shedding a little now also. Nothing before, but when I brush her there is definitely some hair, and we too have doodle bunnies around. Nothing major. Hoping it passes, but whatever, there was no guarantee we wouldn't shed..........

[The Dude and his person, Kristi]

Great info. all!!  Thank you.  Yes, the Dude has that cotton ball hair falling out.  I just bought the fish oil for him yesterday....which is also great because he likes his kibble much better with it. His breath is ripe afterward but I won't have to mix in chicken breast anymore to get him to eat.  Good to know about the 8 month adult coat mark too.

[Stephanie and Jellybean]

Is the fish oil specifically for dogs, or is this something I can buy at the pharmacy?

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

I use the human form...Kirkland 1000mg from Costco. I usually pierce it and squeeze it out and let them eat the capsule too.

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Yeah....their breath stinks like fish...yuk!!!! But if it helps the itchies I'll take the good with the bad:)

[Karen Farr]

Hi Kristi,

I haven't had Beckett bunnies around the house but it's probably because I comb him every night and plenty comes out in the comb.  I do have hair on my clothes after I comb him.  I'm just hoping it's all got to do with the changing of coats they have before they settle into their real coat.  Besides, Dude would have to have a lot of Dude bunnies floating in the air to catch up with us.  Beckett will scratch maybe twice a day but nothing more than that.

Beckett's doing really well with the puppy manners class.  I can put a treat right at this feet, say "wait" and he won't take it until I say ok.  It came in handy this morning when I dropped a pill and he didn't get it when I said "wait".  He's also doing really well with the "heel, sit" loose leash walk.  He still ignores my "come" command when he goes to the bottom of our property to greet the neighbor dogs through the fence.  I can save my breath.  Trainer said to offer him something really great to come back up to me...but first I have to get him to look at me!

Beckett growled at my grandson when my grandson took a toy car out of his mouth.  Just a small growl, and he gave it up,  but I really don't like this "resource guarding" stuff.  Trainer said to surprise dog with treats when your in his space so he thinks it's a great thing for you to be there, so I have to keep working on it...but I don't like it.  Maybe I need to hang Kristi's boyfriends roast around my grandsons neck !  Any suggestions greatly appreciated.  Otherwise, he is a delight and we're having great fun.  Any ideas on when to have them spade?  

Carla,

So glad you liked the dog tags from UrbanPuppy on the Etsy site.  Beckett has two of them.  He has the silver circle one with the copper bone and the silver "B" in the middle.  He also has the silver one with the skull that reads "Addicted to Love" since that is Ron and my song and it's my phone ring tone.   It's fun shopping for the dogs!

Have a great week and here's to no more hair balls!

Karen