Shedding

[Gracious1984]

Can anyone give me some advice? I live in Nashville, TN and we got our puppy from a reputable breeder. She is an F1b, 7 months, and in the past two weeks we have noticed some substantial shedding. It's coming out in clumps rather than individual hairs. I have brushed her everyday to continue to eliminate matting/shedding but it's still happening. Is this common? It does appear her coat is changing, so I'm hoping this is a phase. It's also been quite hot, so one suggestion I had was to cut it short. Anyone that could "shed" some light on this matter would be much appreciated. :) Thanks!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

I am far (far, far, far) from being an expert on Doodle coats, shedding, matting, etc.  Fortunately, there are plenty of experts here on DK that will be able to give you informed, knowledgable advice.  What I will say is that when Sedona began matting terribly (probably due to coat change issues) we had her cut short.  We thought this would be temporary - until she finished "the change" - but found that we really liked her this way.  We like the look AND we find it so much easier to care for.  Anyhow, here's a picture of her after her first haircut:

[Gracious1984]

Wow. I love how they cut her hair. Should we do this, I think I will bring this photo in. I love that they still kept the shape of the facial hair intact. I've seen some pretty butchered ones that made me feel sorry for the pup. Haha... How old was she when she had her first cut? Did you give them any special instructions to achieve this look?

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Sedona was 10 months old here.  As far as special instructions - not really.  We completely lucked out with our groomer.  I called our vet to see who they would recommend and they told us about Carol.  She'd been in the grooming business (with an official shop, etc.) but had retired to our area and "did a little grooming on the side".  We told her we wanted help managing the mats but that we still wanted her to look "doodley" and this is what we got.  As I said, we really lucked out!!!

 

Good luck!

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Looks great! I like it a lot!

[Gracious1984]

Hmm... I agree. It is very strange that she's shedding with that much poodle. I'm wondering if I should call our vet and inquire. I reached out to our breeder and got a response that pretty much indicated this shouldn't be happening.

 

I had googled it a little and some had this happen when they were a puppy and going through a coat change, so I'm hoping for that. Thought I would post on here too and get doodle owners input. I think labradoodles almost always shed, but I could be wrong.

 

Thanks for your thoughts! :)

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Lots of Labradoodles don't shed.  Lots of them do.  Lots of Goldendoodles shed.  Lots of them don't.  It may just be that either you are grooming out the puppy coat while the adult coat comes in and it will settle down or that you have a dog who sheds.  Breeders shouldn't over emphasize that these dogs are all non shedding because it isn't true.

[Brandi]

yep, its most likely just the age and the coat changing.  Both of my doodles lost lots n lots of clumps at that age, until like others said, I cut them short.  They will mat overnight I swear, so if they don't have a short coat, brush, brush, brush every day.  It seemed at about a yr old, no more clumps.  Even non shedding dogs will lose their puppy coat, its normal and it doesn't mean your dog will shed as an adult. My oldest doodle dropped more hair around 7 to 10 months more than any other time.  My youngest doodle, was a slow change and took the whole yr.  I thought for sure they would be a shedders judging by the clumps they dropped, but now, neither shed at all.  The only hair they drop is longggg hairs from their tail every so often.  I love my doodles short.  I keep them REAL short in the summer, and I let them get longer in the fall and winter, but no longer than an 1 1/2 inches or so.  But their tails, ALWAYS full plume ;)  I wish I had the time and the patience to let them get long, because they are absolutely beautiful with a full coat, but its a lot of work.

[Jennifer Tramell]

My f2 goldendoodle. Charlotte, started matting when she was this age.  I would bet that your doodle is just losing her baby hair - maybe your diligent brushing is allowing the hair to shed out instead of mat (the clump shedding make me think this) .  I wasn't diligent about brushing so when Charlotte started "the change" I just gave her a short hair cut.  It didn't look terrible and she grew her curls back nicely enough.

Neither of my doodles shed much hair, but they "shed" lots of other things: leaves, grass, weeds, sticks, etc, etc, etc.  We also live in Nashville and it is just easier keeping our guys in a shorter hairstyle.  I don't have the time or patience to keep my guys in a long coat, so every couple months we do a haircut.  I actually trimmed Webster yesterday and will be clipping Charlotte today or tomorrow.  I'm planning to try a new style on Charlotte - but somehow all my haircuts seem to end up looking the same. 

[Gracious1984]

Thank you for your response! :) I'm encouraged to know that this could be just a phase. Going to get the pup groomed and see how that works out.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

As others said, it's hard to tell until her adult hair comes in. But I would be willing to bet it's the coat change.  You might want to keep her shorter during this time.

I live in Nashville and highly recommend Andrew at Dogtopia for grooming. He does Peri every 2 months during the hotter months.

And I got Peri in the area too...wonder if they are from the same breeder? Message me directly on that!

Photo of Peri after her latest 'do (you could go longer - I love the short, maintenance-free aspect of this cut though):

 

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Sedona is beautiful with that cut!  I might just copy it too!