What is KEMP?

[Doodle Grooming]

I have this picture of Cosmos tail & I thought it was silver hair (his mom is a silver F1B Doodle). But I got an emial & was told it is KEMP. Needless to say, I've googled KEMP a hundred different ways & can't find it under hair or pets. So, what is it?? The texture is like when we get grey hair---kinda wiry, I guess. They also seem surprised he has so much, so young (13 weeks). Why does this not sound like something I want??? It has since moved up his back---kinda along his spine.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Light chalky coarse hairs
Samantha has a few - above the tail along the spine and in her tail. As a pup she had more and now that her puppy coat is gone, there are less of them.

[03pilqobzlvp7]

Duff has a lot of that kind of hair. He has been turning silver since about 4-5 months old. He is 8 months now. I don't see why it would be a concern. It's just hair, right? Maybe not as soft, but most of him is soft.

[Jeannine]

Thalie have some too and she is only 10 months. I try to take them away but I feel it is part of her charm and learn to love them. She have that on her back and her head. The rest of her hair is pitch black.

[Jeanie]

When I googled I found this...

Kemp
(Animal Hair)

Specialty hair fibre ( in specialty hair fibre (textiles) )
...stiff guard hairs affords protection from the elements. The undercoat, or down, composed of short, fine, soft fibre, provides insulation against heat and cold. Short, coarse, brittle hairs, called kemp, may be intermingled with both types of fibre. Separation of the downy fibre from other hair may be achieved by combing or by a blowing process that causes the heavier fibre to fall away.

Doesn't sound like anything to be concerned about, just a different kind of hair :)

[Jeannine]

Anyway, Cosmos is so cute with or without "kemp"!
He is adorable!, it just add to his charm!

[Mary Steward]

Timing is everything! So Funny, I was just wondering about this kind of thing as well. My totally black labradoodle has a few fine white stiff hairs on his back. I wouldn"t care if he was purple with green spots, but I was kind of wondering what was happening. A different black and white dog I had turned totally grey, but that also was fine with me. I was just curious as to what these kind of hairs were, or why he was getting them? Your reply Jeanie really helped answer it. No more worries :-)

[Jeanie]

Your very welcome. Here is the actual link, it's from Encyclopedia Britannica....

Kemp

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

I see lots of people have answered your question but I thought I would jump in anyway. Kemp is a courser type of hair that is not soft. It is common in doodles. In poodles, about every 10th hair is one of these stiff ones. That is a desirable coat for showing as it will stand up in those big poofy hairdos. A softer fleecy coat in a poodle is not a show poodle. In doodles, it is the opposite. Kemp is being bred away from, but it certainly is not gone entirely from the coats of multigens...I have a boy that has both light and dark brown kemp and a cream fleece girl that seems to have a buttery hue. When you look really closely, you can see a finer kemp that is brown in her cream coat. I have a couple of dogs with almost no kemp, so it is slowly being reduced by breeding it out.
Grooming tip.....if your dog has a lot of kemp, and it was shaved, just scissor the top off...this will shorten the kemp and give the dog a softer feel for a long time. Kemp is usually straighter, so if you just cut that part, the longer softer coat comes thru.

[Kathy]

My dog has the same thing looks just like your picture.Started out a little as a puppy but now that hes 9months old it has gone wild allover his body.Stands straight ,and if you pull it it comes right out it looks goofy!I dont like this either your dogs tail looks just like my Cheech.I think its here to stay, To me it just ruins the look of there coats! Didnt we buy them for there beautiful coats besides there personalities! Well in the coat department Cheech got jipped!I dont think thres anything we can do unless you have asuggustion! good luck! Kathy

[Jeanne Rose]

Thank you, that actually shows it very clearly.