rachiie Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 I have noticed that Axle is losing hair. Alot of hair. When i was with him just a second ago, i could pull out a handful. :D I spent a bit of time with him, and the amount of hair i could pull out seemed to lessen and seems to just be at normal rate now. My question is, why is he losing so much hair?? He's not itchy. His skin isn't red, or dry or anything. I brush him every couple of days. I don't know what else can explain it. Could it be stress? I don't know what would be stressing him... We recently had a 2hr trip to visit the family for Easter, and he was in the back of the landcruiser, but he's done that before without the resulting consequence of hair loss... Any ideas on what it could be? PS: For those who aren't familiar, Axle is a 6.5 month old pup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Hrm... maybe he is going through a molt/shed or losing some puppy coat. I can't remember how it went with Dieter at that age. Does it seem to be more undercoat or the guard hairs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachiie Posted March 29, 2005 Author Share Posted March 29, 2005 The guard hairs. Like, the wirey top coat part. And it comes out in clumps. But only to a certain stage.. it's hard to describe. It's not like the thing on his ear where all the hair fell out and it was left bare. It's just seems to be a LOT, but the undercoat is fine, and there is still guard hair as well. That's why i'm asking on here, i'm not concerned enough to take him to the vet, but i am definitely curious... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina77 Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Bump Ohh , Ive been meaning to ask the same question as well ! our ACD is also loosing hair , a few weeks ago I could pull out handfulls , never mind the amount of fur I was sweeping up all day DH kept telling me not to worry and that she's going into her adult coat , she's still fairly bare on the underside and insides of her legs but it looks like she's getting a new coat and going darker as well . so do pups at about 9-11 months change their coat ? Or is this seasonal ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kez Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 It sounds like your pup is "blowing his coat" - the change in the seasons usually causes it, plus getting older & changing coat as they grow out of the "puppy" stage. Gypsy & Eden are blowing their coats at the moment, Kanga isn't because he was in such dreadful condition when he arrived that he "blew" in his first month here... his coat looks great now (have to get the film developed to update his pic in my signature).... the photo of him in my sig was taken 10 days after he arrived, and it was a massive improvement on what he was like when I got him. This is him the morning after he got here (and after his first grooming): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Hi there, speaking from experience with my own GSD's, I would say your pup is going through his first full coat drop. This is very normal and nothing to worry about. To get the process over more quickly, groom him thoroughly every day to remove as much hair as possible. The new coat will not come through until the old coat is all gone. He will look a bit shabby while this is going on, but once his new coat starts to come through, he will look good again. Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusgem Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Welcome to the world of owning a GSD!!!!! They lose heaps of hair when they lose it. My old GSD used to drop her coat so badly it was awlful, so much bloody hair everywhere you went!!! It only happens a few times a year, well it did with meg anyway, and I found brushing helped it and it made her coat look nice, what was left of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Weekly Hydrobaths and a good blow dry with an airforce dryer will help speed the process up, but other than that, Yep welcome to the world of the double coated breeds. I find one of those professional untangler combs with the rotating teeth do a great job removing the dead coat. I can fill my grooming room up with GSD hair really quickly, it always amazes folk how much hair comes out. I travelled a GSD bitch for 2 days in the car with me once as a favour for a friend. Our car had a fabric hood lining, what a mess. I'm sure we had hair blowing out the cars vents for months afterwards. Everything we ate or drank during the trip was hairy I am sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachiie Posted March 30, 2005 Author Share Posted March 30, 2005 Oh thank goodness! I didn't think it was anything to worry about, but (obviously) it's my first time and i was a bit worried. There is so much hair! Rubbish bin fulls! And i do usually groom him every couple of days, so i didn't think he could be loosing it at such a rapid rate. But obviously he can. Well it's been going on for about a week now, so i hope it will finish soon. How long does it usually take? I thought about bathing him again, but i wasn't sure whether frequent bathing would cause him to get itchy skin etc. He is a bit on the nose, and only had a bath last week - is this a result of the shedding as well? Nadia, do you know where i could see a picture of one of those brushes? I don't know what you're talking about. At the moment i just have a brush with the long metal pins on the cushion. But i've just been pulling the hair out with my hands. I figured i'd pull as much out as i can so that i can put it straight in the bin, rather than sweep it off my floor!!! Does anyone have any other tips for a fist time double-coated breed owner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 You'll definately need a rake! As for having a bath last week - was it a home bath or did he have a mobile or goto a groomer? You definately want him to get blow dryed with a decent brushout and it is fun to watch as well because you see all this hair flying away that isn't getting stuck in your carpet. I think these are the combs Nadia mentioned I find I get heaps of undercoat from around the bottom and tail and a lot of guard hairs from underneath (on the belly - but you have to be a little more gentle in this area) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachiie Posted March 30, 2005 Author Share Posted March 30, 2005 It was just a home wash. There were 4 dogs at my parents place over Easter and my dad, my sis, and i lined them all up and washed them. I don't think i'll have to do much to his underside, all the hair seems to be coming from his back from his neck down to his tail. We have tried mobile hydro baths, but the woman that used to come was horrible. She just ran a hose with some sort of detergent over the dog, sprayed some perfume and off you go. We booked Summer in to get a clip, and first of all the woman wanted me to leave the garage unlocked while i was at work all day, so i took the day off so that she could come to clip Sum, then she didn't show up at all! I tried ringing her a number of times and she didn't answer my calls, then rang up the next weekend, no apology for missing our appointment, wondering if we wanted her to come and wash Summer? We told her no, and she hasn't come back since. Unfortunately i don't have $50 to spend getting him professionally groomed at the moment. It's been birthday and easter and anniversary all in the space of a month and i'm broke! Can i just use my blow dryer on him, or is there a special one that groomers use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOE Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Welcome to my world. My house is a huge furball at the moment after 10 hours one way in a car the inside of my car is a furball, I swear it is in my hair and teeth, but that is what brushes and vaccumn cleaners are for. oh the joy of owning a shepherd or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Human hair dryers are too hot for dogs and won't do much on a shepherd anyway. Groomers use high velocity blow dryers that .. uh use a lot of pressure and speed (I don't know how it works, but it definately gets the job done!) Don't worry if you can't afford it, it's not the end of the world if your dog is molting everywhere. A good brush out tends to quicken the process though - in the mean time just keep brushing, brushing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachiie Posted March 30, 2005 Author Share Posted March 30, 2005 (edited) oh the joy of owning a shepherd or two. TWO!? Thank god i don't have more than one. I can't imagine how much hair there would be. I could stop wearing clothes, and just wear all the fur! Oh god, the hours i would spend cleaning if there were more than one.... ETA: That's good news, Vehs. I will brush until my arm falls off. ;) He gives the cutest looks when i brush him Edited March 30, 2005 by rachiie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachiie Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 Sorry to bump this up again, but i just was curious approximately how long Axle will be shedding for? Does it vary with inidividual dogs and the amount of brushing/blow drying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Check out your local vets or larger pet warehouse type places. A couple of places near me let you hyrdobath (and blow dry) your dog for about $8 - $10...might be worth your while Personally i do think it comes down to individual dogs and it depends on what their coat is like etc. And as to how long....i think that's as much up to the dog as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachiie Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 I would reckon that Axle's been shedding for about 2 weeks now. Another question - will it be the same period of time during consequent sheddings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now