Preventing hair loss in dogs. Heavy shedding in dogs Heavy shedding in puppies

Any family with a dog has encountered the phenomenon of shedding.

How to deal with it, how to make it painless for your pet and not annoying for your household? Let's figure it out.

Shedding is a natural process of shedding and renewing fur that occurs with any animal that has a “fur coat.” For many owners, this is unpleasant, but they have to put up with it, because domestic dogs shed all the time.

When does dogs shed? It usually takes place in spring and autumn. Nature did not choose this time by chance - animals change their cover to a warmer one in the fall, and to a sparser and thinner one in the spring.

Puppies molt between the ages of three and ten months, shedding their delicate down.

Frequency and duration

So, as mentioned above, major molting occurs twice a year:

• in spring;
• in the fall.

How long does it take for dogs to shed? Difficult period usually takes two to three weeks, provided that the animal is healthy. IN in rare cases Shedding will take four to five weeks and this may be completely normal for a particular breed. Don’t rush to worry - everything is individual.

Features for different types

The following are distinguished: coat types:

• short smooth straight line ( , );
• regular wild ( , );
• fluffy long silky (,);
• hard ( , );
• atypical exotic (,).

Owners of short fur coats cause a lot of trouble. Get ready for hundreds of small needles in furniture and clothing.

Dogs with regular fur also shed, but it is softer and clumps into easy-to-clean clumps.

Pets with thick hair long hair shed permanently.

That is, keep in mind that hairy sofas and hairs in dishes will stay in your life for a long time. Such dogs need to be combed constantly.

What dogs don't shed? Owners of wire-haired pets can be congratulated - such breeds do not shed their hair! Their cover is not always easy to comb; there is no guarantee against the appearance of tangles. For example, endowed with hair that is not subject to shedding and only requires trimming twice a year and regular brushing. Maybe that's why these brave kids?

Care during shedding period

The best method of care is to comb the dog.

Comb your friend with a special massage comb for animals. Do this regularly and be patient. The pet will get great pleasure from the process. And you will enjoy stroking the soft and pleasant to the touch fur.

A hair dryer compressor helps a lot, blowing dead particles from the animal’s skin.

First, bathe your pet using shampoo and conditioner, then dry it with a hairdryer and comb it with a brush or a special rubber glove.

This procedure is not only a relaxing massage for your pet, but also effective disposal from fur sticking to everything.

What to do to prevent your dog from shedding? First of all, the cause of the pathology should be determined. If an animal constantly sheds its fur, it may be caused by: internal diseases, and external factors, including the environment, poor nutrition and a lifestyle in an apartment that is not typical for a dog.

Here is a list of popular medications, including vitamins and dietary supplements that nourish the dog’s body, help normalize the molting process:

• Nutricoat;
• 8 in 1;
• Eskimo Oil;
• Excel;
• Wolmar Winsome Pro Bio Pro Hair.

If your pet sheds too much or at the wrong time, you should be concerned.

It is possible that the animal is sick. You should not put off visiting the veterinarian.

Make and analyze a list of foods you feed your pet. Give four-legged friend vitamins or .

Shedding in dogs - It’s a natural thing, that’s why it’s common. They quickly get used to it and perceive it as snow in winter. The main thing is to care for the animal, comb it and monitor its nutrition.

Additionally, watch a short video about the process of hair renewal in dogs:

Shedding is the annual process of natural hair change. Normally, it is carried out twice a year, most often in spring and autumn. The intensity of molting depends on many factors: health status, living conditions, age, feeding diet, etc.

Winter shedding in dogs

The reason for untimely molting may be large number reasons, both the simplest and those complicated by several factors at once. If a dog sheds in winter, this is a cause for concern among owners, although in some cases this process considered normal.

It may be normal for some animals to shed at other times of the year. For example, dogs with very rich skins or those kept outdoors often wait for the onset of persistent cold weather and then begin to change their summer coat.

TO simple reasons Why a dog sheds in winter can also be attributed to age-related shedding. Regardless of the temperature outside, puppy fluff changes to adult wool. Same age loss coat occurs in old individuals, although in this case it most often becomes year-round. Such permanent molting occurs in almost all animals living in the house, which is due to a significant difference in temperature and humidity in the apartment and outside.

Another reason may be the stress the dog is experiencing. Many owners have encountered a situation where the pet literally begins to “crumble.” This condition depends only on the duration and severity stressful situation, and can appear at any time of the year.

To more complex cases Winter molting can be attributed to certain diseases. For example, when hormonal imbalances, demodicosis, vitamin deficiency, etc.

Can dogs develop bald spots from the cold?

As such, cold does not affect hair loss. Most often, the opposite happens - as the temperature drops, dogs begin to actively become covered with thick hair. The only exceptions are cases of frostbite, when tissue begins to deteriorate due to necrosis. hair follicles. In this case, dogs may develop bald spots.

When an animal begins to shed profusely, it itches, this becomes a real problem for the owner. Wool flies in the air, sticks to furniture, sticks to carpets, and during the whole process, there is a lot of it. In this article, we will tell you about this process, difficult for humans, but necessary for dogs, why and when it happens. Or maybe this is a sign of illness?

[Hide]

What is shedding in dogs?

The process of changing hair is called molting. What can dog shedding tell experienced owners? For many professional dog owners, this process can tell what condition an animal is in. By looking at the fur coat, you can conclude whether the animal is sick or whether it is healthy and well cared for.

Shedding periods

There are planned and unplanned molting periods. The plan includes autumn period and spring - twice a year. We will now dwell on each of them in more detail.

Sorry, there are no surveys available at this time.

Spring molt

In the spring, the first planned change of hairline begins. At this time, the animal is preparing for the upcoming summer heat and changes its very dense winter coat to a lighter one. Depending on the characteristics of a particular animal, the process can take about two weeks.

While shedding old fur, the pet constantly itches and leaves large balls of fur throughout the home. Help your animal get rid of excess hair by brushing your dog with a special brush, which you can buy at any store. Your pet will be very grateful to you, and there won’t be much hair on furniture and clothes.

Autumn molt

Typically, the second time a year when an animal changes its fur occurs in the fall. Unlike spring molting, in autumn, the pet, on the contrary, warms itself up for the upcoming cold weather. The dog grows thicker and more matted fur, the coat becomes very dense to protect the animal from the cold and frost of the coming winter. In order for the fur coat to be very dense after molting and shine in the sun, it needs proper care in the process of molting.

1. Combing the fur with a special brush.
2. Visits to the dog groomer (if necessary).
3. Visit to the vet (if you feel something is wrong).

Molting out of season

Due to a combination of some factors and reasons, it also happens that the four-legged animal continues to shed its old fur after the planned molting season, throughout the year. This may be due to several reasons, which we will discuss below.

Causes of off-season shedding

Usually, a coat change is expected before significant warming or cooling twice during the year. If the animal lives in a very warm house, next to heating devices, the process of flowing from spring to autumn molting may occur. Due to the fact that the conditions in the house are different from natural conditions habitat, including temperature, molting can last all year round. In addition, the animal may shed during periods of vitamin deficiencies, estrus or other hormonal imbalances.

It also happens that behind an unscheduled molt there is some kind of serious illness. Out-of-season hair loss may be associated with many diseases that may only begin to manifest themselves in the animal’s body, or may not cause any symptoms at all. visible symptoms. First of all, the fur reacts to a malfunction in the body.

If the animal is constantly itching, but does not have fleas, then pay attention to the fur coat. You can tell by the condition of the fur whether your pet is sick or not. Still, what should you do if your dog sheds a lot and you are concerned about its health?

How to solve the problem with out-of-season shedding

If your pet continues to shed heavily, then you should make sure that it is not normal seasonal shedding. Seasonal molting is not accompanied by skin irritations; the animal itches, but this happens without pain, there are no bald patches, the fur does not feel rough.

If you do not observe any signs of the disease, but your pet is shedding, you can do the following:

1. Do not place your pet's sleeping place too close to heating devices.
   Ventilate the room. Inflow fresh air Helps reduce temperature and increase fresh air flow.
2. Take your dog for walks regularly. Regardless of the weather and time of year, the dog should walk and experience emotions every day.
3. Regular physical activity. This will help your pet stay in good mood, thereby moving away from depressive habits. This is why it is important to play with the animal.

If, nevertheless, your fears that your pet has health problems have not passed, then under no circumstances self-medicate. You don't professional doctor and you can only make it worse. The most best solution If a problem arises, contact an experienced veterinarian. He will examine the animal, take everything necessary tests and will appoint correct treatment. In this case, the pet will again shine with its beautiful coat, and you will be calm.

Video “Shedding in dogs”

This short video will give you a quick overview of shedding and how it happens.

05/07/2017 by Evgeniy

There are a number of artificially bred breeds that are not susceptible to seasonal shedding. These dogs were specially selected by selective breeding and bred for people who are allergic to animal fur, but who dream of pet. These breeds include maltese dog, Tibetan Terrier, Yorkshire Terriers, poodles, Irish spaniel. But when purchasing a pet of a non-shedding breed, you should know that this in no way relieves the owner of the problems of caring for the puppy’s coat. The point is that if ordinary dogs While the fur is renewed on its own and requires intensive combing only at the time of shedding, in non-shedding breeds (especially long-haired ones) the fur begins to curl and become tangled. Therefore, such dogs require regular brushing and trimming.

Excessive hair loss: causes

First, you need to figure out what heavy shedding in a dog means. Hair loss in winter can be called abnormal, especially in December and autumn. It is not at all difficult to check whether excessive shedding is taking place - by wetting your hand and running it along the withers. More than 10 hairs (not fluff) are considered abnormal.

Very intense hair loss over three weeks also falls under the category of deviations.

Dogs living in apartments, especially rare breeds, often suffer from a number of diseases, which primarily affect the condition of the coat.

Methods to combat severe hair loss

If you notice intense lint loss in your pet, you need to observe its behavior. If the dog behaves calmly, does not itch, does not whine, the membrane of the eyes is normal pink color most likely this is typical allergy. In this case, veterinarians recommend a course of detoxification (of course, if a food reaction is suspected). This course involves feeding the dog 1% kefir for 10 days.

Don't worry that your pet will lose weight or that this diet won't be enough for him. After the end of the diet, one component at a time, other products must be introduced. For example, 11-22 days - beef (chicken), 13-14 - you can add cereal to the meat. More simple
The way to determine what exactly a dog is allergic to is to undergo a special test in veterinary clinic, but, unfortunately, not every doctor has the necessary equipment.

To keep your dog's coat healthy, it is necessary to balance its diet. Vitamins A and E have a positive effect on the condition of the coat. You should not get carried away with synthetic analogues of these substances; to normalize the animal’s metabolism, it is enough to add 1 teaspoon olive oil in porridge (food), and also introduce carrots into the diet.