Dog question ?

[trailertrash]

My wife has a dog that is around 1 1/2 years old don't know the breed because it showed up on the porch one day in a box, looks to be a spitz/ heinz mix. All of a sudden the hair seems to be just falling off this critter in clumps but you can't see any bald spots like mange and the animal seems to be healthy as ever, no attitude change , no change in eating habits or anything as far as we can tell , since this site seems to have everything from airline pilots to serious farmers I thought I'd see what kind of ideas I could get from here without dropping a couple of hundred for a vet .

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Check with Boondox (Pete). He has dogs and is very involved in a Golden Retriever rescue group. I'd bet if he doesn't know, he'll know where you can find out.

 

[kokopelli2]

chances are that the dog is shedding off season. i had a huskey that did this every year. she didnt shed until june. or it could be that with the cool sumer the dog didnt need to shed, but now the body wants to get ready for this cold winter that is coming.

i hope its as simple as that.

 

[TimSullivan]

If it is the soft or spiraled under coat, then the dog is just shedding. I had a German Shepherd that would dump his under coat every August. Some dogs just shed in the fall too.

 

[Boondox]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Gary /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

We call it "blowing coat." It happens at regular intervals (seasonal) and sometimes unexpectedly due to stress or change in environment. Nothing at all to worry about. Just get a good shedding brush and have at it. Oh, and watch for matts. Comb or cut them away as necessary.

Pete

 

[trailertrash]

Thanks everyone I knew I could count on this forum

 

[dmccarty]

My German Sheppard, aka The German Shedder blows her coat
twice a year, spring and fallish. I just use my hands to rub her
coat when I get the morning paper. The hair just falls out in
clumps. I leave it in the yard and the tree rats and birds use the fur to build nests. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It can help to give the dog a bath. That seems to cause the
loose hair to really fall out.

Later,
Dan

 

[TOMLESCOEQUIP]

I inheirited a husky/ black lab mix from my sister when they moved to florida. His hair would come out in clumps in different times over every summer( I mean lots and lots of it ). I would brush him several times a day when this happened. Once I got out an old( "IE"not very powerful) shop vac to clean up and used it to follow the brush as I removed his excess hair. It startled him the 1st time I did it but it must have felt like an all-over body message to him because every time I vaccumned the car out after that the dog would come running over to me and start whining until he got another vaccumn brushing!!! That Dog was my best friend for 14 years ...........He outlasted my other relationships ( 5 women......................1 Dog.............Tom

 

[TimSullivan]

The smartest dog I ever had was a Husky/Lab mix. She would open doors and let herself into or out of the house. It was always fun grabbing a wet door handle.

When I brushed her I would get a bushel basket of fine Husky under coat. She also liked the shop vac massage and the blow drier. We lost her 12 years ago and she will always be missed.