Dog Shedding: An Introduction

If you are a dog owner, one of the many facts about your dog that you are simply going to have to live with is that your dog sheds. Almost every variety of dog sheds hair, unless it is a completely hairless dog, much like the American Hairless terrier. The shedding may vary from light to heavy depending upon the breed of the dog and the kind of coat he has.

Dogs shed hair for two reasons primarily. One is the temperature. The fur on the body of the dog is meant to insulate him. When the temperature is cold, the dog needs a heavier coat to protect himself against the cold and as a result, his coat is thicker when the weather is cold. When the temperature rises, however, a heavy coat of fur becomes a liability and a source of discomfort for the dog. It needs to shed the excess hair on his body to allow the skin to breath and to prevent his body from overheating, which can lead to other problems like dehydration.

The other reasons dog shed hair is to remove dead and unwanted skin cells from their bodies, just like all other creatures, including humans. In the case of humans, dead skin cells ret removed from the body in the form of nails and hair on the head or face, in the case of men, which grows in length. The fur of the dog cannot grow beyond a certain length depending upon the breed of the dog. Since dead skin cells cannot be removed through growing length of hair, it happens by complete replacement of their hair. As your dog sheds hair, it is removing the excessive dead skin cells on his body and it soon gets replaced by a fresh coat for the new season.

Some breeds of dog, especially those found in colder parts of the world, are known to have double coats of fur. They have a much softer undercoat and on top of that, there is a much coarser overcoat. This overcoat is thick and has relatively longer hair and its primary purpose is to protect the dog from cold weather and snow. These breeds of dogs, most notably, the Siberian Husky or the Great Pyrenees, are known to shed profusely and regularly. They shed their coats twice a year, once in spring and then again in fall. Such excessive shedding that occurs twice a year is known as ‘blowing coat.’

Some other breeds of dogs seem to shed hair all year long. This phenomenon is caused by the domestication of dogs. Dogs that spend most of their time indoors get acclimatized to the more insulated temperature indoor and their bodies have the right amount of fur to suit that temperature. However, every time the dog goes in and out of the house, there is huge gap in the temperature and the body of the dog has to readjust to this temperature change constantly. This is the most common cause that leads to dog shedding all year long.