 Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
#122903 - 12/31/2006 11:39 PM |
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My 13 month old female GSD has started, what I believe is, "blowing" her coat. I know how much she normally sheds, but in the last four days she has been shedding profusely. I have had to brush her out every day. nothing has changed in her diet, exercise or general daily routine. We got a male chocolate lab puppy at the end of Nov. and things have been good with her adjusting to him(e.g. they get along when they are together-about 30-50 min supervised interaction). She's not going bald by any means, but she is irritated when I've been brushing her out the past 2 days, I know it can't be comfortable. But I don't know what else to do, beyond giving her a bath and see if that helps(not tried yet). If anyone has any ideas, or at least tell me if this is normal for a GSD(blowing coat) I'd love the input.
"Draw freely upon your imagination"
Albert Einstein |
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Re: Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
[Re: Keleah Schmaltz ]
#122913 - 01/01/2007 01:53 AM |
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Is she spayed? ,cause if not she could be starting her heat , some blow their coats before and some after.What is her age?
Long coat or short?
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Re: Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
[Re: Angelique Cadogan ]
#122944 - 01/01/2007 10:52 AM |
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My sable is doing the exact same thing right now. It started a few days ago, and he looks like a mangy coyote. Clumps of undercoat are piling up on top of him and brushing isn't making a difference. He does it twice a year or so...and while annoying, it happens to every sable w/his type of coat that I've ever met. Same here, w/no change in diet at all. I was thinking maybe our VERY mild winter was messing with him...but maybe not, since you're nowhere near me and having the same issue.
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Re: Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
[Re: Jenni Williams ]
#122952 - 01/01/2007 02:04 PM |
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Jenn,
You know I have 3 sables and here in the dry weather, cold, but maybe nothing close to what you guys get , my dogs are not blowing their coats at all.As a matter of fact they were blowing their coats right before october and that was it.Maybe it's a weather thing or a atmosphere thing, I don't know.I know my female blows her coat before her heat but for males, ??
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Re: Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
[Re: Angelique Cadogan ]
#122954 - 01/01/2007 02:56 PM |
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She is not spayed and is 13 months old. She is a sable and I saw the same thing, she started looking like a mangy coyote, random patches of undercoat coming off her. Her coat is short.
I don't thinnk she's starting her heat-she has had one heat prior and she isn't showing any sign that she's going into heat(like she did then-wanting to be near us more often then normal(which is alot already-clingy)and whimpering quite a bit) . Her last heat was in Sept. and happened to be when we went to visit our family in ND. I know that the heat cycle can be anywhere between 4 months to up to a year. I just don't know. Just brushed her out again just minutes ago-not as much hair, but still :P
"Draw freely upon your imagination"
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Re: Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
[Re: Keleah Schmaltz ]
#122957 - 01/01/2007 03:13 PM |
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My Border Collie bitch would blow her coat about two months after being in heat. Her last heat cycle before she was spayed, she went through false pregnancy. When she blew her coat after that, I almost thought she wouldn't have any left the way she was shedding - and this was in the middle of Dec in MI! She looked absolutely awful for a month or so until her hair started to grow back in.
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Re: Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
[Re: Mara Jessup ]
#123045 - 01/02/2007 07:46 AM |
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GSDs shed a lot normally. However, 2 female GSDs I had would have massive blowing of their coats. One was spayed, the other was not. I could literally pull out chunks of undercoat with my hands. The chunks appeared daily for a time, then subsided into regular shedding. The spayed female, interestingly enough, had the worse case - a full bag of undercoat chunks in one sitting, from pulling it out with my hands to brushing the rest out with a shedding blade and a brush.
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Re: Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
[Re: Sandy Moore ]
#123053 - 01/02/2007 09:00 AM |
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Both of our GSD's "blow coat" about twice per year. Here's how the timing works..... You think they are in great shape, so you send in your entry and fee for an event. Two weeks before the event, they start blowing coat just in time to be about "bald" for the event itself. 
Beth
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Re: Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
[Re: Sandy Moore ]
#123054 - 01/02/2007 09:07 AM |
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All of my dogs blow coat about twice a year, males and females. I live in the south so don't have much of a winter.
It has been my experience that unspayed bitches usually shed 2-3 months after estrus. As a rule of thumb about the time they would be weaning puppies.
Right now there is dog fur all over everything in my house and I can count on having it hanging all over my clothes when I go somewhere!
The Furminator works great to hurry it along!
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Re: Is it normal for GSD to 'blow' coat?
[Re: Debbie High ]
#123112 - 01/02/2007 04:25 PM |
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The Furminator works great to hurry it along!
AMEN to getting a Furminator !!! Life with an Akita & a Borzoi in the house would be impossible otherwise <:-O
How anyone can live without a dog is beyond me... |
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