# What does "completely out of coat" mean?



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

I was talking to a local dog owner and he said his adult GSD is "completely out of coat".
Not knowing what he was talking about, I just looked at him, and said "oh yeah", that's good... LOL

What the heck was he talking about?

I live in the Northeast, and I'm not sure about the different coats for each season.
I'd like to hear about that too.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

When the dog blows coat and has shed out completely. The dog is "out of coat"


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

qbchottu said:


> When the dog blows coat and has shed out completely. The dog is "out of coat"


I figured that much...
But the dog is obviously not bald 

What are the differences in appearance?

Do they get fluffier in winter?


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

Blowing coat is when the undercoat is shed out. Usually during hot weather and for summer months. For example, my dogs have had hardly any coat this year because it's been so hot. Coat isn't coming in. During colder weather, the undercoat will come in nice and thick. The dog will appear full, and substantial. You want your dog in coat if you are showing for example.

It generally occurs during Spring and the Fall. So if the weather is right and the dog isn't too much of an inside dog, a dog will shed 2x a year. Outside dogs tend to have nice thick coats when it gets colder and follow the seasonal cycle more so than inside dogs. Females will usually blow coat before they go into heat. It generally takes 8 weeks after blowing coat for the undercoat to come in again. Unless say it's unseasonably warm like this summer, in which case the coat doesn't come in well.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

My dogs never seem to be completely out of coat! I personally like a sleeker look now and then. I think the out of coat thing is more for the showline crowd, they like a thick coat for showing? Maybe I'm wrong. Or females after a heat cycle are not in good coat, that is when I hear it as well.

My sable lightens up in the Winter months as the tan undercoat gets really thick. Here are some of Karlo....winter, spring and summer/differences in coat and color. The last one is of him 'out of coat' but I like it better, he looks much sleeker:


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Thanks for explaining.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

Also, some of this is genetic as well. Some dogs have nice thick heavy coats and others will have tight thin coats. Conformation people tend to favor heavier, substantial coats. Sometimes dogs won't be shown because they are out of coat and looking funky. Females will blow coat before they go in season.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Onyx my bi-color always has a tight sleek coat, seldom gets much of an undercoat. She never blew her coat til she was almost 2. Kacie my long stock coat is blowing hers again right now....getting ready to get the winter coat in? Makes me wonder where all that hair comes from-it must be hard to produce so much constantly!


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

Honestly, I am not sure I could tell when Scarlett is or is NOT in coat. It's just a lot of hair all the time! Right now, she is beginning to look like a wooly mammoth, so I assume that is her winter look. She will get a little moth eaten looking in early spring and it starts all over again. Our GSD/Husky mix was VERY obviously in or out of coat. Scarlett, probably because she is a standard long coat, is MUCH harder to guage. My house is infested with dog hair year round. I even had a sign made to announce that to unsuspecting visitors. So far, it has not kept any away.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Just curious... Do the dogs have a leaner appearance during this period? Is it noticeable?


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## TriadGSD (Feb 19, 2011)

my Boy sheds constantly glad i have all hardwood floors. but seeing how much hair sheds off a week is alot... My friend's Malinos blew her coat and if she didnt brush her you see hair blotches on her thighs.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I think the structure shows better when they are 'out of coat'/one reason I like that sleeker appearance.
I've seen some dogs with skinny tails. My dogs have pretty plush tails and they stay that way even when blowing coat.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Here's a photo of my "completely out of coat" girl. She was what I referred to as "rat tailed naked", lol.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

dogfaeries said:


> Here's a photo of my "completely out of coat" girl. She was what I referred to as "rat tailed naked", lol.


LOL...

Does she fluff up for winter?


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

She's not spayed (show dog), so she blows coat twice a year, and then also about 6 weeks before going into heat. So it goes back and forth a lot, lol.

She doesn't have a full fluffy coat to begin with (like my other girl) - it's dense but short. Here's a photo of her _with_ coat:


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

dogfaeries said:


> She's not spayed (show dog), so she blows coat twice a year, and then also about 6 weeks before going into heat. So it goes back and forth a lot, lol.
> 
> She doesn't have a full fluffy coat to begin with (like my other girl) - it's dense but short. Here's a photo of her _with_ coat:


OMG... I didn't realize who your dog was.
What a stunner.
Beautiful.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Thank you! She's a really fun dog.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> The last one is of him 'out of coat' but I like it better, he looks much sleeker:


Some dogs look like this when they're *in* coat! I wouldn't guess this dog was out of coat, he still has a bushy tail, and you can still see substantial undercoat. He looks well groomed.

Dogs kept primarily indoors tend to shed a little bit all the time, and if spayed or neutered they tend to keep coat. Dogs kept outdoors will grow thick winter coats, and blow coat in chunks during spring/summer. And yes they do look leaner when they're out of coat, but it's only because the coat is thinner, not because the dog is thinner.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

I know when I had American breds they made a big deal about a thick coat before I showed Zena.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> My sable lightens up in the Winter months as the tan undercoat gets really thick.


Jane, that's interesting, because Shasta looks lighter when she's out of coat. Should I chalk that up, again, to the difference between a sable and a patterned sable?


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