# Blowing Coat in the Winter?



## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

As most of you Circe is my new girl that a bought in October of this year :wub:. She is 3 years old and currently training with me in PSA. I feed her Canidae in the AM and PM. She heathly and gets plenty of exercise. Before I had bought her she was kept out in a kennel now she is a happy inside dog. 

Now for the question. When I got her she was blowing coat in October it's now Decemember and she isn't shedding as much. She went from a "fluffy plush" to more of stock coat? Or summer type of coat. I would have liked to tought that she would have kept a plushier coat in the winter and a thin coat in the summer.....

Why is this happening?  Is this a normal thing? My my male Otto has a stock coat he doesn't shed as much Circe. He does blow his coat twice a year. He coat is longer/fuller now than it is in the summer time. 

Please someone please help explain this mystery.......


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I don't know, but Kopper is shedding like crazy. He's also going from more fluffy to more sleek. I keep trying to explain to him that it's December and he needs to be keeping his coat, but he won't listen. Rocky blew his coat in Summer like a sensible dog.


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## SamanthaBrynn (Sep 2, 2011)

Callie is blowing her coat, but I think it's because she's 7 mos and losing her puppy coat? I'm not really sure. I'm new at this. There's hair everywhere!! I vacuum daily.


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

This is just strange to me that they do that?!?!
Hello it's 40 degrees out today.....


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

SamanthaBrynn said:


> Callie is blowing her coat, but I think it's because she's 7 mos and losing her puppy coat? I'm not really sure. I'm new at this. There's hair everywhere!! I vacuum daily.


I vaccum to daily.... I find it cute, surprisingly when it find hair on my desk at work. Yes I can even tell when it's a Circe hair or an Otto hair. I think to my self... "Awww my fur babies!" :wub:


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Gryffon always has a major shedding episode this time of year. Shedding out the summer coat as the winter coat comes in. Seems to shed more profusely through the winter shed than the summer shed - go figure!


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Moses is blowing right now too but he has a really heavy plush coat. Is she spayed? If not females tend to blow coat several weeks before going into heat.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Is she spayed? If she's intact she may have blown coat before coming into heat and she'll look naked for a while til it grows back.


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

No not spayed. I was told by a person at the my club last night some thing ineresting. That could be factual! 

She said that when she first got her female blk sable plush coat GSD (Looks like Circe's twin). She was a kennel dog from over seas. She said her female blew her coat alot at first then it stayed more stock like. She freaked and thought some thing was wrong. She made an appointment to vist her vet. She told by her vet that alot of kennel dogs that become inside dogs lose alot of that thick undercoat that was protecting them from the elements of being outside. Now they are indoor their bodies have adjusted and don't need all the extract protection. Hmmmmm..... I thought. So I wonder..... Thats why I thought I ask on here....

Why do they lose their coats before going into heat?


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

It's hormonal. Gilda has a beautiful coat and a month or so before she goes into heat she blows it big time and looks awful! Fortunately it starts coming right back in shortly thereafter. She looks like a totally different dog after blowing.


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

That's what I see...... looks very different. Her last heat was in June I think? I was told she was irregular as well. So mabe she might be about to go into heat.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Yes I'd think it's likely she's coming into heat. For my dogs it starts a month or 2 before coming into heat. Kessy has a fairly short coat anyway and after she's blown her coat she looks NAKED and her coat will look dull for a while.


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

Jazz started blowing his coat again too. I'm in Ottawa, Ontario so this is bizarre to me since there's snow on the ground! Last winter he lost a lot of his plush too so I guess this is just what he does. Weird though. I just spent 20 minutes brushing him and got a bag full of fur. Hopefully that helps because I'm really tired of my carpet being covered.


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## SamanthaBrynn (Sep 2, 2011)

DanielleOttoMom said:


> I vaccum to daily.... I find it cute, surprisingly when it find hair on my desk at work. Yes I can even tell when it's a Circe hair or an Otto hair. I think to my self... "Awww my fur babies!" :wub:


That happened to me just today lol. It was a Callie hair on my desk. lol


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

DanielleOttoMom said:


> I vaccum to daily.... I find it cute, surprisingly when it find hair on my desk at work. Yes I can even tell when it's a Circe hair or an Otto hair. I think to my self... "Awww my fur babies!" :wub:


When I look down at my nice black jacket and see white and silver fur all over it, I usually think, f**k!


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Siren is blowing coat like crazy, has been for a couple of weeeks. She has a coat blowing episode in the summer and winter. Not the best time of year for it IMO as it is in the teens at night and mid to low 20s during the day!

She is due to come in heat next month. But by then her coat will have grown back in.


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

Well its great to I'm not the only GSD owner wondering why they blow their coats in the winter into stock/ summer coat. I guess I'm also dealing with the early signs of Circe's heat coming on. I learn some thing new every day. I still wish I could find the true reason behind females losing there plushly coat before they go into heat....... just courius.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

I wouldn't think Texas gets cold enough winters to warrant a thick GSD coat. Even up in Wisconsin, my GSDs don't get "real" winter coats because they are inside most of the time (just go outside to play). Mine usually blow coat in January.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Hi - dogs shed their coat with changes in daylight hours - which is why fur farms have artificial longer periods of dark. Most pets live in cycles of artificially longer periods of light Why Pets Shed and How to Keep Fur From Flying - Paw Nation

Why Dogs Shed in the Winter at Deshedding Dogs - Furminators and More!

It has little to do with temperature .

If the dog has had a change in diet , let's say from kibble to raw , or a much improved plane of nutrition, then often there is a casting off of the old and the improved new hair coat coming in.

Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

Thanks for the info Carmen I will look into the links attached.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Lucky is blowing right now and Daisy will start as soon as he is done of course. Thanks Carmen for the links.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

Years ago, my dogs blew their coats in the spring and again in the fall, usually in Sept -Oct. Now they wait until December. Don't know if it's the changing weather patterns (we had a hot dry summer followed by a very warm dry fall with almost no cloudy days) or what......... but this year it's been plain awful. Tons of hair all over the place and unrelenting - just when you think you have hit bottom it starts again. No changes in diet - they've been raw fed for years - or anything else I can think of. I need a new vacuum cleaner.......
___________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## mtmarabianz (Jan 7, 2010)

Anja1Blue said:


> Years ago, my dogs blew their coats in the spring and again in the fall, usually in Sept -Oct. Now they wait until December. Don't know if it's the changing weather patterns (we had a hot dry summer followed by a very warm dry fall with almost no cloudy days) or what......... but this year it's been plain awful. Tons of hair all over the place and unrelenting - just when you think you have hit bottom it starts again. No changes in diet - they've been raw fed for years - or anything else I can think of. I need a new vacuum cleaner.......
> ___________________________________________
> Susan
> 
> ...


Same Here, Anja1Blue!

Last year she blew her coat in January, -10 degrees; 
rite now she started blowing coat last week = tons of fur, vaccum dailey, ect. & we have 40's in December???!!!!!!!!!!!
Raw fed for years.

& I also agree, use to shed spring & fall; 
but now can not help but wonder also about weather patterns.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

I see a lot of dogs who blow their coats in winter; just yesterday I groomed an Aussie who had clumps coming out as though it were June. I had just groomed her in August, so I know it isn't old coat from last summer that was still hanging on.

Like Carmen said, it is more an effect of lighting than it is of temperature. Dogs that spend a lot of time indoors tend to shed year-round; I have a GSD that I groom every six weeks, and every six weeks he sheds like there's no tomorrow, regardless of the time of year. Corgis are the worst year-round shedders I have ever seen, probably because they are smallish dogs that generally live indoors as housepets. GSDs come in at #2.


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## mtmarabianz (Jan 7, 2010)

Freestep said:


> I see a lot of dogs who blow their coats in winter; just yesterday I groomed an Aussie who had clumps coming out as though it were June. I had just groomed her in August, so I know it isn't old coat from last summer that was still hanging on.
> 
> Like Carmen said, it is more an effect of lighting than it is of temperature. Dogs that spend a lot of time indoors tend to shed year-round; I have a GSD that I groom every six weeks, and every six weeks he sheds like there's no tomorrow, regardless of the time of year. Corgis are the worst year-round shedders I have ever seen, probably because they are smallish dogs that generally live indoors as housepets. GSDs come in at #2.


 
Indoor dogs vs outdoor dogs in regard to shedding, agree somewhat, but think that has more to do with the coat density.

My GSD has never been a year round shedder. Maybe diet, raw fed has alot to do with this.

When she sheds, she sheds, then no real need to brush in-between.
As of the last few years, this has been Spring/Fall & Dec/Jan Blown coat.

Lighting, ok; but the odd weather I am sure is also felt by dogs!!
Warmer winters, shedding dogs? I'm sure the 40's today & this month, in N. Indiana/S. Michigan play a part.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

mtmarabianz said:


> My GSD has never been a year round shedder. Maybe diet, raw fed has alot to do with this.


My own dogs are not terrible shedders either, but they do spend a fair amount of time outdoors. When they blow coat, it's pretty bad for a few weeks, but the time in between isn't terrible. Vinca, the yearling pup, is raw fed, and Luka, 10 years old is mainly kibble-fed. Luka was raised on raw until she was about 7; I switched her to kibble because she couldn't keep weight on with raw. I didn't notice a difference in her shedding after the change, so I am not certain how much raw vs. kibble effects shedding.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

the dog can be indoors - with lights off as if it were outdoors and the same thing will happen . Changes in daylight hours creates hormonal changes which also brings on "heat" breeding seasons.


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## krystyne73 (Oct 13, 2010)

Meika is coat blowing too, in fact, on Christmas eve my son was enjoying "de-fluffing" her. It is a little weird for this cold weather.


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## LukasGSD (May 18, 2011)

Once it got cold, Jaxon started shedding like crazy, not so bad now that I've brushed it away.
I could swear that Lukas doesn't even have an undercoat because I could brush him any time during the year and only get a very small amount of hair actually come off. But he looks really good and shiney in the winter and then when summer comes around he looks like **** and balds a bit then grows back.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

mtmarabianz said:


> Indoor dogs vs outdoor dogs in regard to shedding, agree somewhat, but think that has more to do with the coat density.
> 
> My GSD has never been a year round shedder. Maybe diet, raw fed has alot to do with this.
> 
> ...


Mother Nature went for the steady constant, which is photosensitivity, not temperature. Carmspack is dead on. The light changing is what causes outdoor animals to grow and shed coats. It's called a photoperiodic response.


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