# Shedding in Long Coats



## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

Kyleigh is 17 months old today, and the colder weather is starting to kick in. 

EVERYONE (and I do mean EVERYONE) told me when I got her that she would shed like crazy. She was born May 30, 2011. Her first winter people told me, oh, long coats don't get their "full coat" until they're a year old. 

OK, sounds weird, but hey ... I'm not worried / concerned, just curious. 

So, she's got a lovely coat (not like you can tell from my avatar, but if you look in my album, I've got some nice pics of her), but she barely sheds. 

I brush her every day, and she swims most days (sigh, even last night) - would the swimming / brushing every day be enough to stop her from the "shedding horrors" I've heard so much about?


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

It's the exact opposite of what most people think, but imo, I think LC shed less than stock coats. So she is not shedding because she just doesn't shed that much. People just hyped you up based on the misconception of the "long" coat. For some reason, people think LC must shed like a Golden or something.


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

I asked in a thread a long time ago whether or not LC's shed less, and it seemed that the concensus was "Yes" they do. Although there were a few groomers that came on and said that that was untrue, they shed just as much.
My last GSD was a stock coat and I swear I would brush her every couple of days and get a whole bag full of fur. 
I barely get a couple of brushfuls with Bear, but his is not as coated as some I have seen.


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

My stock coat sheds heavily year round whereas my LC seems to blow coat twice a year with minimal shedding in between.


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

I forgot a question ... will she get a "thicker" coat in the winter? Or is it just ... who knows? LOL

Thanks for the replies so far ... I'm really liking my choice of LC over SC now!!!


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

Kyleigh said:


> I forgot a question ... will she get a "thicker" coat in the winter? Or is it just ... who knows? LOL
> 
> Not sure, Bear's is still coming in.
> 
> Thanks for the replies so far ... I'm really liking my choice of LC over SC now!!!


Me too!


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

The thing that sheds is the undercoat...the main reason long coats aren't preferred is because they have a smaller/less dense undercoat. Some actually don't even have an undercoat which makes them much more susceptible to the elements.

This is the same reason why they tend to shed less. They don't have the same amount of fur to turn over. But...I did notice it took my dog until a mature spring to really show his ability to shed. Two years ago he was 8 months old in the spring and didn't shed at all. This year...you don't wanna know.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

I disagree. My long coat, which is not as long as some I've seen, (but still long), builds up a very good winter coat (even as a puppy he did). And he said this spring, all of it ---I had to brush and brush him and bathe him at the end of June to finish removing it. Right now he is growing his thick winter coat back in. I do believe it depends on how far north you live, because light affects the coat build more than temperature. 

And I find him to shed much less than my short haired lab did.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Kyleigh said:


> I brush her every day, and she swims most days (sigh, even last night) - would the swimming / brushing every day be enough to stop her from the "shedding horrors" I've heard so much about?


Daily brushing will dramatically decrease the amount of hair the dog drops all over the place.

Everyone says that longcoats naturally shed less. As a professional groomer and having seen many long and short coated GSDs, I can confidently say that, as a general rule, longcoats shed just as much. Short coats *seem* to shed more because the hair falls off more readily (all over the place), whereas longer coats tend to trap and hold the shedding hair. Then, if not brushed out, it turns into mats.

When I get a coatie up on my drying table and turn the force dryer on him, the amount of dead, packed-in undercoat that blasts out is incredible. When the dog comes in, at first glance he doesn't look like he's in bad shape--but get right down to the skin, and there's a dense layer of undercoat sitting there waiting to come out. It just needs more coaxing than a short coat would, and it can be a LOT of work to get that undercoat out from under the topcoat. I'm getting tired just thinking about it.

Of course, all dogs are individuals and some shed more than others, regardless of coat length.


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