Alice White
Dogs need shedding to completely or partially change the coat and top layers of the skin. How many times a year does this happen? The norm is twice, in autumn and spring. With this process, the epidermis is also renewed along with the wool, it thickens, becomes loose.
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German Shepherd Shedding
Before figuring out when a German shepherd sheds, you need to understand the types of this process. There are 3 types of coat change in total:
Age Molting
Occurs in puppies where the primary soft hair falls out and grows stiffer and more spinous. At what age does this happen? The process begins at 4 months and lasts up to a year of life.
Seasonal Change
It happens all year round. In summer, shepherd dogs walk in short hair with fine hairs (for high thermal conductivity). In winter, they grow long and thick fur. Molting begins in spring and autumn.
Compensatory Hair Change
Aimed at renewing damaged hair. It happens all the time, but its intensity is low. Hair replacement occurs throughout the body, including the muzzle and legs, although this is not always noticeable.
When the German Shepherd Sheds
With an unbalanced diet, molting can occur in a shepherd dog for years.
Puppies molt from four months and last up to a year.
Usually, the owners do not notice this, since the puppy’s coat is short and soft.
An adult pet renews its coat 2 times a year, this happens when the temperature and the length of the day change.
Please note that molting can take a long time if the pet lives in an apartment since in this case, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog is in the same conditions all year round. After all, the temperature and lighting in the apartment do not change. However, seasonality is respected, it just starts and fades away smoothly, which may give the impression that the shepherd sheds heavily all year round.
How Does German Shepherd Molt
Normally, the dog sheds very much for 1-2 weeks, although in pets the process can take 2-3 weeks. To speed it up, you need to comb out the shepherd’s coat and wash it regularly. It will also help get rid of tangles – hairballs that can irritate dogs’ skin. In addition, the procedure will reduce the likelihood of infection with skin and hair parasites.
Why does the German Shepherd shed in December? Most likely, the matter is in not cold enough weather; the high temperature in the apartment also delays the change of wool.
If everything is in order with the environmental conditions, then perhaps the matter is in heat. Bitches often shed in front of her. Finally, if this is not the reason, then the reason lies in the lack of B vitamins.
Why Does the German Shepherd Shed Heavily?
If your pet lives on the street in a booth, then there is no need to worry when the coat begins to suddenly crawl in shreds. For such dogs, active molt is the norm. It usually begins rather abruptly and ends quickly, dogs and shepherds molt within 7-10 days, sometimes 2 weeks.
How many months can a coat change take? With a lack of nutrients – all year round. Intense and prolonged molting is not the norm, it occurs in cases where the pet lacks vitamins, proteins, amino acids, or minerals, as well as in the case of an allergic skin reaction. The cause can be serious pathologies: hormonal disruptions, fungal diseases, and skin parasites.
What to Do if a Shepherd Sheds Heavily?
You can help the shepherd to get rid of hair, as well as normalize nutrition. In no case should you shave the dog, the pet needs fur, without it dermatological diseases will develop. It is only necessary to remove the falling hair, for which the shepherd is combed out with a stiff brush. How often to do this depends on the intensity of the shedding. This procedure will help get rid of hair loss, but will not restore their health.
The shepherd dog sheds a lot, what should I do? To normalize the coat, you need to balance the dog’s nutrition:
- Sheepdog should eat mainly meat food, you can feed offal (lungs, bones, rumen, liver). Porridge and vegetables can be added to the diet, but they should not exceed half of the total volume in the daily portion.
- If you feed the animal with industrial food, then no other food should be given to the dog, since the ready-made food is completely balanced in vitamins and minerals. Give preference to quality canned food in the middle price range.
- You cannot prescribe vitamins to the dog on its own. They must be prescribed by a veterinarian. Wool can fall out due to a lack of minerals, amino acids, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids, and other elements. There are a lot of them, which exactly need to be given to the dog, only a doctor can determine.
