Alice White
Pugs are infinitely fun, friendly, and compact dogs that don’t need much grooming. Such a pet can become an ideal inhabitant of a city apartment. But it often happens that the animal, for no apparent reason, begins to molt without stopping. This may be due to various external factors or diseases. In order for the pet to be healthy and all processes occur naturally, you need to strictly monitor its health.
Do Pugs Shed?
Despite the lack of fluffiness, pugs have a very coarse coat and dense undercoat. These small animals molt, like all dogs, twice a year, but sometimes unplanned molting occurs. At the same time, the volume of wool combed out during hygiene procedures is quite large.
Important! Looking at the size of the animal, it is difficult to assume that during molting it can lose such a volume of hair. At the same time, the pet does not look thinner or less attractive. This is how the body of pugs works.
In this breed, molting occurs twice a year. As a rule, this process begins in spring and autumn, when the climate changes. However, some factors, external or internal, can lead to a change in regime. So molting can begin in summer or winter, as well as disturb the owners throughout the year. Having noticed such a phenomenon, it is better to seek the advice of a veterinarian.
Natural Shedding
Usually, the loss of dead hair is painless for the animal, it does not bring him any inconvenience if the owner takes care of grooming the pet in time. Twice a year, in spring and autumn, during molting, you need to free the animal from old dead hair. Otherwise, the pet will not only look untidy but also feel not in the best way. Old undercoats tend to mats and create a greenhouse effect that is so bad for pugs.
Natural molting lasts approximately 2 to 3 weeks. The duration of this process depends on the color of the animal. So the pets of the “fawn” color shed less than their congeners of apricot shade. In the latter, molt continues almost all year round, and this is not a pathology. Their coat is genetically prone to this rate of withering away.
Pathological Hair Loss
There are a number of diseases and disorders in the body of a dog that can cause severe and persistent shedding. That is why pet owners should pay attention to such signs and consult a veterinarian on time.
Among the main reasons for excessive hair loss are:
stress (this can be a simple visit to an animal clinic or a fear of something);
parasites (some protozoa and worms can cause abundant, almost incessant molt);
fungi and infections (profuse loss of hair may indicate a fungal infection, an urgent need to consult a veterinarian);
too frequent washing (the use of cosmetics leads to the active work of the sebaceous glands, this contributes to the accelerated death of the undercoat);
the wrong climate (if the apartment where the pet lives is too hot, this can lead to pathological molting);
lack of vitamins (usually this phenomenon is observed in animals that eat natural food, pets that eat dry balanced food do not suffer from this ailment).
Important! Often, a dog’s tendency to allergies is also accompanied by hair loss. Especially if the cunning animal often eats something that should not be in her diet.
If a profuse undercoat loss has been noticed, which practically does not stop in a domestic dog, it is better to consult a doctor. Having passed the necessary tests and having received the results, it will be possible to exclude a number of diseases that can lead to such a thing.
What to Do if the Pug Sheds Heavily?
First of all, you need to evaluate the dog’s diet, introduce additional vitamin complexes, and balance the food served. You should also exclude all stress factors, the animal should be calm and live in comfortable conditions for it.
If this does not help within 1 – 2 weeks, it is better to go to the veterinary clinic and take the necessary tests. Lack of any element or the presence of parasites in the body can lead to such a reaction.
The doctor will tell you how to proceed if pathological factors provoking a constant molt are found. Also, do not forget about hygiene procedures. Pugs need to be combed regularly to help the coated release new hairs faster and allow them to grow normally.
How to Properly Care for a Pug During Molting?
In order not to collect scraps of wool for animals during the molting period, you need to resort to the help of professional groomers or carry out this procedure in your own home. This will require a special trimmer. It will help rid the animal of dying hair and undercoat, leaving only a new, young coat.
Applying all modern tricks for caring for your pet, you can provide him with good health and a well-groomed appearance. And if you suspect a disease due to which active molting occurs, you should immediately seek help from veterinarians.
