how much shedding is too much

starry

so how much fur tends to come off while brushing during a shiba's shedding season, and how often???
I'm getting a medium rabbit sized furball of soft hair each day
i am in the process of switching foods so I want to make sure the amount of hair loss is normal and not a reaction to the food...i don't want all his hair to fall off
i'm switching from natural balance to evo poultry, both have chicken
btw, i've noticed with the shedding that he appears to have more black accents, will that go away once he regrows his undercoat?

shimaurashibalover92

We can't offer any good advice at the moment since Katsu still hasn't blown her coat. However from what I've read you should be able to build another shiba entirely out of the fur your dog loses while blowing their coat.

Calia

Not sure how it works with the other colors, but when Tetsu has had a major shed, the sides of his neck turn from black to cream for a couple of weeks. The roots of each hair is either a cream, white or red, and these root colors become more prevalent during a shed.

tsukitsune

Yeah. Get used to that.

As long as there aren't bare patches of skin showing, I think for this time of the year that massive shed is normal, especially if its his first big shedding.

My male shiba has a lot more black ticking in his red coat after his winter blow out, I rather like it.

starry

i would like it more if the black that is coming out didn't make a smiling unibrow on his forehead. and he has two black dots on either side of his face now so he looks sorta like a clown but with black makeup rather than red
hoping for more changes otherwise i don't think i can take him seriously with him wearing this summer coat

CrimsonO2

"i would like it more if the black that is coming out didn't make a smiling unibrow on his forehead. and he has two black dots on either side of his face now so he looks sorta like a clown but with black makeup rather than red..."

Oh you have got to take a picture of that!

Jesse

wliu003

yea that sounds about right =/

i was told that shiba's shed an incredible amount for their size and that is so true.

Mylo

I flipped out the first time I experienced brushing Mylo when he was blowing his adult coat. I almost started crying because I thought I might have brushed too hard and ripped his fur out, or worse, what if he had a skin disease?!?!?!! hahaha Typical new adoptive mom. I called a groomer and they calmed me down lol. Shibas shed way more than you think is even possible, but it's normal. =0) Just be gentle with the brushes you use, and don't be too rough on the skin. Brushing nicely and often (daily) is best, to stimulate new growth. At least that's what I found.

tobyshiba

Shiba shed is craaazy! Toby started blowing his coat a week ago and most of it has come out by now. He lost a lot of his red this time.

I actually find myself to be a little too obsessed with grooming him while he is blowing his coat. Sometimes I sit on the floor with him and pick out all the loose hairs peeking through his top coat.

Mylo

hahahahaha omg, the fur bunnies! Mylo hates it when I pick those.

santuzza

I made the mistake of mocking the shed. I had said Tosca wasn't a big shedder and then about a week later all of her undercoat came out in about three days. It filled a waste paper basket. (Yes, I took a picture.) She was down to guard hairs only and I was calling her Baldy. She was so not amused. She's looking a little better now.