Shedding concerns

WhiteGC8WhiteGC8
edited October 2008 in General
I've never had a dog that blows its coat before. Yoshi hasn't blown his coat, but he has shed nearly all his guard hairs except for a strip down the center of his back all the way to his tail. His sides are pretty much just his undercoat.

Should I be concerned? Is So Cal's fickle weather playing a role in this weird shedding pattern?

Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • MikaAndMeMikaAndMe
    edited November -1
    My friend has a Shiba, as do I, but his is older and has blown his coat. I remember thinking the same thing you did about there being so much hair and how his coat looked a bit thin. I don't think you should worry because his coat is fine now so I assume it's normal. However, I am sure someone knows better than me and I am interested to find out more about this as Mika is beginning to shed as well. I just thought I'd offer my two-cents worth of knowledge, haha.
  • dlrobertsdlroberts
    edited November -1
    Well, it is completely normal to think something is wrong the first time you see a double coated dog blow coat. Its a ridiculous amount of hair that comes out.

    However, the fact that Yoshi is loosing so many guard hairs is a bit concerning. Coat blowing is a change of the undercoat, not the guard hairs. Are you sure its guard hairs he's lost?
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited October 2008
    They do shed guard hairs every year, although I am not sure if it is all at once or periodic.
  • tobyshibatobyshiba
    edited November -1
    The guard hairs are extremely important on a double coated dog. If you dog is loosing the kinda ... tougher, stronger hair on the outer layer, there might be an issue ( though, they do come out, but its every now and then ). If your dog is shedding fluffy off-whitish kinda hair in clumps, its the undercoat.
  • sunyatasunyata
    edited November -1
    Maybe if you post some pictures, we may be able to better understand what exactly is going on with Yoshi's coat. Guard hairs are shed periodically over time, not all at once. So if he is losing guard hairs, there may be an underlying problem. Possibly a skin irritant or allergies.
  • WhiteGC8WhiteGC8
    edited November -1
    I'm sure it's his guard hairs. He was reddish blond when we got him a few months back. I noticed about a week or two ago that he was getting lighter in coloring. When you pet him along his sides, you can totally feel that it's his soft undercoat.
  • SangmortSangmort
    edited November -1
    Is he acting differently? Itching, scratching, not eating, etc. ?~
  • WhiteGC8WhiteGC8
    edited November -1
    He changes along with the weather. On hot days, he's mellow. On cooler days, he's more energetic. For the past two weeks or so, it has been pretty warm during the day, and 20 degrees cooler at night. No changes in appetite, and he scratches, but not more than usual.

    Here is a top view of his back. You'll see the thicker, redder guard hairs, and then the color starts to fade off to the sides. It's there that his undercoat is exposed.
  • tobyshibatobyshiba
    edited November -1
    Can you give a full profile image? I'm curious to how he looks. Is Yoshi a red shiba?
  • WhiteGC8WhiteGC8
    edited November -1
    Yoshi's not a Shiba. He may be in part, but I believe he's more of a Jindo. Here's a pic of his side taken when he was lying down.
  • masamasa
    edited November -1
    It looks like his outer coat is still there and he shed his undercoat from the picture.. Their hair looks diferent once the undercoast is gone so that might be the reason for his coat to seem like it has changed colors..
    My Kaya is that way.. when she loses her undercoat, its really bad and in some parts of the body her outer coat too... those pictures look just like her when she shedded her coat during the summer.. She looked really skinny and even looked like something was wrong with her.. there was even a 1in by 1in(approx.) size near bald spot on her chest but that grew back too..
    If hes not acting any different, still eating his food, stools look the same, etc. then he's probably fine and just a big shedder! But you should use your judgment in the end..
  • tobyshibatobyshiba
    edited November -1
    Well, either way, when Toby blew his coat, his colouring looked a little off. It didn't mean there was something totally wrong with him or anything. His coat just started growing back and hes totally fine. :)
  • MommyofNikoMommyofNiko
    edited November -1
    When Niko has blown her coat she looks a lot darker. She has black coloring on her back and with no thick under coat to spread it out more it is darker and blacker.
  • sunyatasunyata
    edited November -1
    Once Nola shed her puppy undercoat, she definitely looks a lot darker. So color changes with blowing of the coat can be expected. From the pictures you have posted, it looks like the outer guard hairs are still there, just the undercoat is thinning. So it may be nothing. But if you are still concerned, or if the thinning gets worse or if there are personality changes or other physical changes, I would take him to the vet.
  • WhiteGC8WhiteGC8
    edited November -1
    Thanks for all your input. I guess his body is reacting to the fluctuating weather here in Hollywood - hot during the day, and then very cool at night.
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