# Shedding?



## Stubbornhillfarm (Jun 5, 2013)

This is our first spring/summer with our dogs.  (13 months old)

Do they normally shed their ENTIRE undercoat?  Ours are.  That undercoat is completely coming out and all that is left is their long top coat.  I am sure it is much more comfortable for them.  But they don't have a lot of hair left and I worry about predators.  Just checking to make sure this is as it should be and no reason for concern.  

Thanks!


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## Southern by choice (Jun 5, 2013)

Yep. Normal. 

In NC many people do not brush out that shedding massive undercoat and they end up with heatstroke.   The heatstroke may not kill them but can cause brain damage. 

A rake is best for removing undercoat, not a brush. Lift hair and rake out undercoat. 













after that you can use a wire slicker to finish them.


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jun 5, 2013)

Thank you!!!   That is exactly what mine looks like.  And I find that it actually comes out quite easy with a tool similar to what you have there.  

Alright for an even stranger question.

We had a church pic-nic here on Sunday and so many people said, "Oh, you should sell that fur!  People use it to spin and make felt."  I actually contacted a lady on craigslist that had some other kind of fiber for sale and asked her if it were true.  She said yes it is and she actually told me how to see if it was suitable for "felting" so that I would have twice the potential consumer.

Do any of you sell your dogs fur?  I think it's kind of funny, but whatever, I'm game.  If someone wants to purchase my dogs shed fur;  I'm all in! 

And Southern...I will call some day!  (please don't be offended, I haven't returned my mothers call from Sunday night yet either.  I just stink at making phone calls.  )


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## Southern by choice (Jun 5, 2013)

Years ago (and I mean years ago ) I had customers that would call in the beginning of spring and ask me to save the undercoat of dogs like collies, pyrenees, shepherds, samoyeds, etc. ... they would take it and use it in/around their gardens. The hair would go around the plants and keep the bugs from destroying their veggies and if there was enough it would compact down for weed control!
Apparently it worked very well for slugs. 
Must work cuz lots of people did this. 

I would think the pyr hair would be great for fiber spinning. We sure do have enough of it!  
I  will say I think I wear enough pyr hair that I don't know if I would want something made of it. 

Not sure about your guys but mine look so small now. 

My Pyrs have my "forced air" dryer.. didn't mind as pups but hate it now... so it takes hours and hours of grooming vs 2 hours for bath and blow out. :/

No worries!


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## Grazer (Jun 5, 2013)

Southern already answered all the questions, I just wanted to say that yes there are people out there who knit with dogs hair lol
There is this one Caucasian shepherd breeder here in U.S. (she's not breeding at the moment) and she actually made these from fur of her Caucasians:













Apparently they are very warm


Btw, this is what it looked like after we brushed out Atlas's undercoat a few weeks ago. And he's still not quite done shedding. I don't know why, but I find brushing out undercoats so much fun


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## Southern by choice (Jun 5, 2013)

Cool stuff!

..now Grazer... who you trying to kid?  that pile *+ 10 bags* of hair 

Long time no hear from grazer how are you?


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jun 6, 2013)

Wow!  Grazer, Aren't those beautiful sets?  That is very cool.  Who wouldn't want some of those.  And Southern has it right, that pile x10.  I think I have enough to make a full snow suit!!  

I do love the color of your dogs undercoat Grazer.  Our dogs are mostly white but there undercoat had a lot of dark gray in it.  I saved one full bag and I am guessing I will get another bag or two from them.  Who knows.  Maybe someone will want it to make something nice from.


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## Grazer (Jun 6, 2013)

You two are so right lol 
Well I keep saying, one day when I have more free time, I'm gonna learn how to spin and knit and make me some mittens, scarves, beanies etc out of our dogs' undercoat 
Stubbornhill, you should also check etsy.com 
It's basically a site where people buy and sell all kinds of handmade items. So I think if anyone would want to make something nice out of dog's undercoat, that would be the place to look

That's really funny, I thought your dog's undercoat would be mainly white. Phoebe has a lot of dark gray in her undercoat too:







I'm good Southern, thanks for asking  Just dealing with Phoebe's Hot Spots. She had them again, two times in the past month.
It seems she is not only allergic to fleas but she most likely has environmental allergies as well.
And how have you been?


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## secuono (Jun 6, 2013)

I've been using all sorts of brushes and tools to get my dog's undercoat out the last two months. I can pull out a crap-load each session and end up not much of a dent!! 
Just bought a metal rake someone recommended, don't like it, it doesn't catch the undercoat like I'd prefer. Slightly better than the other stuff I've been using. =/

I need to save the fur next year, its insane how much fur comes out. Those pictures you see of fur come off mine each session! It looks like a giant white sheep keeps exploding in pasture! 

Pics of her from winter and then the other day. You can see where the fur is still there and needing removal. It's like only the long, stiff hair is left, all that fluffy stuff is shedding out. Kind of like a saddle shape over her back and ribs is thinned out, hips are high because of all that undercoat, like with the neck, tail and legs. 
Might have pics of the fur-plosions, will have to look.


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## Grazer (Jun 6, 2013)

She is so pretty and sure has grown a lot since I last saw her pics!

For our dogs I find the slicker brush to work the best. The one I use looks something like this:


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## Southern by choice (Jun 6, 2013)

Grazer next shedding blowout try the rake. It will save your arms! It also continues pulling out the undercoat while it "drops" the hair, so no constantly having to stop and pull the dead coat out of the slicker. Slicker is great for finish work but the rake will remove the undercoat faster and more thorough.

Use it on DRY coat only.

I use the slicker for finish work and to fluff and straighten the coat for scissoring. For the long plumage that is on the rear that gets tangled/matted I use a razor dematting comb with slicker to remove and work through the matts instead of having to cut them out.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 6, 2013)

@Secouno... what kind of rake? can you snap a pic. I groomed professionally (show grooming and pet grooming) and for dble coats the rake is the tool BUT it also depends on the rake. there are short stubbed rakes, long, and extra long. Teeth length and distance make a difference. Knowing how to use it is also important. 

BTW- Your girl is so grown up now!!!!!!!! She has a sweeeeeet face!!!!!!!!!


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## Grazer (Jun 7, 2013)

You're absolutely right about that Southern, but I guess the reason why I love the slicker brush so much is because I can take care of their undercoat and make them look all fluffy and pretty at the same time.
Plus I don't mind spending more time brushing them than I would if I would use a rake first.
And surprisingly, our dogs don't blow their coats at the same time. So by the time I'm done with one dog, the other is just about to start blowing its coat. Which gives me even more of an opportunity to really take my time with brushing. 

But thank you for the tips, I didn't know one can use a razor dematting comb with a slicker like that. I think that is a great tip


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## GLENMAR (Jul 3, 2013)

Here's my girl after combing out. I was able to get a comb all the way down to the skin all over.
She did not have a bath yet.  










Comb I used.


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## Southern by choice (Jul 3, 2013)

Total hours for Badger with no bath and some dematting of the rear "pantalooms" 6 hours and still have his neck... Him and D have ridiculous coats.


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## secuono (Jul 4, 2013)

Here's a more recent pic, still not done getting all the undercoat out. You can see the difficult areas. Haven't gotten anywhere with that tail!











I'll have to get a new pic soon.


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