Although your dog may shed their hair throughout the year, it's springtime when the frequency of lost hair increases as they start losing their winter coats. The amount of hair your dog moults depends on several factors including their health, age and breed type.
As most of this shedding is going to occur inside the home, it is a good idea to tackle the problem early on by starting a grooming routine, which will minimise the amount that ends up knotted in the carpet and rolling like tumbleweed around the house!
Read on for our tips to help you deal with your dog's springtime moult.
Best Dog Brushes For Moulting
Brushing has many benefits including removing the dead hair form the coat and making your dog look tidy. Importantly, brushing also helps to distribute the natural oils produced by the hair follicles through the coat so that it looks glossy and healthy. Not only will your pet look wonderful, the time spent grooming your dog is an opportunity to strengthen the bond between you.
Long haired dogs such as Border Collies, German Shepherds and Spaniels will need extra attention when it comes to coat care, as they are naturally more prone to tangling. Our Essentials Grooming Set is an affordable starter kit containing everything you need get going to build a grooming routine at home to combat the spring moult.
- Brush your dog with a slicker brush. Starting at their neck and chest, brush the entire coat including the shoulders, sides, back and chest in the direction of the hair. Dont forget the tummy too!
- The loose dead hairs from seasonal shedding increase the change of mats forming in the coat at this time of year. Very carefully tease out small mats with a grooming comb. Don't forget to comb through the hair around their head, face, under the jaw and ears too.
- Larger matts may be carefully broken up using a dematting comb - taking care not to pull on the dog's skin. Alternatively, mats can be gently clipped out of the coat using a cordless trimmer or a close cutting 10F blade on an A5 dog clipper. Use the trimmer of clipper blade to chip away carefully underneath the matted hair, close to the skin but take care not to clip too much of the coat or you may be left with large short patches! Avoid using scissors to cut our mats from the coat as there is a risk of cutting their delicate skin. If your dog is very matted, it's best to seek help from a professional groomer.
- Coat rakes are quick and efficient tools for removing dead hair from the undercoats during moulting and are suitable for a range of shedding breeds. These rakes have curved teeth that reach deep into the coat and are available in a range of sizes with different numbers of teeth to suit the type and density of hair.
- Shorter coated and wire haired breeds such as Terriers, Dachshunds and Pointers benefit from a thorough comb through pouf their coat with a slicker brush followed by a combination metal comb to remove any loosened hair.
- Stripping knives can be used to tidy up coarse, wire-haired dogs and terriers to remove any of the dead undercoat with the carding technique after carefully remove any mats first. Find out more about hand stripping in our blog.
Coat Rakes For Dog Moulting
If your dog sheds a lot, a coat rake could be a game-changer for your grooming routine. Designed to tackle thick and heavy shedding coats easily and effectively, coat rakes are specialised grooming tools with long, rounded teeth that reach deep into the hair. They work by gently removing loose hair from the undercoat without damaging the topcoat, making them ideal for double-coated breeds like German Shepherds, Huskies, and Golden Retrievers. The Masterclip range of coat rakes feature comfortable wooden handles and rounded steel teeth for durability and to avoid scratching your dog's delicate skin.
Tips for choosing the right coat rake for your dog:
- The softer (finer) the coat – choose a rake with a higher the number of blades.
- The denser (coarser) the coat – choose a rake with less blades.
- The longer the coat - it is better to use a rake with more blades.
- Short coats - use a rake with blades fitted with the smallest gaps between blades.
- Very long and or matted coats - start with low number of blades and finish with high blade numbers.
Dog Shedding: What is a Blowing Coat?
Those fortunate enough to own one of the very beautiful double coated breeds such as the Bernese mountain dog, Newfoundland, husky, Leonberger, Chow Chow and Japanese akita will appreciate that their luxurious coat which is a joy to behold for most of the year will require a period of intense grooming when the time comes for them to blow their coat. This is an intense time of heavy shedding in Spring in Autumn to adapt to changing temperatures, with the dead hair coming out in clumps or tufts making them look a little scruffy!
So, how do you deal with the undercoat explosion and monstrous amounts of hair? The only answer is to brush and don’t stop brushing until all the loose hair is removed.
- Brushing the full coat needs to be increased to once a day until the shedding is complete to keep mats at bay.
- You could take your dog to the groomers to get a 'blow out' of their coat. This involves using a high powered blaster or drier to literally blow lots of the loose hair out of the coat to rapidly speed up the grooming process. This also separates the hair leaving it fluffy and reducing the chances of matting.
- Coat rakes are very useful for grooming these breeds as they successfully and gently remove the fluffy undercoat whilst leaving the outer, guard hairs intact and undamaged.
- Bathing also helps hasten the end of the shedding process by removing excess loose hair. Yummy help to increase the amount of times you usually bath your dog at this time of year to assist in shedding. To keep the skin from drying out, we love these organic, additive and paraben free shampoos from Wild Wash.
Grooming Non-Shedding Dogs
All dogs shed, but the amount of hair varies from breed to breed. There is no such thing as a completely non-shedding dog - even among the breeds that are considered hypoallergenic. The downside to a low shedding breed is that they have high maintenance grooming needs, as their coat is very prone to matting so it's important to be prepared to groom these coats regularly along with clipping every 6-8 weeks to prevent it from growing too long.
Basic clipping procedure:
- The coats of breeds such as the Maltese, Shih Tzu, Bichon Frise, water dogs and poodles are easily maintained with a home grooming clipping set along with grooming scissors for a neat polished look.
- Before clipping these dogs need to be bathed use a high quality shampoo. Then rinsed, towel dried and finished with a blow dry if possible, brushing out the coat to remove knots ands tangles as they dry.
- The clipper blades must be sharp and your clipper maintained with regular servicing to ensure that it remains working effectively. A dull blade will make the task of clipping a lot harder, giving an uncomfortable groom for the dog and will not give a good finish.
- Aim to take even strikes through the coat with the clippers to remove bulk, achieve the desired length and gain a smart, even finish. Between strokes with the clipper blade, back comb and fluff the coat up with a slicker brush to make sure the clip is even.
- Watch our home dog grooming video for grooming tips with professional groomer Emily Dog Grooming on our YouTube channel here.
Grooming Tips For Moulting Season
Choose a brush or rake suitable to the size of the dog and their coat texture. Take a look at our Grooming By Breed collection to find the best grooming tools suited to your breed of dog.
Start at the shoulders and work down the length of the body, always brushing in the direction of the hair growth. Pay particular attention to areas where the hair grows thickest over the hips and lower back.
Slicker brushes with ball pins are ideal for soft coats, sensitive skin and puppies. The rounded edges of the pins are more gentle on your dogs skin and the curved shape ensures the pins work deep into the coat.
Whilst grooming, keep an eye out for any lumps and bumps felt on the skin, fleas and hair mats. Our flea comb and Wildwash flea and bug repellent spray are excellent for removing fleas and their larvae and keeping biting insects at bay naturally.
Brush your pet outdoors if possible and leave out shed hair for any nesting birds to make use of.
Take a look at our range of dog grooming tools and accessories today. In need of personalised advice? Contact our friendly and knowledgeable team below.
