Why hasn't my dog shed his winter coat? He's hot. What can I do?

All dogs start their seasonal shed at different times. If the hair and skin underneath looks normal then I am less worried. However, if there are bald spots, crusting, red skin, or itchiness then Woody should be seen by your veterinarian. With his breed I imagine he has some major thick fur to shed at this time of year. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi there. As long as Peter doesn't have bald spots, excessive itching, or other signs of an underlying skin problem, this sounds like normal shedding for a double-coated breed :) These breeds shed an enormous amount of hair in the spring and early summer to prepare for the warmer weather. Having him bathed and blown dry with a forced air dryer should help remove a lot of the loose or dead undercoat to cut down on the shedding for the next few weeks, so you could schedule this with a groomer if you want to.

I agree the furminator is sharp and doesn’t work well on lots of dogs. I use a comb and also a slicker brush. Grooming daily will help and won’t be as irritating to your dog. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Jake.

Well, it certainly could just be the temperature change, but here is what I would look for. If she is itchy, any bald spots or scabs, any redness or odor to the skin. Any hair loss around the head. If you see any of these signs then I would definitely recommend an examination by a veterinarian. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

I'm wondering if Mugen is simply 'blowing his coat'. Basically the entire hair coat will shed out. Some dogs do this on a regular basis. Some only do it every once in a while. I would recommend to monitor him for any lesions on the skin, itching, bald patches and basically anything that looks like disease. Dogs will typically blow their coats for a couple weeks then it stops. If something seems questionable, head to the vet. Hope this helps!

Hair shedding is a normal process in dogs when the hair follicle turnover happens. THis can increase due to environemnt or hormones. To help pick up some of the shedded hair I woudl suggest purchasing a product called a Furminator brush, which can remove the shedded hair so that less of it collects on the floor. You can also give him over the counter dog fish oils from your local pet store to encourage a healthy haircoat. I would continue to bathe your pet with dog shampoo to routinely cleanse his skin. Otherwise as long as you are not seeing bald patches on Romeo's skin, his haircoat is fine. I hope this helps! Best wishes with your pet and take care.

It might just be normal shedding but it could also be caused by a medical condition. You could bathe him with a moisturizing dog shampoo, brush him and add an omega-3 supplement (Free Form Snip Tips) and see if that helps. The black spots could just be normal pigmentation of his skin. If the excessive shedding and spots continues then he should be examined by a vet to determine if there is a problem. Your vet can do some testing to help diagnose. He could have a skin infection, mites, flea allergy, hypothyroidism, etc.