Do all Shelties blow their coats?

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windy

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Blithe Spirit will be three in August, and we live in hot, humid Alabama. I've heard you all speak of the balls of fluff that you deal with when you pup blows his coat, but I've only seen a tiny bit of this. Is it possible that with the winters that don't get particularly cold around here, there would be less of the change in his coat?

I'm not particularly obsessive about brushing him, and yesterday when I groomed him I did get more hair out than usual, but I wouldn't say it was that much more than normal. The temps around here are now in the 80's during the day, so I'd think if he were going to lose some coat now would be the time. He's had his full coat for over a year.

What's your experience with this if you live in a climate similar to mine?
 
Olive spent her first year in central Texas and she has never really developed a terrible profuse coat. She will shed more during the change of the seasons but never has had the tumble weeds I had with my first sheltie. I still refer to Olive's shedding as blowing since the shedding is heavier in comparison to her normal shedding.
 
We don't live in that climate, but Honey's coat has never gotten to the super long stage, and she doesn't have huge sheds...she also seems to lose the most fur at the end of august, when it starts cooling down again. She's about to turn four and this year when I brush her I'm getting hair flying away from her body, but even that is nothing compared to what I've seen on other dogs.
 
Sca hardly does at all after the first time but he has an unusual coat for a Sheltie. Spitfire does but it is less obvious as they go to groomers once a month and with the brushing I do that is enough to keep the tumble firs down.

That said they tend to not loose it as much this early and go fairly far into summer before dropping everything.

Both did one monster fur blow though after growing up so I bet you are in for one by this fall at latest.
 
The dogs go through phases as I've discovered.

Some of it depends on weather, some of it depends on hormones, etc.

My 14 month old went through a major blowing phase just after he was neutuered, and coincidentally tied in with spring arriving. It was crazy the amount of fur he was blowing.

Interestingly, Indy who is now 7 years old, hardly blew at all, and has maintained kinda a steady state of coat for the last year or so.

When they do blow, the best thing is a good shampoo and access to a high velocity dryer.....either through a groomer or a home set up.

When Callan started to blow, off to my store groomer.....one wash and blow dry and their is hardly a shed happening now!
 
At certain stages of puppy / young adult as coat transitioned to a new more mature coat. I brush weekly and more if needed at shedding time so i dont have a big problem with those seasonal sheds. None of our shelties growing up did any different. My neutered male does a big shed once a year right before fall and then Coats up for winter within two months. Some of coat quantity is weather relAted and some genetic. My moms female did a more seasonal spring shed with a smaller shed in fall. Seems to me that unspayed females tend to do a heavier shed coat after cycles or definately post pups. Breeders please correct me if i am wrong!

--i live where it up to 115 in summer (not below 90 ever) and winter highs are in 60s overnight lows never below high 20 s and that is rare
 
If your winters are milder, and/or the dogs are kept indoors they won't grow as much undercoat.

I have noticed, since the dogs are not outside as much as they get older, their shedding occurs over longer period of time, esp the Spring shed. It definitely isn't as bad as it was when we were out and about a lot and training/competing outside in the cold evenings or hot days. We get cold winters (not the Canadian version of cold though) and warm summers - a temp range of about 50 Celcius (90F), so enough to grow a winter coat and lose it all. But nowadays we usually don't go out until its above 0C and below 32C so they don't really need to grow and shed more coat.
 
My last sheltie for sure did "blow" her coat, twice a year. I would get mountains of undercoat when I brushed her, some of it coming up in huge clumps. Hanna seems to be shedding fairly consistently this spring, and I do get a handful out when I brush her but nothing like the amounts that came off Kali. I actually prefer it when they do blow the coat, as you can get it all out very quickly as opposed to the weeks of consistent shedding I am seeing with Hanna. Wonder if it has anything to do with it being warmer here in Ontario than in Calgary.
 
Lucky has a silky coat and Lil' Lady has a coarse coat, but they shed about the
same time, twice a year. I am brushing them constantly just so they stay nice.

Lucky's coat is easier to handle and Lil' Lady is another story.
 
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