Pets shed in both the spring and fall. Shadow-Pup leaves mini-drifts of fuzz I sweep up daily, all summer long. Karma-Kat’s URK-factor (hairballs) increases with pet shedding season. Yuck! The fur flies about the same time as allergy season begins. If you suffer from allergic reactions to your cat or dog, check out these pet allergy tips.
Dog Shedding Time!
Cat and dog shedding may be a big hairy deal—but it is normal. Magical-Dawg used to leave drifts of black fur everywhere. Although Shadow-Pup’s medium-coarse fur, and Karma-Kat’s short light fur isn’t nearly as noticeable, they also shed.
Year-round floating fur increases the challenge of keeping dry cleaned apparel in a Fido-free zone. You can’t stop pet shedding. Unless you’re a passionate pet lover who considers pet hair to be a condiment, understanding how to tame the hairy mess will keep your pet’s coat and skin healthy and simplify housecleaning.
Combing it out means it won’t be swallowed–and end up on your carpet!
Why Pet Shedding Matters
It’s not the temperature that prompts fur shedding. Light exposure, either to sun or artificial light, determines the amount and timing. More hair is shed during the greatest exposure to light. Outdoor cats and dogs living in the northeastern United States shed with the seasons, with the most fur flying in late spring for the several weeks during which daylight increases. But house pets under constant exposure to artificial light shed all year long.
Hair grows in cycles beginning with a period of rapid growth in the spring, followed by slower growth, and then ending in a winter resting stage. Mature hairs loosen in the follicles over the winter. In the spring, another cycle of hair growth begins, and new hair pushes the old loose ones out, resulting in an all-over shed.
Poodles shed–but not as often
What Cats and Dogs Shed Most or Least
All cats and dogs shed—even shorthair pets—but some breeds prompt more aggravation. The so-called “non-shedding” curly-coated dogs like Poodles just have much longer fur-growing seasons in which hair continuously grows for years at a time. They tend not to lose huge amounts of hair all at once. Shed hairs get caught and held in curly coats so shedding isn’t as obviously left on the furniture.
Shorthair pets like Bravo and Karma shed just as much but the tiny hairs don’t create furry drifts–just fuzz-balls. “Double coated” shedding German shepherds, Chows, and Persian cats may look moth-eaten when they shed clumps of fur at a time.
Sphynx cats also shed–you just won’t notice!
Matts, Hairballs & Hotspots–What About Shaving?
Thickly furred pets develop mats when fur is trapped and tangled next to the skin. Mats are terrific flea habitat and create bruises.
Hairballs develop when the dog or cat swallows shed fur during self-grooming. Yes, some dogs get hairballs, so it’s important to address shed fur before it’s swallowed.
Shaving down the pet’s fur may reduce the risk of matting and hotspots. Fur also protects cats and dogs from sunburn, though, so be judicious when trimming up the coat.
6 Tips for How to Stop Pets Shedding
You can’t stop shedding, but you can reduce the aggravation to yourself and health risks to your pet. Refer to this post for more house cleaning tips.
Groom Every Day. Religious fur care prevents problems and keeps skin and coats healthy. Make sure you groom outside or in an area easy to clean, or you’ll deal with a furry tornado inside the house. Seren-Kitty at age 21 doesn’t groom herself anymore, so she relies on Karma-Kat’s help–and mine.
Choose Good Tools. The Furminator FURminator Long Hair deShedding Tool for Dogs, Large (also comes for cats) won’t work on mats, but the close-fitting teeth pull off 80 percent of loose fur. A standard comb or curry or pin brush also works.
Pet Away Fur. For shorthaired pets that hate grooming but love petting, try rubber-nubbed grooming “gloves” like the 2-in-1 Pet Glove: Grooming Tool + Furniture Pet Hair Remover Mitt Or slip the foot-end of old pantyhose over your hand and pet to pull off shed fuzz.
Target Problem Areas. Pay particular attention to mat-prone areas behind the pet’s ears, beneath his tail, and in the “armpits” and groin regions. Longhair cats also develop tummy mats.
Take Your Time. There is no rule that says you must comb or brush the entire pet at one setting. Space it out over several hours or days. Most dogs and cats have “sweet spots” they love to have scratched, so finish on the cat’s cheeks or the dog’s chest. End each session with a favorite treat or game so your cat or dog identifies grooming with good things.
Ask A Pro. If you aren’t able to manage grooming yourself, have it professionally done by a groomer or veterinarian. “Lion cuts” that shave wooly pets for the summer can prevent problem mats or hot spots.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!
Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!
Dog hot spots often happen during both the spring and fall shedding season and are the bane of many dogs’ existence. Some develop hot spots all year long, especially those with very thick, wooly coats. Have your dogs ever suffered from hot spots, a kind of moist dermatitis in dogs?
Fortunately, hot spots are not a problem for cats. Kitties, though, do have their own issues with shedding and hairballs. Bathing cats can help with that.
When dog hot spots are a chronic problem, it can be aggravating and frustrating for pet owners. And painful for the dog! While severe problems need veterinary attention, home remedies for dog hot spots often help enormously.
Thickly furred dogs like the Chow are more prone to hot spots during shedding season.
I’m sharing this entry about dog HOT SPOTS which is an excerpt from Dog Facts.This chapter covers a lot of ground, and here’s the topic list:
Hair, Hair Loss, Heart Disease, Heartworm Disease, Hematoma, Hemophilia, Herbs, Hernia, Hip Dysplasia, Holistic Medicine, Homeopathy, Hookworms, Hot Spots, House Training, Human-Animal Bond, Hunting Behavior, Hyperparathyroidism, Hyperthermia (Heatstroke), Hyperthyroidism, Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar), Hypoparathyroidism, Hypothermia, and Hypothyroidism.
I’ve broken the massive book into discounted treat-size alpha-chapter sections available ONLY to subscribers of my PETS PEEVES NEWSLETTER. Folks can choose which ones they most need. Each chapter will release every other week. Of course, you can still get the entire DOG FACTS book either in Kindle or 630+ pages of print.
WHAT ARE DOG HOT SPOTS?
Also referred to as acute moist dermatitis, a hot spot is a localized area of self-induced trauma that becomes infected. Dogs suffering from atopy (inhalant allergy) are at the highest risk. But all dogs can develop these sores.
Dog breeds with heavy double coats like Chow Chows and German Shepherds like Magic seem most prone to developing hot spots immediately prior to shedding, when dead hair may be trapped next to the skin. For unknown reasons, Golden Retrievers tend to develop deeply infected hot spots.
These days, Magic is shedding like crazy, leaving drifts of black woolly fur everywhere. If I didn’t constantly comb and pull off the dead clumps, chances are he’d develop dog hot spots, too.
Magic never had a hot spot–but he shed fur like crazy!
DIAGNOSING DOG HOT SPOTS
Hot spots can appear anywhere on the dog’s body, but the rump, tail, back, and flanks are common sites. Usually, the hot spot appears suddenly as an initially small circular area of hair loss, but they can spread rapidly. Sores can grow to several inches in diameter within a few hours. The infection often smells bad and secretes pus, and hot spots typically are moist due to licking and/or the weeping of the wound, and hot because of infection and inflammation.
No one is certain what causes a hot spot to form, but it’s thought to be prompted by some minor irritation, like a flea bite. Itchiness and discomfort prompt licking and nibbling, and when the dog can’t leave the wound alone, a hot spot erupts.
HOW TO TREAT DOG HOT SPOTS WITH HOME REMEDIES
Treatment consists of getting air to the infection so it will heal and dry, and preventing further self-mutilation. A collar restraint prevents him from licking or nibbling the sore.
Hot spots are both itchy and painful, and often require a veterinarian to sedate the dog before treatment can begin. The fur surrounding the area is clipped away, the skin is cleansed with an antibacterial preparation like diluted hydrogen peroxide, Nolvasan, Betadine, Oxydex or pHisoHex. Pet-formulations of benzoyl peroxide-containing cleansers help reduce the itchiness, dry the lesion, and flush out hair follicles, as well as kill certain bacteria.
Once cleansed, a medication like Burrow’s solution, available at most drug stores or pet stores, may be applied and seems to work quite well to dry the sore. Holistic veterinarians recommend using calendula to soothe the sore. Witch hazel can help cool down the heat of hot spots because it evaporates as quickly as alcohol but without the sting. You can use that two or three times a day.
Another natural remedy for hot spots is the tannic acid found in black tea. This astringent helps dry out the sores so they heal more quickly. Soak a tea bag in hot water, let it cool, and apply the bag directly to the sore for five minutes. You can do this three or four times a day.
VETERINARY TREATMENTS FOR DOG HOT SPOTS
The veterinarian may prescribe ointments like Panalog or Neocort, or short-acting corticosteroids like prednisone that reduce the irritation. Occasionally, antibiotics are required to clear up deep infection. The underlying problem, fleas, allergy, or whatever, must also be addressed.
Since dogs aren’t able to adequately groom themselves, owners must take great responsibility for seeing that coat care is provided. Grooming during shedding season is particularly important and can help prevent problems like hot spots from developing.
How about your dogs? Do they suffer from hot spots? How do you manage the sores?
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!
Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!
