Australian Shepherds and their coats
Australian shepherds are beautiful, intelligent and cute dogs that have glossy and fluffy coats. Their shining coats come in various colors such as black, red and merle. They even have different shades of tan marks. However, they shed their coat a lot.
The Australian Shepherd breed has come from a long line of European dogs that are most suitable for herding. The Australian Shepherd has double-layer and waterproof coats that are suited for chilly winters and climates such as mountain regions, a place where the breed originated.This keeps them from becoming too hot in summer and too cold in winter.
The reason behind the coat-shedding
All breed of dogs sheds their coats. It is the frequency of shedding that varies from breed to breed. Hence, there is no such thing as being allergy free or hypoallergenic. The Australian Shepherds are the ones who shed their coat a lot. They shed heavily around the year.
Dogs shed because of hormonal change which is affected by daylight that controls hair growth.
This is one of the reason they shed their coat in the spring and in autumn they gain their coat back for the winters. This is also known as Coat blowing process where the dog undergoes coat shedding from their winter coat to summer coat. Temporary hair loss is also common during pregnancy.
Other reasons for coat-shedding
In any case, when your Australian Shepherd sheds more than a usual coat, it could be alarming signs of any health condition or disorder. They include bacterial or fungal infection, allergy or hypothyroidism. A protein deficiency can also determine the shedding of hair.
Ways and methods to deal with coat-shedding
There is no preventive method of coat-shedding, but you can deal with it in a lot of ways.
- Regular grooming and brushing sessions will remove dead hair which prevents tangles.
- You can also apply natural oils on the coat to keep it healthy and smooth.
- Bathing can also help in taming the frequency of hair loss in Australian Shepherd but bathing too much can make their coat dry and fur brittle. Hence, after a bath use a dryer to dry the coat and brush the hair in the direction you want to keep it. You can brush in upwards or downwards motion to remain the hair untangled, smooth and clean.
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Image courtesy: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AustralianShepherd.jpg
