Banksia Park Puppies Feature Article
Welcome to Banksia Park Puppies second feature article! This feature article has been written by Matt Hams, the owner and manager of Banksia Park Puppies. This article is focusing on the difference between puppy and adult coats, and how best to deal with them as an owner. Thanks Matt!
At Banksia Park Puppies we often get questions a month or even up to 4 or more months after one of our customers has brought home their puppy, and they exclaim ‘ah! I wanted an oodle dog so that he/she doesn’t shed…. why is my puppy shedding?!’. We’re going to a little bit into what a puppy coat is, why it sheds, and how you can deal with this part of their life.
What is a puppy coat?
It is sometimes unknown to new puppy owners that all puppies actually have what is called a ‘puppy’ coat that they lose before they get their full adult coat. This is a really soft fur that covers their body, and is intended to help keep them warm and to protect them from the elements when they’re only little. Each puppy’s coat will be different to another puppy’s, and it will also be different in some ways to their adult coat which will eventually replace it. Every puppy (yes even puppies who are ‘non-shedding’) will lose their puppy coat.
When will my puppy lose it’s puppy coat?
Every puppy is different, but expect your Banksia Park Puppy to start losing it’s puppy coat anywhere from 12 weeks up until about 6 months old. It really depends on your puppy. It will begin to be replaced by the adult coat over this time. This adult coat will be fuller and thicker, and may not be as soft or look exactly the same as the puppy coat.
When is it a problem?
While shedding a puppy coat to make room for it’s adult coat is a normal part of a puppy’s life, there are some things that you should look out for in case the shedding is related to a more serious issue. Below is a list of things to look for which would suggest more than the puppy coat shedding, and in these cases we would suggest you take her to your vet for assessment.
- Large patches of bare skin
- Any sores at all on your dog’s skin
- Skin that looks sore and has bumps, a rash, is inflamed or red or otherwise doesn’t look ‘normal’.
Puppy coat shedding will not hurt your puppy, so if your puppy’s skin looks ‘sore’ or like any of the above, this may suggest a more pressing issue like fleas, mites or parasites. It is really important if you are worried to go and see your Vet to have your puppy checked out in more detail.
What can I do to stop my puppy from shedding?
Unfortunately you cant actually stop your puppy from shedding over this time. But you can help minimise it, and you will also be happy to know that the shedding from a puppy to an adult coat only happens once!
To minimise the shedding and it’s impact on your life, brush your dog very regularly (every day for 15 minutes or more!) over the initial few months of his or her life with you, and when he or she is likely to be shedding. There are a few great reasons – detailed below – why you should brush your dog over this time.
Brush Brush Brush!
- Your dog if brushed alot over this time, will get really used to you brushing him and this will allow you to brush him regularly throughout his life.
- It’s a fantastic bonding opportunity for you and your puppy where you can dedicate 15 minutes every day just to patting and brushing him!
- You will stop the hair from going all over your house as alot will come out in the brush while you are brushing him, so you will minimise the impact on your house and furniture.
- As the hair comes out in most ‘oodle’ dogs like our cavoodles, spoodles and groodles, the curly hair may mean that as this puppy hair gets tangled in the other hair your puppy still has. This can result in matting which can occur VERY quickly. By brushing your puppy’s shedded hair out of his fur, it will help ensure his coat doesn’t become tangled, which can result in more pain for your puppy if the matting is not dealt with quickly.
- By brushing the hair, it will encourage more shedding, which will help the shedding phase be over much quicker!
Our advice over this time for these reasons is to contact Pines Puppies and get a brush that is suited to your particular dog and it’s individual hair/fur and brush brush brush!
Will my adult oodle shed her hair?
Dogs shed their adult hair as a result of various things, but the most prominent reason is due to their breed. We breed our ‘oodles’ (cavoodles, spoodles, groodles etc) for their lovely temperament, the ability of these dogs to fit into your lifestyle, and of course their extremely low shedding coat. We know that Australians want their dogs inside their homes (did you know that around 76% of dogs in Australia* are now allowed inside?) and for this reason we breed dogs who shed as little as possible. It is important for an oodle dog owner to know though, that there is no dog that does not shed at all. Dogs are the same as humans and nearly every other mammal on the planet and they do shed hair, but we reduce this to as little as possible by breeding with the correct selection of parents.
Our oodles are extremely low shedding – so much so that we’d expect you to be able to wear white pants with a chocolate oodle and you wont see any hairs on your pants. We know that this is what our customers want – to have your dog inside, on your bed, on your couch or pat them on your lap! We breed our dogs so that you have puppies and then dogs who perfectly fit into your house and your lifestyle.
Be VERY wary of any breeder who tells you that their dogs are ‘completely non-shedding’, or ‘a rare breed that does not shed at all’ – this breed of dog does not exist.
If at any time you are concerned about your puppy’s shedding, please make sure you contact the team at Pines Puppies, or us at Banksia Park Puppies, and we can help talk you through your questions.
*Reference: https://petsinaustralia.com.au/wp-content/themes/_TBST-BusinessAccelerator-v3/library/Downloads/Pet-Ownership-in-Australia-2013.pdf
Very interesting article on shedding. Does the colouring of the puppy coat remain in the adult fur ie chocolate with white chest with remain just that, or loss of “patterning”.
Hi David,
You will see some changes in your puppy’s coat as it changes to an adult coat. For example the bright ‘red’ of the puppy may change to a less bright red. There may also be some changes in the patterning too but generally it will remain similar to what you see in your puppy.
My 12 week old spoodle is shedding his puppy coat & is biting and scratching +++ & is nearly bald on hip back leg @ tail . Should I be concerned.?
Hi Sharyn,
Have you got a Banksia Park Puppy? If so I would suggest that you contact Pines Puppies and they can talk you through it and maybe even arrange for you to visit our Vet.
If you do not have a Banksia Park Puppy then we suggest that you see your local Veterinarian. Most dog shedding is ok, but if there is is bald spots or it looks sore or red we would definitely suggest that you see a Veterinarian just to make sure that there is nothing further going on there.
We hope this has helped!
Thanks he isn’t from Banksia Park . No redness or sores just really itchy where the new hair is growing do you recommend a soothing lotion safe for puppies ?
We haven’t experienced dogs being itchy where the hair is coming through. If you are worried then we definitely recommend taking him to your vet. They will be able to point you towards a cream if this is required, and if it is something more then you will have picked it up early. It is important to trust your instincts. If you think your puppy is ok then perhaps even go to the Vet for the cream as they will have creams there to have a look at.
Hi I have a beautiful 4 1/2 month old spoodle that has very short hair and isn’t growning. I have taken him to the vet and he said there is nothing wrong with him and you get what you get. I don’t think he liked spoodles. Please tell his adult hair will come in xxx
Hi Genelle, is your puppy a Banksia Park Puppy?
If it is one of ours, perhaps give one of our Puppy Consultants a call and we can talk you through it. You may have a spoodle which is a short haired spoodle and doesn’t have the fluffy coat. That is hard for us to tell though without a photo. If he is one of ours make sure you contact us with a photo. Have you told you breeder (if not us) that this is the case?
Regards,
Kirstin
Hi, I have a Banksia Park gold female Cavoodle. She was born 25/01/2017 and has very thin, sparse hair, particularly on her back and front legs. I’ve only noticed just how thin over the past two weeks. She has no sores, rash or itching. Just very thin straight hair. Does this sound like she’s shedding her puppy coat? Is it likely it will grow in thicker and curly like my other older cavoodle (from another breeder). Thanks.
Hi Kirsten, if you want to, I would suggest giving our Puppy Consultants a call to talk through this. If it is really thin then perhaps she took on more of mums DNA and may have a straighter coat. It is hard to know without seeing pictures. You could also email us if you like and that will put us in a better place to answer you properly 🙂
Hi I have a 8 year old Spoodle, who has been non-shedding to date. We recently moved house and he is Chedding like crazy, So I would put it down to stress however we also moved 15 months ago and he didnt have the same issue. Can you provide any advise please. He is getting very pink underneath and we only moved last weekend.
oops Shedding
Hi Kylie, I would not expect him to be shedding that much. That is very unusual and it indicates an issue with the environment. It could be stress as you say but that is a long time for this to be occuring. I would be concerned about other new factors such as new plants/grass/other environmental issues that perhaps could indicate an allergy. We suggest that you see your vet to discuss further – if it is a Banksia Park Puppy we recommend Boronia Veterinary Clinic.
Hi my 2yo Spoodle has lost his coal in a strip down his spine , no irritation or itching , it isn’t bare but the new hair is darker and just wavy rather than the tight curl ? Is his entire cost likely to change ? He was originally dark brown & changed to very light brown last year , Vet has checked him and can’t see a reason . Father 100% poodle/ Mither 2nd Gen Spoodle.