Please explain " Blow their coat"
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| Hi Ollies Mama,
I am sure some OES would blow the coat at 4 months old, as it seems that a lot of have it happen at all different stages. For instance, my pups did a coat change at around 9-10 months and then they are going through it again. This one is the big change though. My dogs held on to the adult coat and are just now slowly turning gray, where a lot of members dogs have already turned gray. They are losing clumps of hair everywhere and it is all very long black hair and what is staying is a beautiful shorter gray dense, harsh coat. I will try to get pics up to show you what I am reffering too. I would think that it is probably just Ollie blowing his coat. It could also be an allergy too. The forum just recently had a member's dog have an allergy to a carpet cleaner and he was losing a lot of his coat. You can see that post here: http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=17 ... owing+coat Good luck, and I can't wait to hear more about Ollie! 
Stormi and co. |
Four months is a little young for this. When people say "blowing coat" they are usually referring to a "shedding event" or coat transition from adult to puppy coat. Hormones can also trigger blowing coat. Most oes begin to change from puppy to adult coat after 6 months, but it has been known to happen sooner. If your pup is healthy, eating normally, and well hydrated, then it is probably nothing but coat change, or maybe weather change? I would just take a close look at the skin and make sure it all looks ok... other than that, take lots of pics, because soon you will have a different colored dog!  |
| oh boy, oh boy!!! When Pirate "blew his puppy coat", around 9 months, it was a nightmare for us!!!! Apparently the quicker the blow, the worse it is. I had never had a problem grooming him, but all of the sudden he was always matted. I had even considered shaving him, til it was over, but found a wonderful groomer who handled the crisis. I swear one morning when I left for work he was fine...I came home at lunch and it looked like he had a second head growing on top of his head. There was a mat the size of a plum!!!!! EEEK!!!! Thank goodness we are passed that. During that time, I never found clumps of fur anywhere. The blown coat just matted. And I agree 4 months is early. You may want to give your vet (or groomer) a call. Good luck!!! Deborah |
| Pepsi is starting to get some grays in his black areas he's 10 mos old. When do they normally change colors? |
| All three that I have had have begun to change to blue grey at the roots around 6 months of age, but I know many don't change color until much later.... he sounds like he's right on track, for him |
| Ollie's Mama,
It would be exceedingly rare for a 4 month old puppy to begin the puppy to adult coat transition commonly refered to as "blowing coat"  . Is there any colour change associated with the "clumping" of black hair? Are you finding more hair on the floors than has been usual until now? When was Ollie's last bath?
I would suspect some other cause for the current matting and clumping rather than blowing coat at 4 months  . Puppy formula food should be giving Ollie enough of the basic nutrients but maybe lacking in some of the coat and ski conditoners. I would recommend using a supplement to increase Ollie's Omega Fatty acid intake to help ensure good skin/coat condition. The one I like the most is Linatone, available at any major pet supply store. It is a little bit of a large upfront expense but will last a long time and is well worth its price. Failing that about 1/3 to 1/2 tin of pink salmon mixed in with his kibble a couple of times per week for a month would help his skin and coat nicely, and he would probably REALLY REALLY like it  ! But be careful because this may cause stomach upsets and attendant problems  .
Check your brushes and combs. Does the brush have straight pins or little balls on the ends? Straight pins are the way to go with this breed. Is the rubber pad supple to allow the pins to flex as you brush? If the pad is hard or worse yet rigid you are going to be ripping hair out that is not ready to come out. How fine is your comb and what length are the tines? Anything more than 12 tines to the inch is too fine for general combing out and the tines need to be about 2 inches long - generally these are classified as course, long tined combs. "Poodle combs" are generally far to fine and short for effective use on OES. That being said I do have poodle adn other fine combs but they are very rarely and judiciously used in keeping my boys if full show coat  .
Please let us know more about your grooming tools and technique as well as Ollie's general health so that we (the forum as a whole) can try to help you identify the problem and assist as much as possible. I really doubt that Ollie is "blowing coat" at his age  .
Carl |
| Presley lost all of her hair at @ 5 months old. It started coming out in clumps and as I brushed it just fell out - she looked like a chemo patient. It had been several years since I had been through the puppy coat change - but I knew this wasn't normal. The Vet was in shock when he saw her and immediately ran thyroid panels and bloodwork to see what was going on. All tests were thankfully normal - but it was scary to think what might be wrong with her.
Needless to say, I have a different "picture" in my head when someone refers to their pups losing fur or shedding. Do you have a recent picture of Ollie you could post - maybe people would have a better idea of what you were referring to??? If you're unsure how to post it - I can help you - just email a picture to me and I'll post it for you. -Kristen, Presley (who would like to let everyone know she's beautiful NOW!) and Sydney |
| Max is doing what Presley did, but as in my other post the Vet thinks its an allergic reaction. He definitly looks like a chemo patient. I am going to give him another few weeks, then maybe back to the vet. I'vd changed his food per the dr. , but have not redone the carpets yet either. HIs skin is very pinkish though. |
| Has Max been through any "trauma" recently? After the thyroid results were normal - my Vet thought Presley's may have been "stress" related (she had surgery a few weeks before and he said it could have been a stress and/or anesthesia reaction).
My feelings are that Presley's was due to poor breeding.  Especially since I was told by the breeder that this was "normal" and that's why they sell puppies before that age - or noone would buy them!  
If it makes you feel better - her fur grew in normally and she's been fine ever since (KOW) - she wouldn't ever be a show dog - but that wasn't a concern for me. I just wanted her healthy. -Kristen |
| It's starting to make a little more sense now. Thanks for all the good info. When I first got Ollie I trimmed around his eyes after I twice saw him walk into the wall. I was shocked to find the shorter hair was gray! I thoughI must have done something horrible. I checked to make sure that the haircut had fixed the vison problem. I have noticed that the hair he's growing in now is gray. His skin looks fine but I will get the supplement and the different brush. The only clumps of hair I'm finding are all black and we've spent more time on grooming. He loves to be brushed and the children and I love how cuddly he gets after a nice brushing. I'll try to post some pictures in the morning. I want to bring him in for an extra vet visit before we start puppy classes just to be on the safe side so I'll have the vet recheck the hair issue. It would not surprise me if Ollie is just ahead of his time. He is such a wonderful puppy! |
| I took Ollie to the Vet and he said that Ollie is just starting to blow his coat. He told me I'm watching my Sheepie too closely. I laughed and thought of you guys! I'm happy to know that my pup is okay but this morning he found a some kind of Bur bush and I had to give him a bit of a swiss cheese hair cut to get them out. I tried working them out with some product, comes in handy that I work in the corp. office of a salon chain. Hopeful I can work some shear magic. |
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