Bitch Blowing coat - Page 2

Seasonal shedding is mainly the result of the number of hours of natural light to which the dog is exposed. In the spring the longer days trigger shedding, in the fall the shorter days trigger it again. If  you keep a dog inside a dark buliding it will never go through a seasonal shed. Some handlers/owners used to do that with dogs they were campaigning.

I feel sad for dogs kept in such a manner, it's not the life a dog deserves.
Besides there are many other factors that can cause shedding and you can't control them.
You shouldn't even try.

I have a female who has just finished blowing her undercoat and her topcoat is starting to shed now--I expect she'llcome in heat within the next week or so. I usually find that my girls blow undercoat first, about 3-4 weeks before their heat cycle. Then they start blowing topcoat and in the middle of that, they come into heat. So they always look terrible when you go to breed them and always look fabulous and glowy when pregnant.

It is odd to see the undercoat blow out in January, IMO. This girl is mostly an outdoor/kennel dog, though she comes in the house a lot--so it wasn't artificial light that triggered the shed.

Christine

My outdoor dog blows coat in the middle of winter, does it every year, usually in the middle of milder weather.   Last year in between the freezing cold and snow we had a week of milder weather he dropped the lot!! 

And he's currently tufting out undercoat like mad just as its about to get colder again :S

What is interesting is the pattern is which she is shedding... instead of evenly over her whole body, her coat is coming out from the back half only (so far). I've never seen one do this before. Very interesting.
 
how does her skin look in the areas where she's already shed compared to where she still has a full coat?
 

Sitasmom,
That is what I was intending this topic to be about, the pattern in which she is shedding. However, there are some pretty
good comments made to help explain the shedding ritual of females. I have been around the GSD breed for many years and
witnessed many many bitches going into heat. I have never seen this happen this way berfore.

This girl's coat AND skin is in great condition. No flaking, no raw or bald spots, just normal skin.  There was no change in diet
nor living conditions.  She is, and has been on TOTW from the beginning.  She is in great weight and bright eyes. To this point I 
see no reason to take her to the vet. The only change with this girl is that she just came in to heat for the first time.  

Thanks for bringing this back on topic.  Once again I ask, has anyone experienced or seen this before? I am referring to the 
pattern of loss of coat.  

In a similar style yes thats how my bitch shed, just not in that pattern, she'd start under her belly and the very visible break between bald and coat would work upwards towards her spine.

lol, poor girl (not that she cares how she looks) don't worry, the rest will follow.

My longcoat is blowing now too, I can't keep up with the softball size chunks of black hair all over the floor. 

I have a bitch that goes "bald" (not literally) but her beautiful, thick, full, shiny coat goes to hell before she cycles

- so did her mother and does her daughter

- very exaggerated appearance with your girls sable coloring almost gives the visual appearance of brindle