Japanese Spitz Shedding

Any animal with hair will shed, especially those with double coats, but how much and when that hair falls out varies by breed. The Japanese spitz does not shed all the time, but the undercoat will fall out practically all at once during the course of the year. Males lose it once a year, while females drop it twice a year, usually coinciding with the spring and fall change of seasons.

Your spitz boasts long, silky hair atop a fluffy undercoat, and neglecting this mane leads to tangles and mats. Use a slicker brush and wide-tooth comb to get through both layers of hair and remove any tangles before they form unmanageable mats. Most of the time you should need to brush your pooch only once or twice a week; but when he's in his major shedding period, you'll have to increase brushing frequency to daily. Brushing removes dead, loose hair before it tangles together and ruins an otherwise pristine coat. A Japanese spitz's extreme shedding lasts only a week or two, then you can return to your less-frequent brushing sessions.

A spitz doesn't require regular baths to keep his coat bright white. He cleans himself like a cat, licking and grooming his coat and paws. The texture of his coat makes even the stickiest mud come off easily. As such, he should need bathing no more often than once every three or four months. Brush him out completely before washing him, and use a gentle dog shampoo. If you time his seasonal bath while he's in the midst of his shedding period, you'll get a lot of the loose hair out while he's in the tub. Use a drain cover to catch the washed out loose hairs before they collect in your drain and cost you a plumber's visit. Brush his hair as you blow-dry to fluff it up and get the properly poofy look.

Generally speaking, even dogs with double coats shed hair minimally throughout the year, but you should notice copious shed spitz hair about your home only when he's going through his big marathon shed. If your pooch seems to shed undercoat more two distinct periods a year, or his coat seems thin and dull, visit your vet. When a dog's coat looks bad, something may be amiss with his health. It could be as simple as low-quality food or something more serious like hypothyroidism. Once the underlying problem is corrected, his coat should return to normal.