There's hair on the sofa, on your dark clothes, in the car. The question always comes back: is this normal, or is something wrong?
Normal shedding
Dogs and cats lose hair all year round. It's renewal: the hair grows, dies, falls out. Nothing to fix.
On top of that come two heavier moults, in spring and autumn, each lasting two to three weeks. During those periods the amount can be impressive, especially in double-coated breeds — Australian shepherd, husky, golden retriever, Bernese mountain dog. That isn't illness, it's the change of season.
One nuance: an animal living indoors under artificial light and constant heating has less marked but more spread-out moults. Hence the feeling that he sheds "all year long".
The signs that aren't normal
What matters isn't the amount of hair, it's what the skin underneath is saying. See a vet if you notice:
- bald areas, symmetrical or in patches, where the skin becomes visible;
- red, crusty or flaking skin, or skin that smells;
- an animal scratching, licking or nibbling itself non-stop;
- a coat gone dull and brittle, coming out in tufts when you run your hand over it;
- sudden loss together with a change in general condition — tiredness, appetite, weight.
In those cases, brushing more won't fix anything. The possible causes are many (parasites, allergies, diet, hormonal problems) and are diagnosed in a consultation, not on the internet.
What actually reduces hair at home
Regular brushing, and nothing else, makes the difference. Dead hair comes off either with a brush or with a vacuum cleaner three times a week — there is no third option.
During a moult, a short daily brushing beats one long session on Sunday: you catch the hair before it falls. Outside the moult, two to three times a week is enough.
For animals who dislike metal pin brushes — many cats, and dogs sensitive along the back — a soft silicone glove or brush often goes down better: it feels like being stroked, so the session doesn't turn into a negotiation. And for the heavy shedders, a steam brush lightly dampens the coat while you brush, which stops the hair flying around the room.
Two more things that help: a diet with enough fatty acids (the coat is built from what he eats), and accepting that a dog who spends part of the day outdoors will have sharper but shorter moults.
And the hair already in the sofa?
A vacuum alone never really gets it out of fabric. We covered the methods that do work in this article on hair embedded in the sofa.
0 comments