{"id":1446,"date":"2023-05-23T12:08:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T11:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?p=1446"},"modified":"2025-06-22T20:57:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T19:57:50","slug":"shedding-labradors-its-the-moulting-season-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/shedding-labradors-its-the-moulting-season-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Shedding Again? How To Cope With All That Hair!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It was that time of year again! By evening our house was coated in a fine layer of pale golden shed Labrador hair. Tess was molting. My teenage son took her outside into the garden and set to work with a furminator.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Tess is being groomed with a Furminator<\/a>(paid link)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

This is a special memory for me. And as you can see, Tess thoroughly enjoyed all the attention that furminating involves! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note: Some of links in this article take you to Amazon. If you make a purchase after clicking on those links, The Labrador Site receives a small commission that does not affect the price you pay<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many years have passed since the photo was taken and Tess now rests peacefully beneath a rose bush in our garden. But shedding is an issue that we still have to deal with and in this article we\u2019ll be looking at why dogs shed, and why Labradors in particular shed so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll then look at some of the ways you can help reduce the mountain of hair in your home. And the loose hair clinging onto your dog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we close in on dogs, let\u2019s look at the reasons behind molting, in animals in general<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Why Dogs Shed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many wild animals, especially those that live in parts of the world with very different seasons, have a twice yearly \u2018molt\u2019. Usually in spring and again as winter approaches. During the spring molt, the animal sheds its thick winter coat, and grows a sleek new coat for the summer season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the temperature falls, the summer coat is shed and replaced by a nice warm winter one. In some animals, the winter coat is even a different color from the summer one, to give the animal camouflage against a very different kind of terrain – think of arctic hares and foxes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So shedding offers animals a chance to replace their coat to reflect the changing seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although dogs don\u2019t need to be camouflaged, and most modern dogs live in houses were the temperature is fairly consistent all year around, the \u2018molt\u2019 still occurs to a greater of lesser extent in most breeds of dog. But dogs no longer roam the tundra, and battle the elements. Dogs have been living alongside humans for thousands of year. So why does shedding still persist? It\u2019s all to do with evolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home  comforts and your hairy problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our bodies, and the bodies of our dogs, evolve beneficial biological systems over thousands of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is only recently we have been protected from the seasons with the luxury of air conditioning and central heating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a very short period of time in evolutionary terms<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evolving new biological systems takes a long time.  So dogs still continue to shed because it benefitted their recent ancestors. When home comforts have been around for ten thousand years, maybe dogs won\u2019t shed any more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I\u2019m pretty sure you don\u2019t want to wait that long to get to grips with your hairy problem!  Especially when you consider that Labradors shed even more than many other breeds of dog.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

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Why does my Labrador shed so much<\/em>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you empty your vacuum cleaner for the tenth time in a day, and wonder if you should dress yourself entirely in yellow to co-ordinate with your yellow Labrador, or fit your house in black carpets to go with your black lab, you may just be wondering why your Lab seems to shed so much more than everyone else’s dog!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some Labradors are thoughtful enough to shed in a big burst two or even three times a year, many others seem to just shed all year around. This may be connected with the consistent temperature in many modern houses, as dogs that are kennelled often seem to shed in a more seasonal pattern. So why is it, that Labradors shed so much more than some other breeds? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer lies in your Labradors incredible coat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A special double coat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Labradors have a neat, short coat, but it is particularly dense compared with many breeds and that is because the Labrador has what we call a \u2018double coat\u2019. Underneath that glossy waterproof outer layer, is a dense warm undercoat designed to keep your dog snug while swimming in icy water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is great for your dog, and partly explains his enthusiasm for swimming at any time of year. He simply doesn\u2019t feel the cold. It isn\u2019t however, so great for your furniture, your clothes, or your vacuum cleaner.<\/a> So let\u2019s take a look now at ways we can help get on top of this problem<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to cope with a shedding Labrador<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I should first say that at the time of writing, there is no pill or potion that you can give your Lab to stop him shedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shedding process is entirely natural and normal, if annoying,  and there is probably nothing you can or should do, to interfere with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are however,  two approaches you can take to help you reduce the effects of shedding<\/p>\n\n\n\n