Shedding usually happens twice a year for our pets. Once in the spring, they exchange their heavy weight winter coats for lighter spring coats, and again in the fall when they change their coat’s back. Shedding is a natural occurrence for our furry friends, but it is a bit of a nuisance if we do not keep up with their grooming. While we like to feel the softness of our pet’s fur, we do not care to see their fur on our floors, clothing and furniture. When brushing or combing our pets, we remove the loose under coat of hair, thereby stopping it from ending up floating around our house. Brushing also stimulates circulation and new hair growth, helping our pet’s hair coat to look and feel healthy.

Shedding more than twice a year can be a sign of underlying health problems, so if your dog is shedding or scratching more than usual, seek out veterinarian’s help.

Short haired dogs shed just like our long haired pets, but since their hair is shorter it is sometimes not as noticeable. Brushing our pets or shaving them prevents excessive shedding and helps keep both our homes and our yards neat.

Cats, both long and short haired, can also benefit from grooming.