Hello and welcome to shedding season at Queenstown! In this post I will share some tips on how to manage the inevitable shedding season and information on coat care.
"Do Berners shed a lot?", is a question I get pretty regularly. The short answer is YES! However, there is a longer answer. Berners are double coated. They have a top-coat and an undercoat. The undercoat is designed to help keep them warmer or cooler depending on the time of year, while the top-coat helps protect them from the elements. Berners tend to "blow their coat" twice a year. This is what we call shedding season! During shedding season they will lose most of their undercoat in preparation of the new one coming in. Berners do shed outside of their shedding season but it is typically much less.
What to do when your Berner is blowing their coat
When your Berner is blowing their coat it is important to brush them frequently to help get the fur off of them. Using a long pin brush works very well to grab their undercoat. I like the retractable kind best because you can easily grab the fur off of the brush and throw it away.
Igor has been blowing his coat for the last 2 months and it has been non stop brushing, sweeping and vacuuming. So when Helena started to blow her coat, I tried something different! I decided to see what happened if I bathed and blow dried her....and here is what I learned.
While I was shampooing her I spent a lot of time massaging to loosen up her undercoat. This worked a little too well LOL. Lots and lots of fur came out in the bathtub. I was able to catch most of it but quite a bit went down the drain (fixing this should be a fun job for Colin:).
When I started blow drying her, her undercoat literally flew off!! I have never seen anything like it. My suggestion would be to do this outside. We have Berner hair EVERYWHERE. We followed our blow dry sesh with some pretty intense brushing to grab any undercoat that hadn't been blown off.
So whether you choose to brush and sweep for months or do one massive clean up job after a bath and blow dry is up to you. I think I will stick with the bath and blow dry option since it was so effective! Also, Helena looks beautiful....and knows it lol.
Additional Coat Care Tips
As a general rule, Berners are not complicated to keep clean. They have fairly easy-to-care-for coats that usually only require brushing every second day or so. Even when the dogs find a way to become covered in mud, once it dries out, the mud tends to fall away from the fur.
Regular bathing is also encouraged, as this helps loosen and remove any dead fur. Berners should not be bathed excessively. Usually once a quarter to once a month is ok. If they are bathed too frequently it can irritate their skin and cause problems. We use Mane and Tail on the black and rust fur. We use White on White shampoo for white fur to make it gleam. For conditioner, I love Mane and Tail's product. It gives their coat a gorgeous shine and makes their fur very soft.
When you are brushing your Berner, be sure that fur knots or mats do not develop around the ears by keeping them combed out. To prevent “hot spots” (a kind of skin infection) from developing make sure your dog is completely dry. Should they develop a hot spot you can apply Gold Bond powder to relieve irritation. Using apple cider vinegar diluted with water is another great way to keep their hot spots clean. We also use this to clean their ears and any other mild irritation on the skin. Typically start with a 1/10 dilution and never go higher than 4/10. As with any questions, if this happens feel free to call us there are lots of tips and tricks. If you plan to show your Berner in conformation events, the grooming requirements are more involved and require additional guidance. We would be happy to advise you in this regard if you so desire.
For optimal skin and coat maintenance, we recommend a product called Opti Coat, available from your local pet supply store. It is a natural supplement based on salmon oil. Organic Salmon Oil is well received by our Berners and they love it. There is also another product called DreamCoat, which is available online. There are other similar products available but what you should be looking for is a source for the Omega 3 fatty acids.
We wish you the best of luck during shedding season!
Hugs & Wags,
Siobhan
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