# What ages do coats change? 9 month old blowing coat?



## NewToGoldens (Feb 5, 2009)

What are the "typical" ages where a Golden's coat changes?

We have a just turned 9 month old boy who has a beautiful coat but it is suddenly "blowing"; literally!

It seems like he is shedding both undercoat and longer top coat. is this a normal thing for 9 months of age? He's shed a bit in the spring but nothing like this! Patting him outside in a breeze results in a gold explosion; definitely don't want to be talking unless you lik epicking hair from your teeth.. 

Anyway, thought I'd ask.. Otherwise he's same as normal, just shedding like crazy..

Thanks in advance!


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## Loboto-Me (Nov 13, 2008)

Boy oh Boy, I know what you're talking about. Duke did this to me when we first got him at 7 months old. Like you, I was concerned because it was SO much at once. Guard hairs and undercoat blew together and for a while I actually thought he had a skin disease or something because I had no idea that the stiffer guard hairs were supposed to shed as well. Duke actually almost went bald on the thighs and his hair was so short on the rest of him that he actually almost looked like a lab with skimpy feathering. He was UGLY  and his hair felt stiff and dry to the touch as well... had me worried.
His hair is coming back in now and it's starting to thicken again. 

I just kept brushing (2X daily) outside and bathing him lots. Although I don't know if this made a difference, but it's healthy for him, I now give them some mixed oil with their lunch. This stuff has salmon oil, sage oil, sunflower oil and flax oil in it... both my dogs' coats gleam.

It's now Sophie's turn to shed, but she's not doing nearly as heavily as Duke did.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Yes it is normal. He is getting his big boy coat now. Does he look like he has a toupee on his back? I remember when Bama had that look.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Sooo rather than start a new thread, I dug this one up using the search feature.

Similar to the original poster of this thread, my golden boy is 9 months as well.

*Just a quick debriefing on Jackson's whole coat-blowing deal:*

It's now May 31st, but it has been warm here in the Northeast for about 2 months. His coat has looked EXTREMELY poofy especially on his hind legs/hip areas. We brush with a pin brush daily and get a decent amount of hair out.

BUT this past Memorial Day weekend we had him at the beach for the first time, and we had him swimming for the first time too. It was a hot weekend, mid-to-upper 80's all weekend. Well when we got back from the beach yesterday, I gave him a bath to get the saltwater off of him. And then I brushed him. OH.....MY.....GOD :bowl::bowl::bowl: 5 pin-brushes full of hair came out of him yesterday. I got another 3 full out of him during lunch today.

My question is - could the swimming have been what set off the blowing of the coat? Like I said, it was hot this weekend but it's been warm here for the last 2 months or so 

I'm glad it's finally all coming out of him, but I'm just wondering if this weekend could have set it all off?

This is what he looked like last weekend, pre-shed explosion! See how puffy he is on his hind legs?

Thanks!
Tom


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## Limerick Main (Sep 17, 2010)

Tom, what beach did you bring him to? I had Limerick at Cedar Beach marina last week, but got yelled at for having a dog there (after an hour jumping off the docks  )


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

ActionJackson said:


> Sooo rather than start a new thread, I dug this one up using the search feature.
> 
> Similar to the original poster of this thread, my golden boy is 9 months as well.
> 
> ...


 Just wanted to say he is one handsome boy!!!


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## mfreib1 (Apr 8, 2011)

our pup is going through the same thing, I attribute it to the weather, it's in the 90's already here


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

ha!

well we keep our boat out east in Peconic Bay, and there's this sandbar that forms a point, so everyone just takes their boats right up on the beach and hangs on the point. It ends up being a private beach really. 

Here's a pic from the beach:


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Nice private beach!!! I haven't noticed a change in Chili, which is to say he's shedding the "normal" amount for a Golden and my vacuums are working overtime to keep up. We haven't had him outside in the hot weather much though...his outdoor activity is when the sun is low. If he sheds any more than he is right now, I'm bustin out the clippers! We're going to have a large golden rat in the house!


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## bioteach (Nov 13, 2010)

Nugget just blew his coat too - at age 8 months. We were at our mountain cabin and suddenly the entire couch and loveseat went from pine green to fuzzy cream. I brushed and brushed - gobs and gobs of soft undercoat along with clouds of mixed hair came loose. Right now Nugget is a mess but it's summer in Phoenix so he's soggy all of the time anyway. If there is water, he will find it.

We are giving him one large fish oil pill a day but perhaps more would help. Thanks for the suggestions.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Perfectly normal-I call it a "juvenile blow"  Some dogs/lines seem to do this more than others.

And yes, a nice bath or swim on a warm day can definitely put things in motion! In fact, once the shedding process has started on my guys, I like to hurry it along with warm baths and blow drying, so the new coat can come it.

Now, if dryness, breakage and thin coat persists for more than a few weeks, and there are no parasites or worms, I might suspect low thyroid and test for that.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

bioteach said:


> Nugget just blew his coat too - at age 8 months. We were at our mountain cabin and suddenly the entire couch and loveseat went from pine green to fuzzy cream. I brushed and brushed - gobs and gobs of soft undercoat along with clouds of mixed hair came loose. Right now Nugget is a mess but it's summer in Phoenix so he's soggy all of the time anyway. If there is water, he will find it.
> 
> We are giving him one large fish oil pill a day but perhaps more would help. Thanks for the suggestions.


Yeah it was crazy! I mean he's been shedding for a couple months now since spring started, but nothing like this! Maybe being out in the hot weather for a few hours on Monday set him off......I almost want to say that going in the water set it off too - while he was in the water, if you pet him, you'd end up with a glob of hair in your hand! 

I think we are making up some ground though....Monday we got about 5 FULL brushes out of him, yesterday there were 3 FULL brushes, today it was 1-1/2. I bet he feels better. He is now even _MORE_ soft than he was to begin with lol


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Tahnee GR said:


> Perfectly normal-I call it a "juvenile blow"  Some dogs/lines seem to do this more than others.
> 
> And yes, a nice bath or swim on a warm day can definitely put things in motion! In fact, once the shedding process has started on my guys, I like to hurry it along with warm baths and blow drying, so the new coat can come it.
> 
> Now, if dryness, breakage and thin coat persists for more than a few weeks, and there are no parasites or worms, I might suspect low thyroid and test for that.


Thanks a lot for the reply.

I was waiting for that "juvenile blow" to get started - his coat was crazy thick and he was really fluffy - but it just wasn't coming out. He's only 9 months so this is his first winter-to-summer changeover, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I think you're right, a hot day at the beach and some swimming might've given it the kick in the pants it needed! :bowl: Luckily he is perfectly happy doing both of those things! :


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Limerick Main said:


> Tom, what beach did you bring him to? I had Limerick at Cedar Beach marina last week, but got yelled at for having a dog there (after an hour jumping off the docks  )


Hey Sean I meant to ask ya - how do you get Limerick back up on the dock after he jumps in? 

I'm trying to build something to hang off the back of my boat so Jackson can get back in easily. I know Worst Marine sells a doggie step ladder at a gaudy $200 :no:. For that $ I'd rather try to build something first


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## Limerick Main (Sep 17, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> Hey Sean I meant to ask ya - how do you get Limerick back up on the dock after he jumps in?
> 
> I'm trying to build something to hang off the back of my boat so Jackson can get back in easily. I know Worst Marine sells a doggie step ladder at a gaudy $200 :no:. For that $ I'd rather try to build something first


Where we went it's a float dock next to a little beach, so he just swims to the beach. Part of the dock is also shallow enough for him to just jump up. I need to post some pictures here, but there are a ton on his Facebook page. We also bring him to Southards Pond in Babylon Village. It's on the horse trails up to Belmont, and he goes out from the shore ( no dock there). I'm thinking of taking him to the boat ramp at teh Babylon Village pool. There's a dock and a boat ramp, so that may work for him. We'll see if I can convince the wife.

Also:








[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Super-Skamper-Ramp-Pool-Pet/dp/B0019CB2IM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1306952675&sr=8-5[/ame]


Limerick hasn't blown his coat, but he does shed a bit. His long coat is still coming in, so maybe it will happen later. He is shorter coated, so maybe it won't blow out. We'll see.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Limerick Main said:


> Where we went it's a float dock next to a little beach, so he just swims to the beach. Part of the dock is also shallow enough for him to just jump up. I need to post some pictures here, but there are a ton on his Facebook page. We also bring him to Southards Pond in Babylon Village. It's on the horse trails up to Belmont, and he goes out from the shore ( no dock there). I'm thinking of taking him to the boat ramp at teh Babylon Village pool. There's a dock and a boat ramp, so that may work for him. We'll see if I can convince the wife.
> 
> Also:
> 
> ...


That's not a bad looking set up at all - it just might work. Thanks for the link

That sounds like a good spot over there at Cedar - shame they kicked ya out. Town Pool at Babylon would probably be a sweet setup.....may even want to check out Gardner's Park in Bayshore/Brightwaters. It's a dog park with access to the bay....never been but I've heard it's a nice place for the dogs. 

I've thought about bringing Jackson up to Southard's Pond too, I'm just worried about him stepping on something in the lake - there is so much crap in that lake from all the kids that hang out there it makes me a little paranoid


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## Limerick Main (Sep 17, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> That's not a bad looking set up at all - it just might work. Thanks for the link
> 
> That sounds like a good spot over there at Cedar - shame they kicked ya out. Town Pool at Babylon would probably be a sweet setup.....may even want to check out Gardner's Park in Bayshore/Brightwaters. It's a dog park with access to the bay....never been but I've heard it's a nice place for the dogs.
> 
> I've thought about bringing Jackson up to Southard's Pond too, I'm just worried about him stepping on something in the lake - there is so much crap in that lake from all the kids that hang out there it makes me a little paranoid


 
It's actualy rather clean, believe it or not. They did a big cleanup a few years ago, and it's rather popular with dog owners. I keep him away from the bridge on the south side that everyone fishes off of, but there are a couple of very nice spots with benches that we go to and play.

We've been to Gardiners, but it has a bad reputation for being flea and tick infested. Plus, there are always people there with dogs that shouldn't be alowed in dog parks.


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## Limerick Main (Sep 17, 2010)

I've heard that the beach at Hecksher is dog friendly. Need to check it out.


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## bellaballinger (Jun 1, 2011)

I'm in Alabama and its 94 deg today. I just got an 8 wk old puppy yesterday and she is my firt Goldie. Is she gonna shed like crazy this summer? Can I have her sheared? How early is too early for a haircut? Thanks


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## Limerick Main (Sep 17, 2010)

bellaballinger said:


> I'm in Alabama and its 94 deg today. I just got an 8 wk old puppy yesterday and she is my firt Goldie. Is she gonna shed like crazy this summer? Can I have her sheared? How early is too early for a haircut? Thanks


She'll shed, but only for the first 13 or 14 years, give or take. Personaly, I wouldn't shear a Golden. I think it makes them look kind of sad. If you're worried about the heat with the long fur, just provide lots of cool water and shade, she'll be OK.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

bellaballinger said:


> I'm in Alabama and its 94 deg today. I just got an 8 wk old puppy yesterday and she is my firt Goldie. Is she gonna shed like crazy this summer? Can I have her sheared? How early is too early for a haircut? Thanks


I'm no expert but I'll throw my 2 cents in....

We got my dog in October so the heat/shedding subject wasn't a huge deal at the time.

I don't know if a pup that young will "blow the coat"....

I can tell you that Goldens shed all year round, but there are a couple of times a year where they "blow their coat" - this would be A) in the spring where they lose their winter coat and get their summer coat, and B) in the fall where they ditch the summer coat and get their winter coat in. In addition to that, the dog will lose their puppy coat and get their adult coat in.....I believe my 9 month old dog Jackson is experiencing both right now - losing his puppy coat AND "blowing his coat" in preparation for the summer.

** EDIT ** - I forgot to mention what Limerick said....you're better off not shaving them. They really do look depressed lol. And believe it or not, their coat helps keep them cool in the summer. If it's shaved off, their skin is exposed to the sun and they will be hotter that way.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Hey Sean I may have to join you at Southards in the very near future.....it's so close for me, just a short trip down DPA.

Looks like you saw that I hit you up on facebook - let me know the next time you are planning to go down there!


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## Limerick Main (Sep 17, 2010)

I think Limerick may have just started to blow. He shook and a few small clumps came out, so it looks like multiple brushings are going to start.


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## smurfergirl (Apr 10, 2011)

Thanks for the heads up on this, Benson is almost 9 months and his coat has started to blow too and it happened suddenly, I have tumbleweeds through my house and have had to invest in a stick vac, to deal with it. I was wondering if something was up with him. I now realise it must just be a "golden" thing.

The funny thing is that we are in Australia, so we have just started winter, so heat is not an issue.

I have just started him on an external spot on product called Essential 6 to help his coat, so I will let you know how that goes. It takes 8 weeks to take effect, but his coat feels and smells heaps better already.


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