# 11 year old losing little pieces of fur



## fishmounter (Mar 14, 2010)

My older GR who is now 11 and quite healthy, is losing pieces of fur. You can visually see which little clumps will fall out because they are a lighter color, some looking white. If you grab these hairs with your fingers, they just come right out. When I brush him I get a lot of loose hair, but I always have. He's not losing big bunches of fur, just small clumps. Is this part of getter older or is it the hot weather we are having in Southern California?


----------



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

That's called blowing coat. It'd be a good idea to get a coat rake and spend some time (probably a good 45 min at least) going over the entire coat with the rake, then do a quick blow drier session, then comb.


----------



## fishmounter (Mar 14, 2010)

So this is normal? What is a "blowing coat"? I don't think I've ever seen this before on him. Our other Golden Retriever who is 8 years old doesn't have this, but he is a different kind of GR.


----------



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Your other dog may never blow coat but sometimes they do do this, little white tufts, just as you describe.. dog is just changing coat over all at once. If you'll get a coat rake and remove it, blow it back w a dryer, then comb, you'll get probably a couple grocery bags out and the time will be well spent for dog comfort and also for reducing the amount of hair in your home.


----------

