Shed And Now Has Very Short Coat

[Sorcha]

I expected my purebred borzoi to shed in the Spring, but he nearly looks like he was shaved! (He wasn't.) Fintan is 8 months old and during the shed he lost a voluminous amount of fur and all the curls and waviness are gone. He just has one small patch of puppy fur left on his back, and his tail & rump fur seems not to have shed. I am embarrassed to ask, but is this normal? My borzoi-saluki cross did not have this happen as a puppy so thus my confusion. I just am left wondering if there's a medical reason that I should have him checked for, like a thyroid issue.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I don't know about specific breeds, but I was a dog groomer and saw lots of puppies. Sometimes, they shed the puppy coat gradually. At other times, they blew the whole puppy coat in one fell swoop. Your boy's tail and rump may stay fluffy but just add more coarse and sturdy hair. And he should get hairier along his chest, I think. But his grown-up coat may not fill in until cooler weater (it doesn't make sense for it to grow in while it's so warm).

[krissy]

Different breed but maybe it'll help you. Around 8 months old Kili suddenly blew her whole coat. One day it was soft and silky with no shed and the next day it was coming out in clumps. I could pluck hair out by the handful. It was awful. And not just that the hair was coming out, but she had dry, dead skin coming out with it. I seriously thought something was wrong. Took her about 2 weeks to totally blow her coat out and now it's soft and shiny and no dandruff.

[kudzu]

My staghound did something like this. After that her more Deerhound like coat grew in. She was 1/4 Borzoi, for what it's worth.

[Saharasmom]

Don't know if this helps, but Atlas's coat seems sparser and shorter this summer than in previous ones. His tail and back legs look like usual, though.

[Sorcha]

Thanks for the input. I miss his soft, silky coat.

[cleptogrey]

have you written to fintan's breeder? it sounds like combo puppy coat/summer shed. i do remember that the borzoi i had blew so much coat in the summer i was wheezing! that's why my dear friend took her(40 years ago)and has had borzois ever since. she has spun the hair and knitted numerous sweaters over the years! i can't wait to see the new coat next winter! can you imagine if you were showing him? you would be in a panic!!!

[GreytHoundPoet]

Borzoi can blow serious coat at times. I know show folks that can only show some certain times of the year because they go "out of coat". If you are concerned, talk to his breeder. They will be able to tell you what is normal for their lines.