Do Puppies Shed More Than Adult Dogs? (7 Questions & Answers)

You might be wondering whether your puppy will shed more early on than when it becomes an adult dog.

Do Puppies Shed More Than Adult Dogs?

Generally, an adult dog will shed more than a puppy simply because of the bigger size. But when the puppy turns 4-6 months old it will shed the puppy coat completely and during this period it will shed extensively.

Here’s everything you need to know about puppies shedding their puppy coat and how much shedding to expect from the many first months of your puppy’s life.

Amount Of Puppy-Shedding Versus Adult-Shedding

You should expect your puppy to shed regularly and at some point, it will shed the puppy coat completely.

It will typically shit it’s a puppy coat when it is around 4-7 months old. This depends mostly on the specific breed and when we are talking about dog breeds that shed less it can take longer.

During this period you should expect a lot of shedding going on with your puppy.

As the dog grows up it will become much bigger and therefore it will naturally shed a lot more hair. So that’s a very practical answer to the question. You will always have a lot more shedding going on with the bigger dog than a small puppy.

What about double-coated breeds?

Many dogs have are what we call double-coated. This basically means that they have two sets of coats:

1. An external coat
2. A more puffy coat below the external coat

This is usually the case with dog breeds that have derived from cold areas. They have this extra layer of insulation in order to keep warm during the cold winter months. These are typically the dog breeds that tend to shed the most and there are some things to pay attention to here.

When we are talking about dog breeds with double-coated fur we should expect much more shedding as the dog grows up.

This is because puppies always only have (only) one layer of fur.

The extra layer of fur doesn’t appear before they have shed the puppy coat. This means that you should expect much more shedding to appear when the puppy grows into an adult.

Puppy Shed Indicate The Amount Of Shed As Adult?

You might be wondering if the amount of shedding from your puppy can indicate just how much shedding to expect from your grown-up dog.

The fact is that we do not have a direct correlation between the amount of shedding from the puppy to the amount of shedding as an adult (for the same dog).

Some puppies will shed very little and start shedding a lot more as an adult while other dogs will shed more like a puppy than they will as an adult dog. This is to be expected and you should look more into the specific breed than the specific puppy.

There is good general information out there on how much each dog breed will shed. If you suspect this to be very important to you-you should definitely go for a puppy from a dog breed that sheds less. You can find a shortlist of these dog breeds and the section below about “non-shedding” dog breeds.

How Long Do Puppy Shedding Last?

It usually takes 2-4 weeks for the puppy to shed the puppy coat. It will start shedding the puppy coat around the age of 4-7 months and you should expect excessive shedding during this period.

As we looked at above, the puppy will normally start shedding the puppy coat when it turns 4-7 months old.

When that happens, you should be prepared for several weeks of dog hair everywhere! And we mean everywhere.

If we are talking about a dog breed with an extra thick coat or a dog breed with double-coated fur you should get ready to vacuum your space several times a day.

But don’t panic at this stage because it will get better soon. After a few weeks, the baby coat will be shed off the dog and the new fine adult coat will grow out. Normally all this shedding of the puppy coat will be completely done after 6 to 8 months. After this period you should be prepared for a more regular shedding schedule.

Do Non-Shedding Dogs Shed Puppy Hair?

Let’s start here by terrifying one thing. There’s no such thing as a non-shedding dog. What we do find though is dog breeds that shed less than other dog breeds.

This is important to realize before you decide whether a puppy is a right pet for your home. You need to pre-prepared for what’s coming and the hard truth is that all dogs will shed.

That being said, just how much puppy shedding should you expect from dog breeds that are famous for shedding less?

Your puppy is born with what we call the puppy coat. It will be shed eventually but it might take years if we are talking about breeds that shed very little. There’s no such thing as a dog breed that doesn’t shed its puppy coat eventually. Just like there’s no such thing as an adult dog that doesn’t shed at all.

If you want to limit the amount of shedding you should go with one of these breeds:

• Terriers
• Brittanys
• Schnauzers
• Poodles
• Bolognese
• Malteses
• Shih Tzus

3 Tips How To Control Puppy Shedding

There are several things you can do to control the amount of puppy shedding in your home. So before you go nuts you should prepare well with these things checked off the list.

Let’s start with the most important tool for the dog owner: A good specially-designed vacuum cleaner.

1) Get a vacuumer that’s designed for dog hair

If your cute little puppy just arrived you need to make sure you have a good vacuum cleaner to clean up the mess.

There are actually special designed vacuum cleaners that are made for picking up dog hair. They have a much more effective brush-roll that prevents hair tangling. Luckily, they also work well as all-around vacuum cleaners for standard home tasks.

You can see our recommendations here for vacuum cleaners that do really well with dog hair.

These vacuum cleaners make a big difference if you are used to vacuuming with a standard vacuum cleaner. The normal vacuum cleaner will have her brush roll that easily gets tangled up with hairballs and when that happens it will no longer do a good job. Especially on the dog hair.

2) Brush the puppy daily

It’s important to brush the puppy every day. This is especially important during the weeks where they will shed their puppy coat.

This is something you need to learn anyway because domesticated dogs that live inside will shed all-year-round.

You need to be careful when you are brushing the little puppy.

The puppy code is thinner than the coat it gets as an adult. The skin under the code is also finer and more vulnerable toward cuts from a de-shedding tool. So be careful here and always start out with a rubber glove or a rubber.

You can find our recommended brushes and gloves for puppies here.

It’s always recommended to teach your puppy to lay still during the de-shedding process. If you follow a few simple guidelines the puppy will love these special times with you and that can become a special bonding experience for the two of you.

Here are some good things to remember when grooming a puppy:

• Keep it short and take breaks whenever the puppy becomes distracted
• Keep it fun and implement play into the session
• Use a calm voice and be patient
• Bring a handful of treats the first times

Remember, we need this procedure to be something the dog really enjoys as it grows into an adult dog. So it’s important to start out with a good foundation with many great experiences with you and the brushes.

3) Great de-shedding shampoo

It’s important to keep the fur and skin of your puppy healthy and rich in fatty acids. That can be done with a great shampoo that will also leave the dog with a great smell.

You can find the shampoo we recommend here. Be sure to also check our list of must-haves for dog owners (item #8).

The special de-shedding shampoo is completely free of parabens, artificial colors and it’s made in the USA. It’s a great product even if you suspect your puppy is being allergic to strong chemicals or if you just want a finer fur that sheds less.

In Closing

I hope you have learned a lot of new things about puppies and shedding.

It’s always a challenge to add a playful puppy into a family but it’s definitely worth it. You just need to be prepared for what’s coming and knowing what to expect when it comes to shedding is probably the most important thing.

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