More than being a brilliant and affectionate dog, you should be rightly concerned about the shedding characteristics of your corgi. Such knowledge would determine if your health is compatible with owning corgis (in terms of allergies) and preparing for the heavy seasons when corgis shed more.
Yes, corgis shed a lot. Corgis are non-hypoallergenic dogs. This dog breed has a double coat, which increases its frequency of shedding. Certainly, there is no significant difference between the amount of hair the Pembroke and Cardigan corgi sheds. The rate of shedding in corgis majorly depends on the season. Corgis tend to shed more during autumn and spring.
Corgis are some of the heaviest shedding dogs. There is so much you need to be aware of about the shedding habits of your corgi. How can you control such shedding? What food and exercise should you give your corgi in its peak shedding season? Also, how do you tell abnormal shedding from the typical corgi shedding? Let us learn all these valuable pieces of information in this guide.
Why Corgis Shed?
Shedding is natural for corgis, just as it is the case for most mammals. Yes, shedding is fundamental to the regeneration and replacement of hair.
The reality is that corgis shed more than most animals. Such increased shedding frequency is attributed to the double coat of the corgi.
For a corgi, the double coat is a combination of the outer layer (which is longer) and the inner coat (which is shorter and insulated). The random growth of furs in the body of a corgi can translate into random shedding.
Corgis shed evenly across the year but would shed more in the spring and autumn seasons.
When Corgis Shed?
As we have pointed out, the natural growth cycle of the corgi is bound by the seasons. When winter comes, the corgi will leverage on the insulation and water resistance of its inner coat. This goes a long way in protecting it from the intensity of the cold. The inner coat is denser and shorter.
Given the fact that the inner coat develops more during winter, the corgi would shed it in the spring months. Across this spring interval, there is increased growth of the outer longer coat, which is relatively fluffier.
Now, when autumn comes, your corgi would shed the outer coat. Regeneration of the inner coat accompanies this for the winter months.
Such seasonally-optimized coat growth explains why your corgi will shed heavily twice across the year – typically the autumn and the spring.
This is, however, not definitive. When seasons are not clearly defined across the year, the ambient temperature of your home can also determine the shedding frequency of your corgi.
How Much Do Corgis Shed?
Well, corgis shed a lot. When compared to other dogs, corgis rank high amongst the highest shedding dogs with double coats. While corgis blow their coat twice a year, they would also shed uniformly throughout the year.
Typically, your Welsh corgi could shed as much as two times in 24 hours. However, when spring or autumn comes, they will shed even more, blowing their coat.
Things that Factor into the Amount of Shedding
Several factors control the shedding volume of your corgi. Let us explore some of them.
Brushing
When you don’t groom your corgi adequately, the chances are high that it should shed more than usual. Grooming is fundamental in eradicating lose fur whose fall-off is imminent.
Regularly brushing your dog forms a core part of this grooming exercise. This reduces those annoying situation of dead hair and loose fur strewn across your home. Brushing should be done every day.
You must brush the hair of your corgi along the direction its fur is growing. We recommend that you brush your corgi’s hair in an outwards motion (that is from the body).
Exercise
Your dog needs adequate exercise to shed properly. This is even more important for an athletic dog like the corgi. A good exercise regimen not only reduces stress but goes a long way in enhancing the healthiness of your corgi’s coat.
Proper exercise also reduces the incidence of destructive habits, like scratching and biting. This, you will agree, reduces the amount of fur that falls off your corgi.
Bathing
Bathing — just like brushing — is an important aspect of your corgi’s grooming. When you bathe your corgi frequently, you eradicate loose hairs and sustain the shine and health of your corgi’s skin.
Bathing your corgi with top-quality dog shampoo will enhance its skin hydration, keeping it healthier. Nonetheless, we discourage washing your corgi too much. Such excessive bathing routines could cause disproportionate loss of skin oils, resulting in persistent skin irritation.
You can bathe your corgi at least once every 4 weeks. This majorly depends on how conspicuously dirty its coat is, or if the coat is beginning to smell.
Fish Oil Supplement
The quality of nutrition of your corgi also determines how much (or appropriately) it sheds. It is no secret that poorly fed corgis shed a lot. A core component of your corgi’s food that would reduce such abnormal shedding is fish oil supplement.
A corgi lacking an adequate fish oil supply in its diet can be readily told from the look of the corgi’s coat. Omega 3 oils are excellent nutrients in normalizing the frequency of your corgi’s shedding.
Abnormal Shedding
While corgis shed a lot, there are cases where it sheds abnormally. What could be those causes?
Hormonal Changes
Hormonal changes can trigger abnormal shedding in your corgi. Female corgis are known to experience hormonal fluctuations when they nurse or when they are pregnant.
In such scenarios, your corgi’s hair follicles enter a resting phase. This is in a bid to reserve substantial amounts of energies to cater to its puppies. This can cause your corgi to shed more than normal.
Here is the reason why you may see heavy shedding in your corgi when it is not spring or autumn when your corgi characteristically blows its coat.
An imbalance of sex hormones can also provoke excessive shedding. Such cases can be solved with reproductive hormone therapy, which may be supplemented with a healthy supply of omega fatty acids.
Illness
If your corgi is ill, it could shed abnormally. We have seen repeated cases where metabolic disorders disrupt the health of your corgi’s coat. Two of the most notorious illnesses that can cause abnormal shedding in your corgi are Cushing’s disease and hypothyroidism.
When your corgi is suffering from Cushing’s disease, it could experience an exceeding production of corticosteroids in its adrenal glands. Hypothyroidism also occurs in your corgi in circumstances where its thyroid glances are not producing sufficient levels of hormones.
If your corgi is also suffering from dermatitis, ringworm, and other fungal infections, it could shed abnormally.
Allergy
Corgis have allergies just like humans. Isn’t that interesting?
Your corgis can develop allergies to specific environmental factors and even food ingredients. There is a high chance your corgi can suffer skin reactions upon sustained exposure to allergies.
When that occurs, there could be a metabolic reaction from the corgi, dispensing histamine into the bloodstream to combat the allergic substances. This could result in overwhelming and abnormal shedding.
If your corgi is suffering such allergies to food, it may shed heavily all through the year unless such ingredients are removed from its meals.
Malnutrition After Having a Baby
A mothering corgi needs premium meals. Giving your corgi poor foods after giving birth is unacceptable. If the diet of a mothering corgi lacks vital nutrients (in the right rations), it could suffer excessive shedding.
Malnutrition also causes your corgi’s coat to lose its gloss and smoothness. Your corgi (after giving birth) needs reasonable amounts of amino acids, healthy fats, carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins.
Tips for Shedding Season – Keep Your House from Being a Mess
Of course, putting up with a heavily shedding corgi is not always fun. Having large amounts of fur scattered across your beautiful home is as heartbreaking as annoying.
However, with the right practices and equipment, you can prevent your home from becoming a mess during your corgi’s shedding season.
Get the Right Toolsets
Having the right collection of tools make a shedding corgi less horrendous. You can get de-furring tools like pin brushes, combs, and clippers to groom your corgi. You also need quality shampoo, scissors, and a bristle brush.
Make sure you choose the right tools for the shedding as some could damage your corgi’s coat. Always start at the bottom and tackle loose hairs next.
You Will Need a Good Vacuum
Ah, a nice vacuum will make your life much easier when your corgi blows its coat. Vacuum your corgi when its shedding season comes. Sometimes, your corgis may need time to acclimatize to vacuuming- not all enjoy it at once.
Start the vacuuming slowly till it gets used to it. An upholstery attachment also helps a lot in snatching loose hair from your corgi’s coat.
Give Your Corgi a Warm Bath and Brush Appropriately
Yes, you read it right. A warm bath could be invaluable for your corgi when it sheds heavily. Such a bath is efficient in loosening dead hair. While your dog is yet in the tub, you should use a hound glove on it.
After the bath, you may blow-dry your corgi. This eliminates the loose hair as well as the undercoat. Indeed, a warm every 2 weeks is excellent in the peak of your corgi’s shedding season. Bathing should be accompanied by regular brushing.
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