Some puppy coats morph pretty subtly into their adult versions, but some puppies come into their adult coats in a rather dramatic fashion involving tons of hair loss, a temporarily patchy coat, and the development of an undercoat more dramatic and challenging than any the puppy owner had imagined.
Some pet owners give up on grooming their pets once that adult coat comes in. The Poodle, for instance, experiences a dramatic coat change somewhere around the first birthday, with great changes in both length and thickness. Suddenly, tangles form daily where once they were infrequent.
Knowing a coat change is in the works for your puppy can help you be prepared. Also remember that when your puppy "blows coat" for the first time, losing puppy coat and growing in its full, thick adult coat, heavy-duty grooming chores related to the dropped coat won’t last forever, and will typically occur only once or twice a year. Just keep brushing … combing … brushing … and bonding!
Excerpted from The Simple Guide to Grooming, published by TFH Publications. Used with permission.
