Do Shiba Inus Have a Double Coat? Explained!

Shiba Inu has a fluffy beautiful-looking coat that is attractive to many. Besides, they have a lot of fur on their body which is evident by how they shed. So, you may want to ask, do Shiba Inus have a double coat?

Shiba Inus have a thick double coat, so they shed profusely twice a year and moderately throughout the year. Your Shibas outer coat is stiff, straight, and longer than the soft inner coat. The double coat helps Shibas regulate their body temperature.

On the other hand, the Shiba Inus undercoat is soft, thick, and shorter in length. The soft inner coat sheds moderately throughout the year.

This Shiba Inus coat guide takes you through the Shiba Inu inner and outer coat and the roles played by both coats.

Why Do Shiba Inus Have a Double Coat?

Shiba Inus have a double coat to help them maneuver the swing between hot, humid summers and fridged icy winters.

The two primary reasons are to act as heat insulators during the winter and keep your canine friend warm. The inner soft thick undercoat performs this function.

Secondly, the double coat protects from dirt, moisture, and dust. Remember, Shibas are allergic to skin reactions that come from flea bites and contact with allergens.

So, the outer coat is a jacket to the skin. This brings about the idea of why you shouldn’t shave your Shiba Inus coat unless for treatment.

Nevertheless, the double coat has many other functions, like protection from illnesses. Shibas lose the extra fur during the hot summer seasons to allow body cooling.

Therefore, they blow their coat in what most Shiba Inu owners find messy. During this time, your Shiba Inus loses a lot of fur, thus causing tumbleweeds of hair around your home.

Shiba Inus blow their coat during the first 3 weeks of spring and fall. Their body has different needs during winter and summer, thus changing coat fur.

During the summer, there is a lot of humidity. So, Shibas loose fur to stay cool and comfortable. This helps to cool the body during hot temperatures.

Therefore, they shed the thicker winter coat and regrow a lighter coat, improving body temperature regulation.

On the other hand, during winter, when it’s colder, Shiba Inus grow a thicker undercoat to retain body heat and keep your canine friend warm.

Therefore, they must blow the light summer coat to prepare for the oncoming season by regrowing a thicker winter coat.

The difference between summer and winter coats matters a lot in how fluffy a Shiba Inus is. The summer coat is lighter and thinner, making the dog look slimmer and streamlined.

During the winter season, Shiba Inus have a thicker winter coat which puffs them up to give the teddy bear appearance.

Difference Between Shiba Inu Outer Coat and Shiba Inu Under Coat

Shiba Inu Outer Coat

Shiba Inus have a stiff outer coat, commonly known as guard hairs. The coat often assumes one of the four primary Shiba Inu colors: red, cream, sesame, and black & tan.

The outer coat should not be soft. This is also checked during shows in show rings. Therefore, a standard Shiba coat fur standard requires the outer coat to be rigid and somewhat rough.

In terms of measurement, the outer coat should be two to two and a half inches, two inches if you measure from the withers.

Noticeably, the outer coat stands attention and is visibly off the body. Also, the outer coat is slightly bigger around the cheeks; this gives the dog a chubby look.

The outer coat is shorter around the legs and spreads evenly. This gives the dog slim legs. Around the tail, the outer coat is longer and fluffier; it stands slightly off the tail.

Shiba Inu Under Coat

Unlike the outer coat, the Shiba Inu undercoat is soft from the feel of touching. Besides, it has some plushness and is thick in size.

The undercoat may vary between the different Shiba Inu colors. In black and tan Shibas, the undercoat is greyish-brown in color; it can be dark or light greyish-brown. Sesame Shibas are the same.

On the other hand, dirty red Shiba Inus have darker undercoats, especially those with some Sashige and black and tan backgrounds.

What To Do During Your Shiba Inus Shedding Period

The best practice during this period is constantly brushing your Shiba Inus coat. You can do it once a week during the regular shedding and once or twice daily during the coat-blowing season.

Brushing your Shiba Inus coat helps manage to shed and prevents tumbleweeds of fur across your home.

Also, failure to brush your Shibas coat may cause matting. You don’t want this to happen; therefore, ensure to brush your canine friend every day during the coat-blowing season.

Another must-have tool is the vacuum cleaner, especially one that is primarily made for animal fur like the Dyson V8 animal.

If you have a Shiba Inus, you already know that you may as well end up with a lot of fur worth another dog.

So, ensure your canine friend is used to brushing as early as possible. You should start brushing your Shibas fur during their second year. Remember, shedding is a lifelong affair.

You should never shave your Shiba Inus due to the shedding mess. Shaving spoils your Shibas overcoat permanently, and I’m sure this isn’t what you want for your canine friend.

Shiba Inu Coat Colors

Red Shiba Inu

This is the most common Shiba Inu colour. It’s perhaps the most desirable, especially during Shiba Inu award shows.

So, you’ll be correct to say that red is likely the original colour of Shiba Inus. This colour also gives this breed a beautiful foxlike appearance.

The red Shiba Inu doesn’t have a strong Urajiro. Instead, the Urajiro in red Shiba Inu appears slightly blurred.

Therefore, the blurring comes from the gene controlling the red colour in the Shiba Inu and tends to lighten towards the belly.

Learn more about the red Shiba Inu here.

Black and Tan Shiba Inu

Black and Tan coloured Shiba Inus have a tricolour coat assuming you factor in the Urajiro. This specific Shiba Inus have a rusty or black tinted base with tan tips.

Assuming you get a single hair from a Shiba Inu in this category, the hair will have all three different colours.

The hair will have a white base, a reddish tan middle, and a black tip.

Some Shiba Inu owners choose this colour over red due to the attractive spots. This specific coloured Shiba Inu sports an attractive white bow tie which goes along well with the Urajiro.

Sesame Shiba Inu

Sesame Shiba Inu is the rarest among the five different Shiba Inu colors. Besides, this breed is one of the most mislabeled due to the requirements a Shiba must meet to be labelled as a Sesame Shiba Inu.

The Sesame Shiba Inu must have a red base coat. Additionally, this dog must have an overlay of black, especially around the chest region.

Also, the hair must be less than 50% black. Although the black is often around the chest region, there can’t be any areas that have a black patch.

So, the overlay of black colour in Sesame Shiba Inu must remain even. This excludes the chances of having a black mask.

So, the color patterns of this dog resemble a black and tan Shiba. However, the black spots are replaced with a black overlay.

The key features of a Sesame Shiba Inu include;

• They must have an overlay of black colour.
• There can be no black mask.
• They must have a red base coat.
• Their overall hair must be less than 50% black.
• They shouldn’t have black patch areas. So, the black overlay must remain even.

Cream Shiba Inu

The cream Shiba Inu is the least desirable among the Shiba Inu coat colors. This is a result of the difficulty in seeing the Urajiro trademark.

Besides, cream Shiba Inu is very rare to find and results from two recessive genes. If you’re not keen enough, you may confuse some cream Shiba Inus for white Shiba Inus since they’re so light.

Sable Shiba Inu

This isn’t among the Shiba Inu recognized colours. Therefore, most people end up calling this colour sesame.

Nevertheless, as you saw in the Sesame section, the colour patterns must follow strict guidelines for a Shiba Inu to qualify as a Sesame.

Any Shiba Inu with Sesame coat colours that fail to adhere to the strict guidelines end up falling in this category.

Now that we know the five colours, it’s time we explore the Shiba Inu coat colour chart and the registration codes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Coats of Fur Do Shiba Inus Have?

Shiba Inus have double coats of fur around their body; the two layers of fur are the outer plushy, stiff, and soft layer.

With double coats, be ready to handle extreme shedding.

What Color of The Shiba Inus Is the Rarest?

The rarest colour of Shiba Inus is the sesame Shiba Inu. This is the hardest to find among the four recognized Shiba Inu colors.

Apart from being rarest, it’s also hard to identify and often confused with the dirty red Shiba Inus.

How Much Fur Does a Shiba Inu Shed?

Shiba Inus shed moderate fur throughout the year but shed massively during the coat-blowing seasons, which come twice a year.

Shiba Inu blow their coats during the first three weeks of spring and fall. Blowing coats is usually a body process to prepare for the oncoming season.

How Many Times A Year Do Shiba Inus Shed?

Shiba Inu is moderately shed throughout the year. This isn’t a problem and is manageable with general grooming practices.

The challenge is usually during coat blowing season when they lose excess fur to mess around with your house and furniture.

The Wrap-Up on Do Shiba Inus Have a Double Coat

Shiba Inus have a double coat which shed moderately throughout the year. However, the coat blowing is what one needs to worry about.

The double coat has a purpose; therefore, you should not shave your Shiba Inus. The primary purposes are protection and temperature regulation.

Brushing your Shiba Inus during the shedding season is a must. Where possible, brush the coat twice or thrice a day during the coat-blowing season.