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Like other double-coat dog breeds, Shiba Inus shed their fur. This is enough reason to worry when the Shiba Inu shedding season is coming. For Shiba Inus, shedding season is throughout the year, but heavy shedding, blowing the coat, happens twice a year.
Shiba Inu shed fur gradually throughout the year. However, they blow their coats twice a year, during the spring and fall. When your canine friend is shedding the soft undercoat, you must groom them lest the fur settles on your furniture and clothing.
If you’re unfamiliar with this breed, you may think your Shiba Inus is sick. After the fur loss, they’ll look slim, which you may confuse for severe weight loss.
In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look into Shiba Inu shedding seasons, what it’s like to groom them, and how to manage the shedding seamlessly.
Table of Contents
How Long Does Shiba Inus Shedding Season Last?
Shiba Inus shed a lot during the first 3 weeks of spring and fall or autumn. Especially the first weeks of spring and fall when the climate is changing
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Moreover, Shiba Inu tend to shed a given amount of fur throughout the year. However, it’s most prominent during the coat blowing period.
If you’re looking for ways to manage your Shibas gradual shedding, groom your Shiba more often.
To prevent the fur mess on your furniture, give your Shiba’s coat what it needs. This includes grooming practices every once or twice a week.
If you live in the Northern hemisphere, spring comes from 1st March while autumn starts on 1st September. Therefore, your Shiba will be shedding from this period onwards for the next 2-3 weeks. So, groom your Shiba at least twice a day.
On the other hand, if you stay in the Southern hemisphere, the vice versa of the above happens. Spring starts on 1st September, while fall begins on 1st March. Therefore, from these dates onwards, for the next 2-3 weeks, groom your Shiba Inus more often.
Now that your Shiba knows nothing about the calendar, you must stay up to date and initiate grooming at the right time.
Of importance, Shibas shedding starts at the beginning of every meteorological spring and fall. As such, start preparing for grooming practices towards the end of February and August.
Also check, the Shiba Inu summer vs winter coat.
What Age Do Shiba Inus Start to Shed?
Shiba Inus start to shed between 6 months and 2 years of age when they start getting fluffy. However, some can take long and get fluffy at 4 years, but they’ll be shedding gradually.
So, there’s no specific time when your canine friend should start to shed their coat. It all depends on when they get fluffy. However, before they get fluffy, the gradual shedding still happens.
Generally, Shiba Inus are usually lean looking in the first year and start to get fluffy from the second year.
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They can continue to fill out season after season until they’re around four years old. Also, some Shibas are just sleek in nature. The more your Shiba fills out, the more shedding you expect.
Not all Shiba Inus have to get fluffy; it depends on the genes. So, if yours doesn’t have a fluffy gene, you may have them sleek for the entire lifetime, thus experiencing less shedding.
Another factor that affects how fluffier Shiba Inus become is the temperature. Shiba Inus from colder areas tend to be fluffier and start to shed earlier than those from warm regions.
Since colder areas experience long winter seasons, Shiba Inu bodies get used to the winter season and fill out all the time.
Also read; Best brushes for Shiba Inu
How To Control and Manage Shiba Inu Shedding Season?
- Brushing Their Coat Daily
- Bathing Your Shiba Inu More Often
- Having The Proper Tools
- Getting To Work During the Coat-Blowing Season
- Vacuum Cleaning More Regularly
- Setting Up a Shiba Coat-Friendly Environment
- Nourish, Diet, And Hydrating
Brushing Their Coat Daily
Brush your Shiba coat once a day, twice a day during the coat-blowing season. Brushing is the best tip I always recommend to every Shiba Inu owner.
When you do it more regularly, you help pluck more hair out, one at a time. So, this is the best way to catch the loose fur before it finds its way to your furniture.
Also, brushing your Shiba Inus coat every day prevents matting. Matting is a situation where the fur sticks together, creating large fur clots.
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Matting can harbor bacteria, thus the reason you need to brush your canine friend’s coat regularly. Also, brushing them stimulates hair follicles, creating an even fur distribution.
Bathing Your Shiba Inu More Often
I’d recommend you bathe your Shiba Inu more often during the shedding season. During every bathing session, ensure you dry their skin to prevent bad body odor.
You can bathe your pooch friend once a week during the coal-blowing season. Note that excessive bathing washes away essential body oils.
So, don’t do excess of it. Also, ensure you brush the coat before and after bathing them. This helps pluck the loose hair.
Use proper shampoo when washing your canine friend. Work the water and shampoo mix inside your Shibas undercoat using your hands.
Take precaution not to reach your Shibas eyes with the shampoo water mixture. You can wash their face using a washcloth.
Also read; Best Shampoos for Shiba Inu.
Have The Proper Tools
Here you may be asking yourself, which are the proper tools to tackle Shiba Inu shedding? Relax! I got you!
Having the right tools for the job makes everything else easier. So, you must identify the suitable tools that do the job in a DIY manner.
I always use key tools to manage Shiba Inu shedding: de-shedding tools, appropriate shedding brushes, animal fur vacuum cleaner, shampoo, and gloves.
Now that you have the proper tools, when do you get to use them? Let’s see the next point.
Get To Work During the Coat Blowing Season
Be ready to get to work during the coat-blowing season. This is the time to get proactive because your Shiba will lose a lot of fur that needs your management.
So, the more you take off through management practices, the less you’ll have to clean up later. Start by doubling the grooming frequency.
Have the right shedding brush that suits your canine friend’s fur length. Brushing helps loosen the undercoat and spreads essential oils evenly over your Shibas coat.
From my experience, most Shibas are good with slicker brushes. However, you can also use de-shedding tools.
If your Shiba Inu has long hair, stick to sicker brushed. You can also schedule an extra bath to help with the loose hair. The warm water loosens the undercoat fur.
Remember to brush before and after the bath. Serous shedding occurs after the bath. So, you may want to take out your heavy-duty vacuum cleaner.
Vacuum Cleaning More Regularly
Vacuum cleaning is the key to managing fur around your home and furniture. So, ensure you have a decent vacuum cleaner.
A good vacuum cleaner puts serious effort into cleaning. You’ll mostly need your vacuum cleaner when your Shiba is blowing the coat.
It’s not a must to own a vacuum cleaner. However, it comes in handy when ‘defurring’ your home and makes the practice much easier.
I always prefer having one high-quality canister vacuum for heavy-duty cleaning, another stick vac for quick pick-ups, and one for light touch-ups.
Setting Up a Shiba Coat-Friendly Environment
Now that you have to share your home with your canine friend, there are a few give and takes you’ll have to embrace.
The first thing is to have a furniture cover that’s easy to clean. Also, instead of having that full-grain leather sofa you always love, you may want to opt for a cream color sofa that you can easily dust off and clean.
Another tip is to opt for solid floors instead of wall-to-wall carpeting. In short, look for smooth fabric materials that are easy to clean.
You can also have furniture covers over your coaches, especially during the shedding. Ensure your clothes and linens are in the closet all the time.
Nourish, Diet, And Hydrating
The last thing you want to ensure is a good nourishing diet for your canine friend. Feeding your Shiba Inu the proper diet will prevent or reduce gradual shedding.
So, ensure you feed them with essential oil and the proper diet. Another thing to check on is hydrating your canine friend. Always provide them with water after meals.
Is There a Non-Shedding Shiba Inu?
No. There’s no non-shedding Shiba Inu. All Shiba Inus shed fur, only that the shedding levels differ.
Since all Shiba Inus are double coats, they all experience this process. However, crossbreeds of Shiba Inu and other dog breeds might give birth to a non-shedding dog.
So, all purebred Shiba Inus must shed to some degree. Some experience heavy shedding while others shed a little less.
There’s the gradual shedding and coat blowing, which are totally different in the fur amounts the dog sheds.
What Is the Shiba Inu Shedding Level?
Shiba Inus is a high shedding level breed. They shed fairly even throughout the year while they blow their undercoat twice a year.
During the Shiba Inu coat-blowing seasons, the shedding level is usually extreme as they lose a lot of the undercoat.
The coat-blowing season only comes twice a year. However, gradual shedding happens throughout the year.
The coat blowing duration takes averagely 3 weeks from the start time. You should brush your Shibas coat twice or once daily during this time.
Also, ensure you have the proper tools to manage your Shiba Inu shedding level. Failure to carry out the grooming practices, you’ll be in for some shock. Fur mess will be all over your house.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Months Do Shibas Shed a Lot?
Shiba Inus shed a lot during the months corresponding to the spring and fall seasons.
If you live in the Northern hemisphere, spring comes from 1st March while autumn starts on 1st September. If you stay in the Southern hemisphere, spring starts on 1st September while fall begins on 1st March.
Therefore, from these dates onwards, for the next 2-3 weeks, groom your Shiba Inus more often.
Why Does My Shiba Inu Shed So Much?
Your Shiba Inu sheds so much because of the double coat fur on their body. Shiba Inus shed a lot to make way for new growing fur during the spring and fall.
There’s the normal shedding and the one commonly known as “blowing their coat,” which involves shedding their entire undercoat.
Do Shiba Inu Puppies Shed a Lot?
Shiba Inu puppies don’t shed a lot as they still don’t have a full-grown double coat. However, shedding continues to increase as they grow up.
From six months to one year onwards, Shibas experience heavy shedding when they blow their coat twice a year.
Shiba Inu Shedding Bald Spots
Shiba Inu shedding bald spots results in a lack of grooming practices like brushing during the shedding period.
However, bald spots can also result from other non-shedding issues like allergies and hormonal issues.
Conclusion On Shiba Inu Shedding Season
Shiba Inu shedding season can be a mess, especially if you’re not ready with the right tools. However, having the proper brush and a vacuum cleaner can help during your Shibas shedding period.
Ensure the proper tools during the spring and fall to manage the shedding. Also, dedicate enough time to brushing your canine friend.
You should brush their coat at least twice a day. That way, you’ll be sure to keep your home and furniture free from tumbleweeds of fur.
Also, select a suitable mat when brushing your Shiba Inu coat. Don’t brush your canine friend’s coat on a wood floor, as it can be tricky to clean.
Instead, find the best mats for shedding dogs. Let your Shiba settle on the matt as you brush their coats to remove loose fur.