I have 2 GSD`s the youngest is a long haired boy who was a year last week the bitch is a short haired who will be 8 this year.  The eldest has always moulted twice a year, losing her undercoat in bagfuls. Although she always seems to moult quite late around June.  I was told the long haired one wouldnt moult quite as much...but my God I have had carrier bag after carrier bag of fur, I could have knitted another dog with the amount he has lost.  But already I can see his new undercoat coming through...the strange thing is the training classes I go to are all GSD`s and not one of them (Mixture of long and short haired) seems to moult as much as my dogs.  In fact when I got my first one I was so worried at the amount she lost that I had to look up on the internet to make sure it was normal..and yes I read that the undercoat is "Shot" twice a year. I am wondering if my youngest is also losing his puppy coat.  The eldest looks dreadul when moulting, almost moth eaten, but they both seem to lose it in a pattern starts at the back of their legs and works it way up to their neck.I have had people come up to me and comment on the shorthaired coat saying what an unusual pattern it has and I have to tell them she is in moult.  They spend most of their time outdoors and when they are they usually lay in the kitchen or utility room if the heating is on.  Just interested if other peoples GSD`s on here moult in the same way. Went training yesterday with the youngest and quite a few people commented saying he was probably under the weather !!

Well certainly the Elkhounds do.

May be the others at class just moult all year round as they have less contact with the real climate spening most of theri time indoors?

I don't see why anyone would say the longcoat wouldn't shed the same as the standard coat though.

mine moults steadilly all year round and i think there is the equivalent of another dog lurking under the sofa

I don't know who told you a long-coated GSD will not moult as much as a short-coated dog - but they are wrong.  Length of coat has nothing to do with moulting.

Your bitch will shed twice a year with the seasons - and she will also likely blow coat with her own female seasons if she is not spayed.  The coat can look real dull and patchy.

I had a very plush coated GSD years ago and she literally never seemed to stop shedding.  It's not typical, but it does happen with some dogs that there seems to be no end to it.  When I got really fed up I'd take her to the groomers for a wash and brush out - they would always apolgize to me that they brushed her for a long time, but could not get all the loose hairs out.   I never told them it was impossible!  :-) All dogs lose hair throughout the year, of course, even the "non-shedding" breeds.  The more coat, the more this is going to be noticeable. 

How often do you groom them?  If  you do it frequently (daily) you can sort of speed up the moulting process by making sure the dead and near-dead hair and undercoat is removed as soon as it is ready. 

Diet can also help to slow down hair loss sometimes.  Plus, going in and out of a very cold environment to a heated environment can increase hair loss. Although in this country the temperature extremes are no so great that they should play a huge factor, especially at this time of year.

My brother has a long haired and short haired and he is always raving at how the long haired is not a big shedder, I have had him quite a lot too and can't say he sheds a lot of hair, certainly never looked moth eaten either, he always has the most beautiful coat, he is groomed an awful lot though.  From my perspective it does not appear normal but I am only basing that on my brothers dogs. ;-)

I groom them every single day, more so when they are moulting, although I must admit they do not seem to moult all year round, obviously a few odd hairs here and there but definitely not much to speak of. Both there undercoats come out in clumps and if it is a windy day then it will actually BLOW out as it did yesterday at training, people remarked they had never seen anything like it with all this fur floating around on the wind !!

Sounds to me very much like his puppy coat is what is being shed. Depending on how long coated he is & whether he was bred from longcoated parents that have been bred LC to LC for many generations as these dogs tend to have little or no undercoat. LC born to correct coated parents usually have a goo under coat.

To get rid of the undercoat quickly bathing & blaster drying is really good as the dead coat comes out & the new coat grows quickly afterwards

Hi MM

Kodys dad was short coated but a very thick short coat, his mum was longcoated so I assume this would account for his thick undercoat, which seems to be reappearing already, can never understand how they shed there wintercoat and then get another for the summer, unless it is a different kind of undercoat.

The undercoat in summer does seem to be lighter & it actually protects the dog from the heat rather than from the cold(one reason that some breeds shouldn't ne clipped to the skin)

He will have a better undercoat than a a LC from a long line of LCs I know a LC GSD breeder who uses correct coated stud dogs every couple of generations to keep the undercoat

If you live with a GSD you have to like hair as a side dish with all meals , and dog coloured floors/carpets. Miine sheds twice a year, each last 6 months, at the moment the birds are have a wonderful time collecting the hair daily for nests and despite this I am still strugling to keep the house hairfree