The wirehaired breeds are said to be non shedding but this isn't strictly true. The normal growth pattern is interupted so hair does grow longer than other breeds, particularly on face and legs. Hair however, never stops growing, so it has to fall out eventually. In the wirehaired breeds the retention time is extended so moulting does appear to be less frequent. This is probably most noticable in the Poodles where the hair can get very long.

Also the hair in the ear canal is affected by this, needing extracting in some of the heavily coated hairies.

Hi Pod, yes I need to remove hair from Esau's ear canals - for some reason the right ear more than the left!

I own a Westie too, so I know there is no such thing as completely 'non-shedding' dog!! I just wondered why all of a sudden Esau has matted up so much, it's all undercoat so I though this may have been triggered by the hot weather?

If he's a young dog, it's not unusual to have a heavy moult the first time, or could be just due to the weather as you say.

There could possibly be other underlying causes like illness or hormonal changes but I shouldn't be too worried, probably just a normal, if rather heavy, moult

some only blow the coat once a year. so it could be just that a heavy molt.
ours loose most in the summer but shed most of the year.
you can brush and brush and still get more........

Thanks for that, guys - it's put my mind at rest.
I'm still getting quite a lot of undercoat out of him but it's slowing, so it must have been a response to the sudden heat-wave, or possibly a hormonal-change as he's starting 'marking' recently. He's fine in himself so don't think it can be anything else.

Thanks for all the advice!

mine never blow there coat,,, they only loose what i take out, 2 OES its a daily grooming session for me they knit knots faster than i can take them out,, but if you bath the dog before you groom you will get terrible knots and dense undercoat always groom completely before bathing, if you need anymore on this just mail me
Huggles
B-eye

I'm a bit confused - is blowing the same as shedding? Esau doesn't 'shed', but he has lost a lot of undercoat which simply turned into huge mats (rather than falling out onto the floor/furniture etc). Normally a weeky groom keeps his coat in good condition and I only have a few mats/knots to sort out, but this time, after less than a week, he had several fist-sized mats that were thick and 'felted' and took ages to gradually work out.

Do you know, you are the first OES person to tell me to groom DRY!! My breeder (who bred OES before she switched to PLS) told me to groom wet, and so does a friend of mine who still breeds/shows OES - they both said grooming dry can break the coat. I must admit I find working out knots/mats much easier if Esau is wet first.

bit confused,, think of your own hair ,, if it is full of knots/mats then you wash it ,, its going to be a whole lot harder to get those knots out,, so we always brush through the coat completley before a bath, makes it easier to wash and when it comes to drying there wont be any knots to get out all you will be taking out is undercoat that you want out i.e we take the shoulders out to give us a pear shape,,
normally when I groom without bathing, which we only ever do about once a year usually just feet and face) i use a fine mist spray before i use the brush this is on every layer,so as not to break the coat, youre right never brush dry but i would make sure all the knots are out before the bath,, how often do you wash the dogs?? constant washing also strips out the natural oil from the coat,
hope ive explained it a bit better
Huggles
B-eye

Washing the coat and allowing it to dry certainly will consolidate the knots but damping the coat while grooming does help as this makes the hairs more flexible and could reduce breakage.

I usually do groom dry, simply because it's more convenient but I did use a water spray when I had my Beardie.

Hi Folks,
our Border terrier has a dense under coat & then her coat thickens up & we get a dog hair sheen all over the house...on the furniture & on the carpets...

When she starts to look 'wooley' we take her to the dog grooming parlour & we have her clippered...its similar to stripping but done with a shaver on number 3 blade...

she trims her ears inside & between her toes..
She looks & feels more sprightly & she is not forever panting in this hot weather...

The 1st time we took her the owner suggested we have her clippered close so that her baby hair would thicker up & her adult hair come through....she goes about 3 times a year & I honestly think she benefits from it.