Do Yorkies Shed a Lot? All About Yorkie Shedding
You already have a sweet Yorkie in your home or you are just thinking about it and want to know all the details about how to take care of it? It is normal and fully understandable that you are interested in everything connected with your little friend. This is how a good puppy owner actually forms.
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Do Yorkshire terriers shed?
If you are planning to get a Yorkie soon probably, you are wondering if Yorkies shed a lot. This is indeed one very common question and we are here to give you the full information about Yorkie shedding.
First of all, let us tell you why this question is even asked, because any dog sheds after all, right? Why wouldn’t the Yorkie? The thing is that unlike most dog breeds, Yorkies don’t have exactly fur, but hair (yes, like human hair). This is why Yorkie owners take their dogs to a hairstylist and buy special hair products especially for this breed. However, it does not mean that the Yorkie doesn’t change its hairs. Like all dogs change their furs seasonally, a Yorkie will change its hairs too, but the shedding process is not so intense like other breeds which have fur.
Difference between the fur of other dog breeds and the yorkie hair.
First of all, know the difference between dog’s hairs of a Yorkie and ordinary dog’s fur. The difference can be found in the thickness of the hair, as well as in the rate of hair growth – plus the texture of each tiny hair. While other dog breeds have thicker fur, Yorkies come with hair that is more similar to human’s hair, which means that Yorkies hair is more fragile. But Yorkie’s hair do fall out, too.
Here is another difference you to know. Dog’s fur has phases, when it is growing or falling. On the contrary – Yorkie’s hair do grow up constantly, round the whole year. Sounds familiar, right? Well, the same similarity with human’s hair comes, when we speak about Yorkies. In general, Yorkie’s hair is quite thinner than ordinary dog’s fur. And with falling out, we can point the same: Yorkie’s hairs do fall out round the whole year. Of course, there are some more rapid moments, but mainly they are caused by seasonal climate changes.
So the answer of the main question is Yes, Yorkies shed, but shedding is not as noticeable as other dog breads because it is happening slowly during the whole year. With other dog breeds there are periods when shedding happens rapidly and you find hairs everywhere. Most often the fur is short and thick and the hairs fall on the floor, the carpet, on the clothes, furniture and etc.
On the other hand with Yorkies coat renewal happens constantly. If this doesn’t happen adult yorkies would have the same coat color from their puppyhood.
Because there is no heavy shedding periods and because hairs are long and thinner they often fall back on the dog’s body. That’s why when you have a yorkie usually you do not find so many hairs everywhere in your home.
You can see the old, fallen hairs when you bathe your yorkie or during brushing and combing his/her coat.
And speaking of all of these, we want to warn you: just like women take care of theirs hairs not to fall out, you need to do the same thing with your Yorkie’s hair. Grooming is really important!
The more you take care of your dog’s hair, the less hair will fall out. It means ordinary and regular trimming, nourishing, calm brushing and proper washing. When you brush the coat you will pull up and out the old hairs preventing matting and knots.
Also, make sure you use a bubble tipped pin brush to provide a really gentle combing.
What is considered normal Yorkie shedding?
• Some Yorkie owners think that it is not normal to find hairs on the brush, but this is not a bad thing really. It is fully normal and actually recommended. That way you clean the coat and make it healthier. It means that you do the brushing process right.
• Pregnant Yorkies will suffer hair loss like women do.
This is the time you need to calm down and wait for the hairs to fall out. It is not uncommon to see changes in the hair thickness during this period. Nothing you can do at this very moment actually, but since the process is fully normal, it means that soon, your dog will get its normal and standard awesome hair again. With a normal healthy dog you shouldn’t worry about that.
Tip for avoiding too much hair loss of your sweet Yorkie
What you can do during those moments, when there is a more rapid shedding is to apply leave-in conditioner to your Yorkie. Since the rapid hair loss is due to some climate changes, it means the hair have just become more wasted and damaged. And you need to repair and recover it. Of course, don’t forget that applying your personal human hair products is not a save measure. On the contrary: many human hair products can actually cause hair loss issues to your Yorkies. Buy only certified and tested hair products suitable for this breed to make sure you will not make things worse.
However, there are moments you should be worrying about your dog’s shedding
Please, know that exceeded shedding of the Yorkie can be caused due to bad healthy problems you should concern on mandatory. Knowing that too much hair loss is almost impossible for a Yorkie, you need to visit a vet once you see that your dog has been recently loosing too much hair. Below, you will see the top common reasons your Yorkie is actually losing so much hair:
1. Allergic reaction
Yes, it can be the human hair products you put on the Yorkie, but not only. Actually, some ordinary dog’s fur products can harm a Yorkie, too. But flea bites are also reasons to cause allergic reaction, respectively hair loss to your buddy.
2. Hormones
Hormonal problems cause hair loss to women. So do to Yorkies. And it is not only when it comes to regular processes like pregnancy. Because a Yorkie can actually suffer from hormonal misbalance, too!
3. Parasites
This is why it is important to take your Yorkie to a vet. There are many nasty parasites that are so small that you cannot even see them. And the more you postpone their elimination, the worse it will become for your puppy – and not only for its hairs, but for its overall health.
4. Diseases
Certain diseases are also common reasons to cause losing so many hairs. Make sure you contact a specialist for an exact diagnose to undertake the right treatment.
Please, know that no dog is 100% hypoallergenic
All dogs could be triggers for people with allergies. Indeed, Yorkie shedding is not like normal dog’s shedding. But there is still a danger for allergic people around. Also there are people who are allergic to dander and the dog’s coat holds that element. Yes, very rarely some owners have such an allergic reaction but it must be noted that there is no dog which is 100 % hypoallergenic.
