it's time for the cold!

As many of you know, Tyara is a snow dog. So her favorite time of year is almost here! Cold weather means a new fur coat for her. While I observed her this week, I have noticed she has gotten a lot bigger than she was just a couple weeks back. Then I saw she is shedding just a little bit now since she shed it all during the warmer climate; she still sheds but not huge chunks as she did before when it was more warmer in the day. Tyara isn't a fat dog. She is actually really skinny, but her fur now, in the winter, makes her look all big and extremely fluffy (although she's still fluffy either way).

I have always wondered when does a  body of a dog know it's time for a new fur coat. According to Gina Sapdafori a dog will start growing their winter coat during the fall, while they still shed out their thin summer coat that they grew out in the spring. It really doesn't have anything to do with their body; it's practically just when the seasons change is when the dog's fur coat changes. It's pretty crazy to think a dog will grow new fur twice a year for ever year that they live. Can you imagine how much fur it is to comb off Tyara since she is a snow dog? Every other day in the summer I will brush her to  make her thin coat better.

In the site Dog Day Afternoon Spa: "Shedding 101" compares a dog's fur coat to trees and their leafs. I found this comparison really cool and it shocked me because they are both so similar. They are the same in how they change because of the seasons. In the fall, the leaves change color and start to fall, just like a dog's summer fur falls, and to some may change color. I have also noticed a change in Tyara's fur color; it changes from a lot of white to a lot of grey and maybe even some brown. I have noticed that this year her fur is growing a bit more dark with a lot of more grey in it.

Tyara's fur coat, Pic taken 10/23

Even if I have to  comb her a lot, and take out full bags of her old fur coat, I would rather be doing that to make her fur coat for the winter look nice and shiny.

Work Cited

 Spadafori, Gina. "The Pet Connection." VeterinaryPartner.com. Veterinary Information                         Network, 7 Nov. 2001. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.