What Is Dog Deshedding and Does My Dog Need It?
Naja YehiaDog Love · Deshedding Guide · Adelaide
What is dog deshedding and does your dog need it?
Deshedding clears the loose undercoat that a normal bath leaves behind. It is not a haircut, it is not a shave, and it is not something every dog needs. Whether it applies to your dog comes down to one thing: whether there is a second coat underneath the one you can see.
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Before deshedding, dense packed undercoat
After deshedding, coat opened and airflow restored
What Deshedding Actually Is
Deshedding removes loose undercoat. A bath mainly cleans the surface.
A double coated dog carries two layers: a coarser outer coat you can see, and a soft dense undercoat underneath it. The outer coat sheds lightly. The undercoat is what comes out in handfuls, and it is the layer a bath never reaches, because water and shampoo run over the top of it rather than through it.
A deshed is a longer service that works that under layer specifically, using conditioner, brushing and airflow to release the dead coat rather than dragging it out. The dog leaves lighter, cooler and considerably less full of hair that was about to end up on your floor.
What Happens During It
What happens during a professional deshedding treatment?
Deshedding is a sequence rather than a tool, and every step exists because of the one before it.
The coat is brushed out dry first, because anything knotted that goes into water tightens. It is then washed thoroughly, with the focus on the areas carrying the most undercoat: the back, hindquarters, neck and chest. A clean coat releases loose hair, a dirty one holds onto it.
This is the step that does the real work, and the one owners cannot replicate at home. Conditioner goes through the whole coat and is brushed through while wet. The coat is slippery, so the dead undercoat releases instead of tearing, and an enormous amount comes out with almost no drag on the skin.
Rinsed until the water runs completely clear, then dried all the way through with a high velocity dryer. The air itself pushes further undercoat out from underneath, and a double coat left even slightly damp will felt as it dries.
A release spray through the dry coat, then a comb matched to that particular coat type. This is the finishing pass that clears whatever the bath and the dry did not, and it is where you see how much was still in there.
🐾 What we do not use
No undercoat rakes and no Furminator style bladed tools. Rakes drag through the coat and pull against the skin, taking live coat along with the dead. Bladed tools have a cutting edge, so they cut the coat rather than releasing it, which damages the guard hairs that protect the skin underneath. None of it is necessary when the coat has been prepared properly. If you own one of these tools, our guide on what a deshedding tool actually does to a coat explains the mechanism and includes a self check to see whether your dog is already affected.
Does Your Dog Need It?
Not every dog needs deshedding. Here is how to tell.
Push your fingers into the coat against the direction of growth. If you feel two distinct layers, a coarser outer coat sitting over something softer and denser, your dog is double coated and deshedding applies. If you go straight to skin through one thin even layer, they are single coated and it does not.
Deshedding will help
- You feel a soft woolly layer under the top coat
- Hair comes out in clumps rather than individual strands
- Shedding gets dramatically heavier twice a year
- Brushing seems to make no difference to what ends up on the floor
- The coat feels packed and dense close to the skin
A different service suits better
- Curly or wavy oodle coats, which grow rather than shed
- Silky single coats like Maltese and Shih Tzu
- Short smooth coats with nothing underneath, like a Greyhound
- Wire coats, which need hand stripping instead
- Any coat where your fingers reach skin through one even layer
If you are not certain, our guide on working out your dog's coat type walks through the five coats and what each one needs.
Breeds That Benefit Most
The dogs that usually benefit most from regular deshedding
Three groups get the most out of it. Short dense double coats like Labradors, Beagles, Corgis and Kelpies, where the hair is short enough that owners assume there is nothing underneath. Plush thick double coats like Huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds and Akitas, which carry the heaviest undercoat of any group and blow it out in sheets. And long feathered double coats like Golden Retrievers, Border Collies and Spaniels, where the undercoat gets trapped under the longer guard hairs instead of falling clear.
Deshedding vs Shaving
Deshedding is not the same as shaving the coat.
This is the most important distinction in the whole article. A double coat is insulation, and insulation works both ways: it keeps heat out as much as it keeps warmth in, and the outer coat shields the skin from UV. Shaving removes that, exposes pale skin to Adelaide sun, and on many dogs the coat grows back patchy, woolly, or with the wrong texture. On spitz breeds especially, that change can be permanent.
Deshedding does the opposite. It takes out the dead layer that is trapping heat and leaves the working coat intact, so air can actually move through it. A deshedded double coat is a cooler dog. A shaved one is not.
Coming Soon · Dogify by Dog Love
A deshedding kit built for home use, between professional appointments.
Dogify is a groomer built coat care brand launching soon. The Short Dense and Plush Thick kits are designed for double coated, heavy shedding dogs, with coat specific products chosen to help you stay on top of undercoat buildup between grooms. A brush, a coat specific deshedding comb and a release spray. No rakes, no blades.
Join the WaitlistKits coming for shedding dogs
Labrador · Corgi · Beagle · Kelpie
Husky · Malamute · Samoyed · Akita
Golden Retriever · Border Collie · Spaniel
Quick Summary
- Deshedding removes the loose undercoat that a normal bath leaves behind
- It suits dogs with a double coat, a dense undercoat or a heavy seasonal shed
- Single coated, wool, fleece and hair type coats need different grooming instead
- Short coats can still shed heavily if there is dense undercoat underneath
- Most heavy shedding dogs benefit from a deshed every 6 to 8 weeks
- Through the spring and autumn coat blows, every 4 to 6 weeks works better
- Never shave a double coat. Deshedding is what keeps them cool, not clipping
- No rakes and no bladed tools. The coat is released, not dragged
Common Questions
Questions we get asked in the salon
Will shaving my dog stop the shedding?
No, and on a double coated breed it can permanently change how the coat looks, feels and grows back. The double coat regulates temperature both ways and shields the skin from UV. Deshedding removes the loose undercoat while keeping the structure intact. Shaving is not the answer to a shedding problem.
Should I wash my dog more often during shed season?
Extra baths on their own are not the answer, because washing too frequently strips the natural oils the coat needs. What does help during a coat blow is more brushing at home and booking the professional deshed sooner, around every 4 to 6 weeks rather than 6 to 8.
Is deshedding uncomfortable for my dog?
Most double coated dogs genuinely enjoy it. The loose coat is released with water, conditioner and airflow rather than pulled out with a tool, so it feels no different to a long bath. The high velocity dryer feels like a massage and most dogs relax once they work out what is happening. A nervous dog might take a session or two to settle.
How long does the reduced shedding actually last?
Typically six to eight weeks depending on the breed and the season. During the spring and autumn coat blows, shedding builds back faster. That is the cue to brush more at home and book a little sooner, not a sign that the deshed did not work.
Can I deshed my dog at home?
You can manage well between professional treatments with a brush and a coat specific deshedding comb, and it genuinely helps. Skip the undercoat rakes and Furminator style tools, because rakes drag against the skin and bladed tools cut the coat. Our guide on what those tools actually do to a coat explains why, and how to check whether your dog is already affected. What you cannot replicate at home is the conditioner brush through and the high velocity dry, which is where most of the undercoat actually comes out.
My dog has a short coat. Do they still need deshedding?
Possibly yes. Short coated double coat breeds like Labradors, Beagles, Kelpies and Cattle Dogs carry far more undercoat than their outer coat suggests. If fur keeps appearing on your furniture and floors despite regular washing, a deshedding treatment is almost certainly worth it.
Dog Love · Tranmere, Adelaide
Not sure if your dog needs deshedding?
Dog Love in Tranmere offers professional deshedding treatments for double coated and heavy shedding dogs. If you are not sure whether to book a deshed, a wash or a full groom, send us your dog's breed, coat type and a photo, and we will point you in the right direction.