My dog has been shedding this winter, pretty bad. I'm wondering why, and what I can do to stop it. I have two ideas of what it could be. One, it could possibly be the weather, but it has been cold for awhile. Two, it could be she's missing something in her diet. Can anyone help?

It would help if we had a bit more detail, yakkak. What breed, age and sex is your dog? Does he/she live indoors or outdoors? What part of the world are you in? And are there any other factors like recent illnesses or allergies that might be relevant?

i would say the same thing as Ewood. but 1 of dogs i have now is a 3 yr old jack russell X parson jack russell with wired hair. when he first got his wired hair he malted all year round, and we think he always will. so what im trying to say is it could be the a coat change. i dunno!!! or mabey a skin problem. but my suggestion is go to the vets.

~PartyAnimal~

sorry. She is half sheltie, seven years old, and she lives outdoors. We live in NC US. She has had no illnesses or allergies to my knowledge.

Thanks, yakkak. I assume you haven't just acquired the dog and her general lifestyle hasn't changed. If you haven't changed her diet or her lifestyle, the only thing I can suggest is that she is edging into middle age. There may be some mineral or vitamin deficiency emerging as she ages and changes occur in her body.

I agree with Party Animal. Consult your vet.

Have you thought about adding oil to your dogs diet? You would have to do this slowly so as not to upset his/her stomach. This could be as simple as giving the dog a piece of buttered toast. My favorite is sunflower oil and then if I can't get that I buy Safflower (sp??) oil. All these are cooking oils. A small dog would need about a tsp and larger dogs more. I used to give our 35 pound dog 1 tbsp daily and it really helped her. Some dogs need the extra oil because they don't get enough or are not able to process it in dog food. Vitamin E is good too but cooking oil was cheaper and my dogs love the taste.

Shelties usually blow coat a couple times a year. Shedding is affected more by the changing light cycles than the actual temperatures.

One thing bothers me that you said... why does she live outside? Having lived with 3 different purebred shelties, I can't imagine keeping them outside!! Being close to their fellow pack members is VERY important to them. I wonder if the stress of being left alone outside may have something to do with it as well.

SPCAgal-
in reply to your question about her living outside....
She lived inside for the first 2 or 3 years of her life, but due to my Dad's athsma we had to put her out there. She's been outside for 4 or 5 years now, and I think she enjoys it, except when she's lonley.
Would it help, you think, to get another dog?

Dogs are pack animals. Being an active member of the family is very important. Getting another dog to live with her outside isn't solving the actual problem, just giving the problems to another dog.

Have you tried products such as Allerpet to see if that relieves the allergy symptoms at all? I just hate seeing any dog living outside (although there are some situations that are ok - but that's another story.) The daily interactions in the home are very important - even though you may not notice them, the dog(s) sure do.

Yes, we've tried Allerpet.
We do spend time with her everyday, at different times. It seems like she hardly ever wants to be alone. But if she were in the house and we were gone, that wouldn't make it any better. I can see what you're saying, though.