If you own a dog with an undercoat, you know the season well: suddenly there’s fur everywhere — drifting across the floor, clinging to your clothes, coating the furniture — and no amount of vacuuming keeps up. This is "deshedding season," when dogs shed their undercoat heavily as the weather changes, and it can feel overwhelming. The good news is that a professional deshedding treatment dramatically reduces the chaos, getting the loose undercoat off your dog before it ends up all over your home. Here’s what deshedding season is and how to get ahead of it.
What deshedding season actually is
Dogs with a double coat — an outer layer of guard hairs over a soft, dense undercoat — shed that undercoat heavily a couple of times a year as the seasons shift, a process often called "blowing coat." This is when shedding goes from a steady background nuisance to an avalanche. In our Florida climate the seasonal cues are softer than up north, but double-coated dogs still release big volumes of undercoat as the weather warms and cools. Breeds like German shepherds, huskies, golden retrievers, Australian shepherds, and Pomeranians all go through it. It’s normal and healthy — it just makes a mess.
What a deshedding treatment does
A professional deshedding treatment is purpose-built for this. It combines a deshedding bath that loosens the dead undercoat, a high-velocity blow-out that literally blows the loose hair out of the coat, and a thorough brush-out with specialized tools that reach down to remove the undercoat home brushing leaves behind. The result is a huge volume of dead undercoat removed all at once — far more than a brush can manage — so your dog sheds dramatically less around the house for weeks. During a heavy coat blow, it’s the single most effective way to take back control of the fur.
Deshed, never shave
When the shedding feels out of control, shaving the dog can seem like an easy fix — but for double-coated breeds it’s the wrong move and should never be done. Shaving removes the coat’s natural insulation and sun protection, risks sunburn and patchy, damaged regrowth, and doesn’t even stop the shedding, since the short hairs still shed. Deshedding removes the loose undercoat while keeping the protective coat intact — which is exactly what you want, especially heading into a hot Florida summer. The goal is to remove the dead hair, not the coat.
Keeping shedding down between treatments
- Brush at home a few times a week with an undercoat rake or deshedding tool
- Brush all the way down to the skin, not just the surface
- Bathe regularly, since a clean coat releases dead hair more easily
- Schedule professional deshedding more often during heavy coat blows
- Keep up with a healthy diet, which supports coat condition
Consistent home brushing between professional treatments is what keeps deshedding season from completely overrunning your house.
Deshedding in Panama City
Animal Friends Pet Care specializes in deshedding double-coated dogs here in Panama City — a proper deshedding bath, high-velocity blow-out, and thorough brush-out that leaves your dog cooler, cleaner, and shedding far less, with their protective coat fully intact. We never shave a double coat, and we use gentle, no-sedation handling with a nose-to-tail wellness check every visit. We’ve earned 4.9 stars across 574+ reviews. Call (850) 257-5776 or book online and ask about a deshedding treatment. For pricing, see our pricing page.