The joy of warm weather

We learn't something new about Lupus this week, which is that Siberian Huskies have the ability to 'blow' their coats in warm weather. Now, this isn't like the ordinary malting you'd see with other dog breeds... well, it is in a way (i.e. the dog loses his coat), but in the case of the Siberian (like most other things related to this breed) it happens on a much larger scale.

Siberian's have 2 coats, a soft undercoat for warmth and a tougher outer coat for protection. 'Blowing' coat is when a Siberian loses it's soft undercoat, and it comes off in such a dramatic fashion that when you first experience a handful of hair, and see the big hole in your dogs coat, you may think that it's suffering from some terrible hair loss illness.

Here's a picure of a Husky in full 'blow'...



You can see the clumpy appearance of the coat, where large chunks of soft white fur are falling out. You may find this when grooming, noticing far more hair than usual on the brush or comb you're using. I've found that 'back combing' it an effective way to get more fur out per grooming session, although it also pulls out very easily with the hand.

An amazing amount of fur can be shed, and this can be used for many things, including being spun in to yarn and used to make clothes. The average Siberian will shed enough for a whole winter wardrobe, so regular grooming is an absolute must...


Picture courtest of www.adoptahusky.com

We've already found one use for this fur, which is re-stuffing the quilt that Lupus made a hole in when 'digging' for his bone. We're thinking of putting the rest on eBay to see if there's any interest, as it's extremely soft... like cotton wool but softer. I'll try and get some pictures of Lupus himself blowing his coat, although the 'blowing my coat' picture above is almost identical to him and gives the perfect idea of what he's like.

If you've read this and you're still interested in getting a husky, check out these sites...

• www.adoptahusky.com
• www.siberescue.com
• www.shca.org

I almost forgot to mention that more picture of Lupus are available on our latest website:

• www.puparazzi.co.uk

We've also got a blog for this new venture to talk about the goings on behind the scenes...

• puparazzi.blogspot.com
  

So, if you need photos of your pet you know who to call!