# When does a puppy "blow" it's coat



## kristiekellogg (Feb 1, 2006)

I've heard from some people that a Maltese will "blow" it's puppy coat, and then a better coat will start to grow. Is this true? If so, when does this usally happen. Kea has a cottonish coat, and I would like to see it become a little more silky. I'm just wondering if this really does happen???
Aloha,
Kristie & Kea


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

It's not very often a pup will "blow coat". Usually the puppy coat gradually changes and the coat can change again throughout life depending on hormones, illnesses and age.


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## LMJ (Feb 16, 2006)

I'm not sure what "blow the coat" means, but Jeffery had a period where his hair was terrible and I couldn't keep up with the matts. He was about 10 months old when this happened. I ended up having to cut all of his hair off and start from scratch. In the picture below, the one with the red neckerchief is the day we cut him. That was back in February. His hair has grown out very nicely. The picture right above the one with short hair is from a few weeks ago.


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## kristiekellogg (Feb 1, 2006)

I ask this because one day at the vet I ran into another lady there who had a small Pekinese. She said that her puppy didn't have it's adult coat yet. I asked her what it meant, and she said when long hair dogs reach a certain age, they get an adult coat.







I'm just a little confused because Kea's hair always looks the same to me.


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## Luvmalts<3 (Feb 12, 2006)

Well, I don't know anyting about their coat changing, but I just wanted to say your girl is darling! She's soo pretty.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Ohhhhh, well dogs like pekes definitely blow coat. If they are in warm weather for long they will blow coat. Pups will shed their coat to get that nice thick adult coat and undercoat pekes have. Maltese, on the otherhand, only have a single layered coat..no undercoat. Their coat may change texture or get wavy with time but they don't normally lose their coats like pekes, poms, etc.


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## kristiekellogg (Feb 1, 2006)

> Well, I don't know anyting about their coat changing, but I just wanted to say your girl is darling! She's soo pretty.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


THANK YOU! Kea is the love of my life!



> Ohhhhh, well dogs like pekes definitely blow coat. If they are in warm weather for long they will blow coat. Pups will shed their coat to get that nice thick adult coat and undercoat pekes have. Maltese, on the otherhand, only have a single layered coat..no undercoat. Their coat may change texture or get wavy with time but they don't normally lose their coats like pekes, poms, etc.[/B]


OHHH...okay thank you! The lady at the vet said my Kea would do the same thing. Guess I shouldn't believe everything I hear








THANKS for all the help!


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## dolcevita (Aug 3, 2005)

I'm confused, because my groomer said that if Dolce had her hair cut short or clipper-cut while she's transitioning to an adult coat, then the cottony puppy coat would never go away. Has anyone ever heard that?

I don't know if Dolce is blowing coat or what, but in the past 2 weeks, her hair has been impossible. She gets tangles and matts so easily now; even though I brush every day, I can't keep up with it. I wanted to cut it short, but the groomer has me afraid that if I do, then she'll never get her adult coat. It doesn't make sense to me, but I'm paranoid just the same. Maybe she's thinking of breeds like peeks and poms?


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## Furbaby's Mommie (Jul 10, 2004)

Maltese don't "shed", so it follows that they can't "BLOW" their coat. The changes will be very gradual, like a human baby's hair changing.


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## Maltese Please (Apr 20, 2006)

*It is true that the single coated, human-hair-like maltese does not "blow a coat" but they do go through what some call a "COAT TRANSITION" - I have found it to be around 4-6 months but sometimes later. It is when maltese SOMETIMES (not always) get more dense or less dense hair growing from the roots to about 1 inch past the roots where the hair connects to the body. During this time, especially if you have a heavy silk or more cotton-coated maltese... you will see dozens of tiny little knots forming where the "old longer hair" meets the "new, growing hair. This may or may NOT be a different texture, but you will be able to tell by how the new hair seems more silky or cottony or even WAVY, close to the skin. The best thing to do is to brush VERY carefully first and then use a coarse comb, and finally a fine comb... to keep up with the change. If you survive the mats during this time haha, most furbabies seem to have silkier hair as a result. I know this happened with my Snow White and she has a heavy silk coat (more dense instead of baby fine like Mickey Mouse's puppy coat.) Also the final product will hang longer, straighter, and silkier usually.

If you have other questions, let me know because there are certain things you can do like keeping the har hydrated during this time to avoid issues. Hope this helps!*


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## dolcevita (Aug 3, 2005)

Is it true that if you cut the hair short or shave it during the transition time that the silkier adult hair will never come in? I think Dolce is at the transition stage, because in the past 2 weeks her hair has been very difficult to manage and she seems to get mats overnight. She has a bunch of mats right now, and I'm afraid the groomer is going to have to shave her. It breaks my heart, because her long hair is so pretty.


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