The coat of Shiba Inu is a double coat, made up of a soft thick undercoat and a stiff topcoat.
The topcoat is thick, straight and hardy like needles, and it shields its body from dirt and thorn when it go through bush and shrubs. The undercoat is thin soft and grow thickly like far of sheep. It is useful to prevent wind and water and protect from coldness.
Shedding season
There are 2 times shedding seasons in a year for Japanese dog. It is when it’s coat changes from summer coat to winter coat, and from winter coat to summer coat. In shedding season (especially when it changes to summer coat), it sheds a lot of hair, so you need to brush daily to get rid of old and dead hair. If dead coats is left, it might hold unnecessary moisture and cause skin disease.
As dog changes its coat, dog’s appearance also changes. When dog has summer coat, it loses undercoat to prepare for summer and it looks slim. When dog has winter coat, it gains undercoat to prepare for winter and it looks fatter.
Tips on brushing
If you try to brush after dog become adult, it may not like brushing because it is not get used to. So it is better to begin brushing when dog is still puppy, so that it get used to it.
In shedding season, it is better to brush dog’s hair in various directions, brush along the flow of hair, then blush against the flow of hair, rather than brush in one direction, so that you can get rid of more hair easily.
How often we sholud brush
Shiba Inu is not a long hair breed and we don't have to worry about hair twining, so there is no limit and standard in brushing frequency. But we recommend daily brushing from the point of view of physical intimacy, good blood circulation, habituation. If you can’t afford it, once in few days is also OK.
Brushing tool recommendations
In Japan, there are brushing tools like examples below. Brushing tools which is being sold will vary depending on countries, so please use examples below as a reference. Each type brushes have different feature, so please try to use several brushes and find the best one that matches your dog’s hair.
Comb ( for shedding season and daily brushing )
Slicker brush ( for shedding season )
Scratcher ( for shedding season )
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