For the love of dog hair! If you have ever owned an animal with a full, thick coat of fur, then you know what a struggle it can be to keep up with how much they shed. Dog owners across the globe have invested a great deal of their time and energy into cleaning, grooming, and de-furring their homes, in an effort to maintain a happy and hygienic environment.

While there are many dogs that shed their coats, one breed in particular, the Bernese Mountain Dog, is a little bit more to handle than your average pet when it comes to pet grooming. If you are interested in becoming a pet parent to this breed, you might be wondering, do Bernese Mountain Dogs shed? And if so, how much do Bernese Mountain Dogs shed?

The answer? Yes! When it comes to shedding, the Bernese Mountain Dog is a shedding machine! Large amounts of shedding is to be expected when living with any long-haired hound. So if shedding drives you crazy, this may not be the right breed for you.

Coat Type

Bernese Mountain Dogs have a thick, moderately long double coat that can be straight or slightly wavy. With so much hair, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this coat sheds heavily, especially during the Spring and Fall. Bernese Mountain Dog shedding can be excessive, especially if the dog isn’t groomed frequently.

Grooming

As an owner, you can minimize the impact of shedding on your home, clothing and other belongings by integrating frequent and consistent grooming practices into your pet’s routine. Fortunately for you, maintaining your Berner’s coat typically doesn’t require any more than 1 to 2 brushing sessions per week to help keep the majority of the unruly shedding under control.

In most cases, Bernese Mountain dogs enjoy a good brushing, so this exercise should go over smoothly for both you and your dog without taking too much time out of your day. Once a week, simply give your dog’s coat a quick, light brush and then later, go in for a more thorough brushing to remove any more free-falling hair.

Tools

Any kind of dog brush should work for surface cleaning, but to help minimize Bernese Mountain Dog shedding, you need to have the right tools to get the job done. Breeds with double coats will need extra attention or you will be in for an unsightly surprise. If neglected for too long, your rugs and couches may end up resembling a dog themselves by mid-summer.

To avoid fur-covered furniture in your home, it’s important to use the right grooming tools to keep your long-haired dog relatively free of loose hair. So when it comes to grooming your Berner’s massive mane, the best tools to use are:

• Stainless steel pin brush
• Slicker brush
• Stainless steel comb with fine and coarse teeth

The American Kennel Club recommends getting a pin brush and a slicker brush to use for grooming. If you are new to the world of dog grooming, these terms may not sound so familiar to you. A pin brush, is a type of brush that has an oval or rectangular-end and is topped with wires that have blunt ends (pins), rather than plastic “hairs” like a human hair brush would have. The pin brush will work for general grooming, to lift-up loose hair and remove debris from your pet’s coat. Daily brushing is also suggested, as it keeps shedding hair from collecting and also helps to distribute natural oils around the dog’s fur.

If you’re using a regular pin brush, the pins can actually be retracted to push the hair off, which some owners find very helpful during the grooming process. Other, slicker brushes, have fixed pins, but they also work just as well. No matter which brush you go with, it’s important to make sure it will be able to reach your Bernese Mountain dog’s undercoat. Otherwise, you are only removing a portion of the loose hair and the unruly shedding will persist.

Bathing

For a thorough cleaning, bathing your dog is an absolute must. Look for a high-quality dog shampoo and plan on giving your furry pup a good bath at least once a week. Bathing is important for all dogs, but for a double-coated breed like the Bernese Mountain dog, a regular bath is critical in order to control dirt, loose hair, dander, and an overbearing pet smell. This process will ultimately help you stay on top of what can seem like endless amounts of shedding.

By following these suggestions above, you will be able to control your Bernese Mountain Dog shedding once and for all!