Shedding - Stress Related?

[mikkehla]

Honeygirl is shedding an unusal amount. She is beagle/lab, so she has a short coat and I can litterally pull the hair out with my fingers, like it is not attached to her at all.

Her dad and I recently separated and he has moved out. Coulding Honeygirl be stressed out about this and therefore causing this unusual amount of shedding? Anything I can do to ease her stress?

Thanks!

[pitc9]

I know when I take my Buddy to the vet he leaves MOUNDS of fur in the waiting room and it's because of stress.
I'm sure she's stressed with the changes in the house, I'd just give her time to settle down.

[Giselle]

Ahhh, shedding and stress. I can not remember specifically which animal, but I know one type of prey animal sheds significantly more when it is stressed. Reason? When a predator clamps its jaws down on the prey animal, the prey animal stresses and sheds, leaving the predator with a mouthful of fur and the prey can hop away safely. I believe this is a Chinchilla characteristic...

But, yes, I've noticed that stress can induce more shedding. Lucky sheds a lot more than usual when he's stressed.

[K9karen]

How appropo!
I can't BELIEVE how Mz Klo is shedding! She does a nice job of it usually, but recently, I've had to brush her 2x a day instead of 2-3x a week. I vacuum at 1p and by 3p you'd never know.

I thought it was heat related. It's been wicked here. She hasn't wanted to go outside and stalk for critters at all. And although she gets her monthly dose of K9Advantage, she's been scratching too. Her skin doesn't appear dry, she gets vitamins and oil in her food.

Of course, I've been out most of the day for the last 2 months, taking care of an elderly relative. She never reacted before..it gives her a chance to spend a lot of time on the Big Bed which she loves.

Maybe I do need to modify my schedule to spend more time with her, since she's used to me being home more often. Thanks for the suggestion.