Does your dog have a double or a single coat? My Kitsune is a Papillon, a breed that is often described as being “wash and wear”. Unlike some other breeds, Papillons, even when they are being shown, are not heavily groomed. Their fur is left long and flowing, although it is normal to neaten up the fur on the paws, hocks, and personal areas.
Despite this, I have trimmed Kit’s fur short, to one degree or another, since he was around a year old. He always seems to feel more comfortable with shorter fur. His shorter fur is less messy and easier to maintain, and my fiance and I both like the way Kit looks after his trims.
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Sometimes “Experts” Don’t Even Know The Difference!
Over the years I’ve gotten mixed feedback over Kit’s fur style. Most people comment that he’s adorable and that his fur looks nice, clean, and is very soft. My harshest critics, however, always seem to be other Papillon owners. Last week I talked to a groomer who also happened to own a Papillon. To say she didn’t like Kit’s haircut would be an understatement. She informed me that dogs with double coats should never be trimmed, and Kit’s fur would never grow back the same. Of course she ignored me when I told her I’d been trimming his fur for going on 8 years without any issues at all. I also tried to politely inform her that Papillons actually have single coats, not double coats, to which she replied that they have double coats because they shed.
Coat Type Isn’t Determined By Whether Or Not A Dog Sheds
It shocked me that a groomer wouldn’t know the difference between a double and a single coat. It’s not determined by whether or not a dog sheds. The encounter made me wonder. If a groomer didn’t know how to tell the difference between a double and a single coat, how many other people would?
Double Coats
So I enlisted the help of my 11 month old Alaskan Klee Kai, Fenrir. He, no doubt about it, has a double coat. A few strokes with a slicker brush over his back and this is what I get…
At first glance, you might notice that it looks like there are two types of fur there. I broke it down even further…
Fen clearly has two types of fur. His topcoat, sometimes referred to as guard hairs, are straight and thick. They are mostly white but the tips, the parts that would be furthest away from Fen’s skin, are black. If you look at the picture I posted of Fen above, these guard hairs are what gives him his grey/black coloration.
The second type of fur is his undercoat. It’s all one color, kind of a creamy white color in Fen’s case. You can probably tell that the texture of his undercoat is not the same as his topcoat. It’s much softer, and doesn’t naturally lie as straight.
When Fen sheds, especially when he blows his coat, it’s mostly his undercoat that he’s losing. But, as you can see from the pictures above, he also loses some of his guard hairs.
Single Coats
Kit’s fur which, as you can see, looks similar to Fen’s topcoat. Note the lack of abundant, fluffy undercoat.
Most Papillons, those with the breed standard single coat, only have guard hairs. This doesn’t mean they don’t shed because, as demonstrated by Fen, guard hairs can be shed. What it does mean, and I’ve experience this first hand with Kit, is that dogs with single coats may shed a lot less than dogs with double coats. When Fen sheds he’s losing a small portion of his guard hairs, plus a ton of fluffy undercoat. When Kit sheds he’s only losing a small portion of his top coat – it’s barely noticeable.
If anyone is interested I can write more about the role of each type of fur, and why it’s generally ok to trim the fur of a single coated dog, but isn’t usually recommended (although it isn’t as much of a sin as people will have you believe) for a double coated dog. This post is getting a bit long, so I’m going to leave those subjects for another day.
Comment below! What type of fur does your dog have? Does he/she shed a lot?
Originally posted 7/15/2016. Last updated 1/18/2022
24 Comments
My dog has mostly soft fur. Do you think he has a single coat? He’s a mutt, maybe dachshund / corgie or pomeranian. It seems like he has some thick fur (guard hairs?) on his back near his neck, but it doesn’t cover his whole back
If they have corgi or pomeranian in there, then they probably have a double coat.
The key to maintaining a double coat is using the right tools. I use a combination of the paws pamper undercoat rake, a slicker brush, and a greyhound comb. I use the undercoat rake for the undercoat of course, a slicker for the topcoat, and then go over everything with a comb and blowdryer. A process but works miracles!
My chihuahua mix (10 lbs) has a double coat. Couldn’t figure out where it might come from until I saw the pic of your klee kai. I’ve always thought she had something like husky in her. She sometimes even talks like a husky.
I wish she didn’t have so much hair. After showering her, I have a pile of hair the size of two hamsters in the drain.
Michelle, great article! As a new groomer, I know that I shouldn’t shave a double coated dogs, but the requests still come in. My concern was how to tell if there is a double coat, especially with the mixed breeds. Your solution will make this easy. Thanks!
Omg, this was soooo helpful!! I was trying to figure out if I cold take my bigger dogs with me on a hike this weekend. The temps will be in the 50’s and I was concerned about them getting cold. So I started reading and ended up down a rabbit hole…which lead me here lol. Both are mutts and were rescued so I have no history on them or their mix of breeds. But now that I know how to tell if they have a double coat I feel much better about taking them out!
Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear this post was helpful for you. I hope you and your pups enjoyed your hike!
[…] dogs have double coats. The outer guard hair is the same as our hair, long and robust. The inner coat is soft and thick. […]
This was really informative thank you !
So now I know why my two chihuahuas shed so differently. Thank you so much
Do schnockers have single or double coats? Miniature Schnauzer x cocker spaniel mix. Mine is low shed but I can’t tell.
I have a rescue…Bonnie… is supposed to be Rat Terrier, but she sheds a lot, an seems to have a double coat. She has a curly tail, too, and often carries it curled up over her hind quarters. Her ‘sister’, Georgie, we got as a puppy, and she is a mix of Australian Cattle Dog, Rat Terrier, and Jack Russell…she looks like the old classic boxy JRT, without short legs. She started out with a single coat for 2 years. We bought her coats and sweaters because even in the winter, you could see her skin through her fur and she was always cold. Until fall 2020! This last fall, just after she turned 3, she grew a gorgeous fluffy double coat! Can hardly find her skin even by moving fur around. We tease her by calling her ‘Fluffy Butt, now, and she is sooo soft. But she is also shedding exponentially so much more hair! And of course, she still wants to sleep under the covers and up tight next to me, and I am covered in hair every morning. How did she go from 3 years of single coat, then right after her Sept. 10th b-day, she grows in a luxurious coat. I know indoor dogs shed more, but I did not know they could change coat type along the way.
That’s so interesting that her coat changed like that! I’ve heard of dogs coats changing a lot when they first loose their puppy coat, but that would happen when they are quite a bit younger than 3! I’m not really sure why her coat would change like that at her age. Hopefully someone with more incite will see your comment and reply! She sounds really cute, but I hear you on the shedding! I love my Fen SO much, but his hair is everywheeeere no matter how much I clean.
I’m struggling to figure out if my border collie x poodle puppy has a single or double coat. He is 7 months (changing his coat), he clearly has 2 types of hair on his back but what I would call an undercoat is still kind of his primary coat – it’s silky and smooth almost like human hair peppered with a different rougher texture white hairs which are mostly on his back (top) and not all over his body – his chest, belly and legs are all single smooth “undercoat” texture. It’s very hard to get him wet though, coat is very long and water repellant. Does this sound like a double-coated dog? I wish I could attach a photo, I’m really at a loss. Thank you.
My last dog, Molly, was a shepherd/lab mix and had a thick double coat. Now I have a miniature Goldendoodle named Juno and she has hair, not fur. It’s quite different than my sweet Molly girl who is gone now.
I also question people who are quick to point things our without doing their homework. Layla has one coat also and in the cold months I let it grow out, trimming if necessary especially if there is a matt but in the summer she gets groomed short. I am fortunate that I have an amazing groomer who knows her dogs and what they need, and does an amazing job.
Great informative post! Mine, as you know, were Siberian Huskies, so they all had double coats. And it is amazing to me, too, that many groomers (not all) did not know the difference or in my case, the proper handling of their coats. (Like never shave a Husky unless a medical reason). I was very fortunate that I had two well-informed groomers (of course, I was hovering and telling them how they should never be shaved, except my one boy who had to have a part of underside shaved due to health reasons. Good for you for writing this piece!
This is very informative. My rescue cockapoo is definitely one coat. However, I had a cat who was without a doubt double coated. I hadn’t seen a cat who was so obviously double-coated. I completely agree that not everyone understands things that seem basic to you. Excellent job thoroughly explaining double-coated dogs.
We have a double-coated dog, a dog with a single coat, and another with hair. Needless to say, they each require different things for grooming. I would be interested in reading another post about this!
My dogs have complex combination coat. Texas teckel (Ufan Farm Dogs a corgi-like asiatic guardian /drover) should have a wooly “akita-like” coat with minimal feathering. The last 2 generation blow most of body undercoat at 6-8 months so are left with a Papillion -like single coat except wool in mane, legs an dorsal. None are old enough to see if the full undercoat returns yet
thanks for all this info. very informative. I have a long haired gsd. He sheds a lot every day. I see the soft fluffy hairs everywhere. I am guessing he has an undercoat (double coat) then?
It sounds like it! That fluffy undercoat fur does have a tendency to get everywhere! I feel like no matter how often I sweep, I always find fur tumbleweeds around the house.
[…] How To Tell if Your Dog Has Single or a Double Coat […]
I have a Great Pyrenees standard poodle cross and don’t know if she inherited a double coat from the Great Pyrenees. Is there an easy way to tell? He fur is thick and wavy. Thanks