Spring in Cape Town: why your couch is losing the war

The south-easter is back, the evenings are longer, and your dog is leaving a second dog on the couch every time it stands up. That is the winter undercoat letting go. In Cape Town it starts about now and carries on for weeks. Brushing helps. Here is what helps more.

What the undercoat is

Double-coated breeds, think Huskies, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Border Collies and most of the fluffy crosses, grow a dense soft layer under the top coat for winter. In spring the body stops holding onto it, and out it comes in clumps, tufts and that fine fluff that floats across the room when you open a window. A short-coated Staffie or Boxer sheds too, just shorter hairs that weave into fabric and refuse to leave.

Why the brush is not enough

A slicker brush gets the top layer. The dead undercoat sits closer to the skin, and most of it stays put until it falls out on its own, which is the part you are sweeping up. De-shedding is a treatment, not a brush: a wash and conditioner that loosens the undercoat, a proper dry, then a tool that pulls the dead coat out through the top coat without cutting anything. What comes off a Golden Retriever in one session is genuinely alarming. In a good way.

Please do not shave the double coat

It is tempting in summer. Do not. The top coat is the dog's insulation against heat as much as cold, and once a double coat is shaved it often grows back patchy and wrong. De-shedding gets the heat-trapping undercoat out and leaves the top coat to do its job. If your dog is a Husky in Blouberg in February, this is the answer, not the clippers.

What it costs

De-shedding is an add-on to any package, priced by the size of the dog:

• Small, 1 to 10 kg: R50
• Medium, 10 to 20 kg: R60
• Large, 20 to 40 kg: R80
• Giant, over 40 kg: R100

Cats get it too, for R50. Add it to the Healthy Essentials and a medium dog is R355 for the lot, wash, dry, nails, ears, teeth and the undercoat gone.

How often

Through the shedding weeks, every two or three weeks makes a real difference. Once it settles, every six weeks keeps the coat right. You can set the booking to repeat, every two weeks, every three, monthly or every six weeks, and the van just comes back. Book a de-shed, and tell the couch that help is on the way.