Signs of Spring

When I was searching online for a puppy last summer, I was looking for a poodle because poodles don’t shed. Rescued poodle mixes sometimes shed, depending on which fur genes they inherit. When I first saw Biska I suspected she would shed because she had a straight coat rather than a curly coat. But I was hoping her poodle genes would count for something. Plus, she was so darn cute!

Her fur did actually have a slight kink to it, which was a hopeful sign. I knew it was just her puppy coat and her adult coat would grow in differently. It remained to be seen whether she would turn out to be a big shedder, a light shedder, or a non-shedder. I didn’t think she was curly enough to be a non-shedder, so I’ve been hoping for a low-shedder. Generally a poodle mix would at least shed less than a regularly shedding dog.

For a long time it seemed like she didn’t shed much. Until 2 weeks ago. Suddenly there’s dog hair everywhere! EVERYWHERE! So the million dollar question is: Is she just losing her puppy coat? Now is the age to do it. Her puppy coat should be falling out and she should be growing her adult fur – and then we will see whether her adult fur will be shedding or not.

It’s possible she’s already grown in her adult fur, in which case is this could be spring shedding. Is it going to be like this every spring? Or is this her new normal and she’s going to be like this year-round?! Heaven forbid. Whatever’s going on I hope it’s not like this continually forever. I love this dog, but her mom’s a poodle and I was hoping for some low-shedding!

She is growing up to be super cute, but not looking very much like a poodle!

The only place she has poodle fur is two tufts behind her ears!

Regardless of whether this is just her puppy coat coming out or annual spring shedding, I’m hoping for some improvement soon. Just tell me this is not the year-round new normal!

Meanwhile, it’s allergy season! I don’t know why people think the desert is a good place to go to alleviate allergies. It’s true there’s less mold and mildew here than in most parts of the country. But there’s not less pollen.

This is a tree in my backyard. I think it’s native. It’s some sort of desert willow.

Yep, that’s pollen you see coating the ground in yellow.

Between dog fur and pollen, now is not the best time to visit me in Tucson if you’re prone to hay fever! The weather, however, has been fantastic.

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