Border Collie Shedding: Do Border Collies Shed a Lot?

Border Collie shedding is heavy. Border Collies have a thick double coat, so they lose some hair every day and then shed much more for a few weeks in spring and again in fall. You can’t stop it, but steady brushing keeps the hair on the brush instead of on your couch.

Below you’ll find when Border Collies shed the most, why yours might be losing clumps of hair, the brushes that actually help, and the signs that shedding has turned into a health problem.

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Do Border Collies Shed a Lot?

Yes, Border Collies shed a lot. They are moderate shedders most of the year and heavy shedders during their seasonal coat change. Expect tufts of hair on floors, furniture and dark clothes year round. During the two big sheds you can fill a vacuum canister in a day, even if you brush your dog four or more times a week.

Is that bad? It depends on what you’re used to. I’ve had a lot of dogs in my life, so I don’t think Border Collie shedding is horrible. Shedding is only really bad twice a year, and some breeds shed more. If this is your first dog, though, it can feel extreme. Our guide on whether a Border Collie is a good first dog covers that and the other surprises new owners run into.

No Border Collie is low shedding or hypoallergenic. If loose hair in the house is a deal breaker for you, pick a different breed.

Why Do Border Collies Shed So Much?

Border Collies shed so much because they have a double coat. A coarse, weather resistant topcoat sits over a soft, dense undercoat, and the undercoat is the part that comes out in clumps. The breed was built to herd sheep outdoors in Scottish and English hill country in all weather, and their coat still behaves that way, even on a couch dog.

The Border Collie breed profile on Wikipedia describes the coat as a double coat that ranges from smooth to rough and is “often thick and prone to shedding.” Every Border Collie has a double coat. What changes from dog to dog is the length of the hair and how much undercoat sits under it.

Rough Coat Border Collies

A rough coat Border Collie has medium to long hair with feathering on the chest, legs, belly and tail. Rough coats vary a lot. Some dogs carry a huge mane and a thick undercoat, while others have a lighter coat with little feathering.

Smooth Coat (Short Haired) Border Collies

A smooth coat Border Collie has short hair with little or no feathering. Short hair is genetically dominant over long hair in dogs. Long hair is a recessive trait controlled mainly by the FGF5 gene, which is why two rough coat parents only produce rough coat puppies.

Smooth coats are easier to keep clean. They pick up less mud, dry faster and don’t mat. But short haired Border Collie shedding is just as real. A smooth coat still has an undercoat, and the short hairs work their way into fabric and are harder to pick up.

Coat type	Hair length	Shedding	Mats?	Brushing in shedding season
Rough coat	Medium to long, feathered	Heavy, comes out in clumps	Yes, behind ears, armpits, britches	Daily
Smooth coat	Short, little feathering	Heavy, short hairs stick to fabric	Rarely	Most days

When Do Border Collies Shed the Most?

Border Collies shed the most in spring and in fall. That’s when they “blow” their undercoat, dropping the old layer so a new one can grow in. The rest of the year they shed lightly every day. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, dogs normally shed in early spring and early fall and also respond to changes in temperature and the amount of sunlight.

People call this time the Border Collie shedding season. In spring your dog drops the dense winter coat to get ready for warm weather. In fall the lighter summer coat goes and a thicker Border Collie winter coat grows in for the shorter, colder days.

How Long Does Border Collie Shedding Season Last?

A full coat blow usually lasts a few weeks. The timing varies with your climate and how much time your dog spends indoors. Indoor dogs under steady light and heat often shed more evenly through the year, with less dramatic peaks.

Border Collie Moulting, Molting and Malting

Moulting is the British word for shedding, and molting is the American spelling of the same thing. When someone in the UK says their collie is moulting, they mean the dog is blowing its coat. You’ll also see “malting” in searches, a common misspelling. All three mean shedding.

Why Is My Border Collie Shedding So Much?

If your Border Collie is shedding a lot in spring or fall, it’s almost always a normal coat blow. Hair comes out in clumps and tufts, but the skin underneath looks healthy and there are no bald spots. If heavy shedding shows up at an odd time of year or comes with itching, sores or thin patches, look at these causes.

Seasonal Coat Blow

This is the cause most of the time. Border Collie shedding clumps that pull out easily with a brush, in spring or fall, are dead undercoat ready to go. Brushing more often is the fix.

Over Washing

Your dog’s skin makes oils that keep the skin and coat healthy. Bathing too often strips those oils, which can leave the skin dry and itchy and lead to more hair loss. Our best shampoo for Border Collies guide covers how often to bathe and which shampoos are gentle on the skin.

Stress

Stressed dogs shed more. You’ve probably seen a dog leave a cloud of hair on the vet’s exam table. Border Collies are sensitive to tension in the house, to moving and to big changes in routine, and a bored Border Collie is a stressed one. Enough daily exercise and mental work helps more than people expect.

Allergies

Dogs can be allergic to things in their environment, like pollen and dust mites, or to ingredients in their food. Allergies cause scratching, licking and chewing, which pulls out hair. They can start at any age, so if your dog suddenly gets itchy, have a vet take a look.

Diet

Merck lists nutrition among the things that affect hair growth. A dog that isn’t getting a complete and balanced diet can end up with a dull, dry coat that sheds more than it should. Our Border Collie food guide explains what to look for on the label and how much to feed.

Fleas, Ticks and Mites

Fleas and mites make dogs itch, and itching leads to hair loss. Mange mites can also cause bald, crusty patches on their own. Year round flea and tick prevention from your vet is the simplest way to rule this out.

Medical Causes of Border Collie Hair Loss

Shedding means hair falls out evenly and grows back. Hair loss means bald spots, thinning patches, or skin that looks red, scaly or greasy. That’s a vet visit, not a brushing problem. Hormone problems such as an underactive thyroid, skin infections, mange and inflammatory skin diseases can all cause it. The common health problems in Border Collies guide covers the conditions the breed is known for, and our Border Collie vet care page explains what a checkup should include.

Can You Stop a Border Collie From Shedding?

No. You can’t stop a healthy Border Collie from shedding, and no supplement, shampoo or haircut will turn one into a low shedding dog. Shedding is how the coat renews itself. What you can do is control where the hair ends up, mostly by brushing out dead undercoat before it falls out on its own.

How to Groom a Border Collie to Control Shedding

To groom a Border Collie, brush the whole coat two or three times a week, and every day while your dog is blowing coat. Work in sections, brush in the direction the hair grows, and get down to the skin. Use a slicker brush for the topcoat and an undercoat rake or deshedding tool for the loose fluff underneath.

1. Start with a quick pass of the slicker brush over the whole body to loosen surface hair and find any tangles.
2. Work through the coat in sections with the undercoat rake. Lift the topcoat with one hand and brush the layer underneath.
3. Give extra time to the spots that mat on rough coats: behind the ears, the armpits, the “britches” on the back legs and the tail.
4. Finish with a metal comb. If it glides from skin to tip, you’re done with that section.
5. Keep sessions short and pay your dog in treats, especially with a puppy. A dog that likes brushing makes this a ten minute job.

Brushing helps the coat too, not just your floors. It spreads the skin’s natural oils through the hair and keeps rough coats from matting.

Best Brush for a Border Collie

The best brush for a Border Collie is really a pair: a slicker brush for the topcoat and an undercoat rake or deshedding tool for the undercoat. A metal comb is a cheap third tool that finds the tangles the brushes miss.

Tool	What it does	How often
Slicker brush	Fine bent wire pins that pull loose hair and small tangles from the topcoat	Every brushing session
Undercoat rake	Long teeth that reach through the topcoat and pull out dead undercoat	Weekly, daily in shedding season
FURminator deShedding Tool	A fine edge that grabs loose undercoat in long strokes	Once or twice a week, gently
Metal comb	Finds mats and checks your work	End of each session

Use an Undercoat Rake

An undercoat rake is made for deshedding double coated dogs. It looks like a tiny garden rake: a handle with a row of long prongs at the end. The prongs slip through the topcoat and catch the dead undercoat.

Use it like a normal brush wherever your dog is dropping clumps. Be gentle and don’t press hard, because you don’t want to scrape the skin.

If you want one tool that brushes and rakes at once, I’d suggest the FURminator deShedding Tool (the large, long hair version fits most Border Collies). It works like magic and it’s the only brush I use. Go easy with it, though. Too many strokes in one spot can thin the topcoat or irritate the skin, so keep sessions short.

Use a Vacuum or Blower

A vacuum can help with deshedding in two ways. Both only work if your dog is calm around the noise, so get them used to it slowly with plenty of treats first. If you have space outside and it’s not too cold, use the first method. Indoors, use the second.

The first method is a blow-out. After a bath or a good brushing, switch the vacuum to blow (if yours can), hold the hose close to the coat, and blow the loose undercoat out. A dog grooming blower made for this job is quieter and safer than a household vacuum. Do it outside, because it gets messy fast.

The second method is the opposite: you suck the loose hair up instead of blowing it away. A shop vac works better than a house vacuum because it fills up fast. Use a wide attachment, like the T shaped floor tool, so the suction never presses flat against the coat. Full contact can pinch and hurt your dog’s skin.

Bathing During Shedding Season

A bath in the middle of a coat blow loosens a lot of dead undercoat at once. Brush well before the bath, rinse thoroughly, and brush again once your dog is dry, and you’ll pull out far more hair than with brushing alone. Don’t overdo it. Bathing too often dries out the skin, which can make shedding worse. The Border Collie shampoo guide has a step by step bath routine and gentle shampoo picks.

Let Them Swim

If you have a lake, river or dog beach nearby where you feel safe letting your dog swim, use it. Brush your Border Collie first, then let them loose. Play fetch and let them paddle around.

The water helps rinse out dead hair that’s ready to go but still caught in the coat. Rinse off salt or lake water afterward and dry your dog well, because a damp undercoat held against the skin can lead to hot spots.

Keep the House Under Control

Some hair will get past the brush no matter what. A few habits keep it manageable:

• Brush outside or over an old sheet you can shake out.
• Put a washable blanket on your dog’s favorite couch spot and in their bed.
• Vacuum more often during shedding season, and empty the canister before it clogs.
• Keep a lint roller by the door for your clothes.

In a small space the hair shows up faster. Our guide to Border Collies in apartments has more on living with the breed in tight quarters, and the new Border Collie essentials list includes the grooming basics to buy before your dog comes home.

Should You Shave a Border Collie?

No, don’t shave a Border Collie. A double coat insulates against both heat and cold, and the topcoat protects the skin from sun. Shaved double coats can also grow back slowly, patchy or with a different texture. Your dog already sheds its heavy undercoat in spring to cope with summer, so regular brushing does the job a shave is meant to do.

A light trim to tidy the feet, the feathering or the fur around the ears is fine. The exception is when a vet clips an area for surgery or to clear severe mats.

Border Collie Shedding FAQ

How Much Do Border Collies Shed?

Border Collies shed a moderate amount most of the year and a lot during their spring and fall coat blow. Day to day you’ll see tufts on the floor and hair on furniture. During a coat blow the undercoat comes out in handfuls. Brushing several times a week keeps it under control.

How Often Do Border Collies Shed?

Border Collies shed every day, all year, with two heavier sheds in spring and fall. Each coat blow usually lasts a few weeks. Dogs that live mostly indoors sometimes shed more evenly through the year instead of in two sharp bursts.

Are Border Collies Double Coated?

Yes, all Border Collies have a double coat, whether they are rough coated or smooth coated. The soft undercoat keeps them warm and is the part that sheds in clumps. The coarser outer coat sheds water and dirt and protects the skin.

Why Is My Border Collie Losing Clumps of Hair?

A Border Collie losing clumps of hair in spring or fall is almost always blowing coat, which is normal. The clumps are dead undercoat. Brush daily until it passes. If the clumps leave bald patches, red skin or scabs, or show up at an odd time of year, see your vet.

When Do Border Collie Puppies Start Shedding?

Border Collie puppies shed a little from the start and lose their fluffy puppy coat gradually as the adult coat comes in during the first year. Many dogs don’t carry a full adult coat until they’re one to two years old. Our Border Collie puppy guide covers the coat change and other milestones.

Do Collies Shed?

Yes. Rough Collies and Smooth Collies, the Lassie breed, are a different breed from the Border Collie, but they also have double coats and shed heavily, especially the Rough Collie. The same brushing routine of a slicker brush plus an undercoat rake works for them too.

What Does Moulting Mean for a Collie?

Moulting means shedding. It’s the word British owners use for the seasonal coat change when a collie drops its old undercoat. A moulting collie is simply blowing its coat, usually in spring or fall, and needs extra brushing for a few weeks.