Entlebucher Mountain Dog Shedding3/5Shedding Level
The Entlebucher Mountain Dog isn’t the heaviest shedding dog breed, but it’s far from the lowest. Overall, you should expect to deal with moderate-to-high shedding.
The Entlebucher Mountain Dog, as mentioned in the intro, is related to the Bernese Mountain Dog, which is one of the heaviest shedding breeds in dogdom.
However, it’s also related to other Sennenhund breeds, including the Appenzeller Mountain Dog and the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, and neither of those shed as heavily as the Bernese.
So, generally speaking, the Entle takes more after the latter two breeds than the Bernese Mountain dog in terms of fur loss.
As for why it sheds in the first place, the short answer is: because that’s just what dogs do! All dogs shed at least some fur, so it’s impossible to escape this completely.
However, some dogs shed more than others, and factors like the breed’s hair growth cycle, coat type, time of year, diet, and numerous other factors can contribute to the rate of shedding.
In this case, the Entle has a thick, double coat, which means it has a lot more fur on its body than a dog with thinner hair or a single coat, and therefore it has more fur to lose.
The Entlebucher also has short fur. And despite what you might think, short-coated dogs can shed more frequently than their longer-haired counterparts.
The reason? It all has to do with how dogs grow hair. All dogs go through a four-stage cycle to develop fur. The stages include anagen, catagen, telogen, and exogen.
When a dog grows longer fur during anagen, it takes it that much longer to get through the other three stages. Considering that one stage, telogen, is a resting stage, this means a dog keeps its hair longer before finally entering exogen and shedding that fur.
A short-coated dog typically goes through the four stages much faster since its hair never grows to the same lengths as longer-haired breeds. Thus, the rate of shedding increases.
The last factor that’s working against the Entlebucher Mountain Dog being a low-shedding canine is that this breed is double-coated.
A double-coated canine typically blows its coat (AKA sheds heavily) twice per year.
The first time this happens is in the summer as the weather begins to warm. Your Entle will dump its bulky winter coat to breathe easy for the summer.
From there, several months will pass without incident; then your Entle will blow its coat again in the winter. Its summer coat is too light, so the dog grows back its bulk.
And the cycle repeats again next summer.
Both instances of seasonal shedding lead to an increased rate of loose dog hair for several weeks at a clip. So you’ll need your vacuum ready during those periods!
The outer coat is short and harsh, and the undercoat is wavy or soft. The chest, toes and tip of the tail usually have white patches.
The American Kennel Club added the breed to its Foundation Stock Service in 2000. The breed received full recognition in 2011. Entlebuchers love the outdoors and stay close to their people. By:
Entlebucher Mountain Dogs (a.k.a. Entlebucher Sennenhunds or Entlebucher Cattle Dogs) are the smallest and quickest of the Swiss Mountain Dogs. Their ears are triangular with rounded tips. The almond-shaped eyes are brown with black rims. The double coat is typically tricolor with black, white and tan.
Entlebuchers originate from Entlebuch, Switzerland. Although they were likely present long before, the first recorded mention of the breed as Entlebucherhunds was in 1889. The dogs are believed to be descendants of those brought through the region by Roman armies. They herded cattle and worked alongside larger breeds that guarded the livestock.
Entlebuchers are intelligent, independent and loyal. They become attached to people and like to be around family as much as possible. They do not do well being alone for a long time and are not suitable to live only outdoors. They can be territorial and wary of strangers.
History Of The Entlebucher Mountain Dog
The Entlebucher Mountain Dog is related to the three other Swiss Cattle breeds — the Appenzeller, the Bernese Mountain Dog, and the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, of which they are the smallest. This breed is recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), the Canadian Kennel Club, the Federation Cynologique Internationale and the United Kennel Club (UKC).
It can be difficult to know the breed origin of the Entlebucher Mountain Dog. No one knows exactly when the Sennenhunds were created, but they are very old dogs. Some researchers even believe that these mountain dog breeds predate the Roman Empire. These pups were then very common in the Middle Ages in Switzerland and were treasured by farmers, and, despite their great herding instinct, were large dogs and expensive to keep. Therefore, different dogs were bred which could serve a variety of purposes, creating different Sennenhund breeds.
By the end of the 1800’s, the Sennenhunds were becoming increasingly rare. Fortunately, Professor Albert Heim decided to save these dogs — three breeds that were recognized as the Bernese Mountain Dog, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog and the Appenzeller Mountain Dog.
The Entlebucher Mountain Dog was first recognized as a Sennenhund breed in 1913. For a while, this breed was limited to Switzerland and Germany, until they were imported into Canada in the late 1980s. From there they were recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club, before being recognized in the United States.
While the number of Entlebucher Mountain Dog’s in the world continues to grow, these dogs are still very rare breeds and can be difficult to find. You may have to be put on a waiting list if you are buying from a breeder. Always make sure you are buying from a reputable breeder.
The Entlebucher Sennenhund is the smallest of the Sennenhund dogs. These pups usually stand between 16 to 20 inches tall and can weigh between 45 and 65 lbs. Males are usually taller and heavier than females.
These medium sized dogs are the least Mastiff-like when it comes to their appearance and, if anything, resemble a Pinscher than a typical Molosser. They are very powerful and sturdy, but they should not appear stocky at all. They have a muzzle that is shorter than the rest of the skull and ears that hang closely to the sides of the head. Their eyes must always be brown and almond shaped.
The Entlebucher Mountain Dog has a double coat. The undercoat is short and very dense. The topcoat is short and shiny. These dogs do shed and brushing is very important to minimize shedding. They are certainly not the dog for those with allergies! We will go into more detail about grooming later on.
The breed standard for the Entlebucher Cattle Dog states that these dogs must be tricolor. They should be of a tan, black and white colorway, and their markings should be symmetrical. Sometimes, Entlebucher Mountain Dogs will be born with only two of these colors. These dogs will be penalized in the show ring, yet still make wonderful companions!
The Entlebucher Mountain Dog is a very dedicated and loving dog. They want to be with their owners at all times and do not like to be left alone. Leaving this pup alone can result in separation anxiety and unwanted behaviors. That being said, they are also an independent breed and won’t want to be sat on your lap all the time. They will just want to be in the same room as you!
Very loyal, these dogs will believe it is their duty to protect you and they therefore make very good guard dogs and watchdogs. They are constantly alert and will bark and let you know if anything is out of place. However, they are not aggressive and with training an socialisation can get on with anyone.
An intelligent breed, the Entlebucher Mountain Dog is capable of learning anything and therefore they are easy to train. They will also excel at agility and other dog sports. Some of these dogs can retain a stubborn streak where they may not want to learn, but they certainly have the ability to and it will just take some perseverance from you!
The life expectancy of the Entlebucher Mountain Dog is relatively long. These dogs can live for between 12 and 15 years, on average.
The Entlebucher Mountain Dog is a relatively healthy dog but, unfortunately, they can be prone to some health problems. We have laid out these main concerns below.
Regular vet checkups and keeping an eye on your dog will ensure you can catch any of these issues before they become untreatable.
Remember — buy from a reputable breeder and the chances your dog will suffer any health conditions will be greatly reduced. Trusted breeders will do health checks on both parent dogs and will not breed if there is a chance of passing on any severe issues to offspring.
Now we know all about the traits and characteristics of the Entlebucher Mountain Dog, it is time to take a look at what living with one of these dogs on a day to day basis is like. We will cover their food and diet, their exercise requirements and their grooming needs.
The Entlebucher Mountain Dog requires a fair amount of food, although the amount you feed them should always be based on the weight, age and activity level. You should check the back of the food packet to see how much of a certain food you should be feeding your pup based on these things.
Try to find a food that meets all the nutritional requirements of the Entlebucher Mountain Dog. You may want to look for a dog food formulated for active breeds so you know they are getting the right number of calories.