Besides Morkies, there are a number of dog breeds that are billed as non-shedding including the President’s dog “Bo,” a Portuguese Water Dog. But is the non-shedding dog fact or fiction?
Fiction: all dogs and cats shed. We do too! Shedding is part of the natural process of hair growth – each hair starts from a follicle, which grows, dies and is then replaced by another follicle. When the follicle dies, the hair drops or “moults.” The length of time of the growing and shedding cycle is different by breed, age of the dog and whether he lives inside or outside. However all dogs do shed – although some breeds shed significantly less than others.
To say that these “non-shedding” or low-shedding breeds are hypo-allergenic is another myth since hair or fur isn’t the only trigger for allergies. People can also be allergic to the dog’s dander, saliva and even its urine!
Havanese are double-coated, non shedding dogs.
Yorkies are single coated, non shedding dogs.
That said, there are breeds that are easier on allergies and housework. These include both single-coated (“hair”) and double-coated (“fur”) breeds.
It’s complicated!
There are single coated dogs — one coat of hair that’s more like ours – that shed and those that don’t shed.
Then there are double-coated dogs – larger, coarse guard hairs over soft fluffly undercoat – that do NOT shed.
Here’s a quick run down of the low-shedding or hypoallergenic breeds in both categories.
Single-coated, low-shedding dog breeds
- Maltese
- Poodle
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Coton De Tulear
- Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier
- Kerry Blue Terrier
- Portuguese Water Dog
Double-coated low-shedding dog breeds
- Shih Tzu
- Lhasa Apso
- Bichon Frise
- Schnauzer
- Havanese
- West Highland White Terrier
So that means the MORKIE is a very ‘low shedding’ or no-shedding dog, since both the Maltese and Yorkie are.
There’s always the hairless dog!
The Chinese Crested is mostly hairless.
These exotic breeds have very little or no hair at all. In fact just its feet, head and tail have hair. That means they’re always clean and don’t attract fleas. However they can be fragile to care for, since fur is natural protection against the environment.
The best-known hairless breed is probably the Hairless Chinese Crested, an odd little dog with a single tuft of hair on its head.
There’s another version of Chinese Crested called the Powderpuff. It has a full coat of hair, along with the crest on its head. Both are recognized by Kennel Clubs.
And, the BEST low-shedding dog….
The Morkie 🙂
Next: best combs and brushes for your Morkie
I bought a Morkie , pure off white .SnowBella I beautiful but she sheads ! Hair flys everywhere . It in your eyes , nose & mouth .what can I do ? I got her because she was not a shedder .
Hi Toni – that’s very weird, because the two parents – the Yorkshire Terrier and the Maltese dog – both have hair, not fur and don’t shed. I wonder if there’s a problem with static electricity more than shedding, so it makes it seem like the hair is everywhere, going into your face, etc. ??
You might want to try something like Argon Oil – just put a few drops in your hands, rub to warm it up and spread it, then gently spread over your Morkie’s hair. Or you could try a leave-in conditioner to moisturize the hair, such as BARKLOGIC Leave In Conditioning Spray 16 fl oz | No Parabens, No Phthalates, No Sulfates, No DEA & PEG, Hypoallergenic, Plant-based (it’s available on Amazon.com here: http://amzn.to/2GCvDds)
can you connect me with a good breeder for morkies in california , we like the one with that pink bow is it available
Interest in Morkies. How long is fur, generally?? Are they papered? I had a seller asking $500. What is avg cost for unpaperwd dog??
Morkies generally have quite long hair – not fur – good news because hair causes far less allergies. This hair can hang almost to the floor, or you can keep your Morkie’s hair short in an adorable puppy cut.
Morkies never come with legitimate ‘papers’ – they are cross breeds of Maltese and Yorkies and are not recognized by an reputable dog organization or club.