Fiber Arts Friday: Blowing their Coat

The Tibetan Mastiffs started shedding a little at the beginning of March,

but then began blowing their coat a couple of weeks later.

If you've never experienced dogs blowing their coat before, it's essentially shedding in over-drive.  The undercoat was coming off in fist-fuls.

The fur just flew off of them when they would shake or run around.  Our yard has looked like a crime scene for the last couple of weeks.

I have been plucking and saving what I can from the dogs.   Noodle rather likes the plucking and will remind me that it's her turn.  Wonton doesn't care much for it... it's almost like she knows she has the good stuff and doesn't want me to have it.

Thankfully, they're pretty much done shedding now.  I have to say, I kind of like this idea of being completely finished with shedding in a few weeks.  It's definitely a benefit of having Tibetan Mastiffs.

I have been able to collect about 1 1/2 lbs of fur from the two dogs.  For the most part this is black fur with a two-inch staple and a gentle crimp.

Noodle and the bag of collected fur

I spun some golden Tibetan Mastiff for our breeder last summer, so I am looking forward to spinning some of our own... perhaps for this year's Tour de Fleece.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!