There are a lot of Pomeranians who face a stage during their puppyhood named ‘puppy uglies’. What is it? It is a stage where the coat of pomeranians looks very odd and scraggly. But, how is the look before and after this ugly stage of a pomeranian? We have the explanation about ugly stage of pomeranian below.
Before and After Puppy Uglies
Puppy aglies are the transition of Pomeranian puppies where their coat falls out to make way for the adult coat. You will see certain conditions where the fur of your Pom changes from one layer coat of short soft hairs to a two-layer double coat with a short dense undercoat and a top coat of linger guard hairs.
This process may be shocking for you because the wonderful and pretty coat will fall out. You may feel sad to watch it.
When your Pomeranians are still puppies, the coat is one-layer which is soft and fine. It has super supple short hairs which are like feathers. If you rub the coat, you will feel as if you rub a silk. Because of this type of fur and also the plump shape of the puppy, it makes your pomeranian puppy look soft and round.
Then, when they are adults, the coat will change. When they are adults, the coat is very different but it is beautiful. They will have a double coat of fur with dense, tightly-packed inner layer and also an outer layer of guard hairs which stand out.
In the phase of transition from puppy coat to adult coat, or we can say it as ugly phase, there will be a heavy and even drastic shed. The soft hair of your puppy will fall out, but all of the adult hairs will grow. If the coat of the puppy falls out quickly before the adult hairs grow, it will make the look of your pomeranian odd. So, this is called the ugly stage.
In the ugly stage, the coat can be very patchy and also uneven with short hairs in some areas and long hairs in other areas. The hairs may be sparse so that you are able to see skin. In some parts of the pom body, the thinning fur may look worse such as on their legs of the flanks. On the chest, their fur may fall out drastically. Some pom puppies even lose fur severely around their eyes.
When you rub your puppy in this ugly stage, you may find that there are clumps in your hands because the fur falls out fast. In this stage, they may leave much less fur than they previously had.
During ugly stage, some pomeranians even can look much thinner. It is because there is a lot of fluffy fur which helped a puppy look rounded.
The Percentage of Pomeranians Puppies which Go Through Ugly Stage
This ugly stage can happen to a lot of pomeranian puppies. Nevertheless, it does not happen to all pomeranians. Every pomeranian will lose their puppy coat and the new adult coat will grow. However, some of them can go through drastic shedding which makes the coat look odd which is called an ugly stage.
The percentage of pomeranian puppies which go through this ugly stage is about 80% which means 8 out of 10. The level of this stage is various ranging from mild to severe. How about the 20% of pomeranian puppies? They will go through the transition as well, but at a more even progression.
When Does This Ugly Stage Happen?
The ugly stage of pomeranian puppies can happen when they are 4 months to 10 months old. This range of age is the worst time of the ugly phase. However, after your puppy is 10 months old, you will see that their coat is full and thick and regain their beautiful looks. How long does this ugly stage happen? It happens for a period of 3 to 6 months.
How to Avoid the Puppy Uglies?
Is it possible to avoid the puppy uglies? Well, it is impossible for your pomeranian puppy to avoid it. You cannot do anything to avoid or to stop the ugly stage. It is because this stage is an important stage that most pomeranian puppies will go through to have the adorable adult coat. Nevertheless, there are some ways that you can do to speed up this stage and to help ensure that the new coat is healthy. Here are some tips that you can do to make your puppy face the ugly stage faster and better.
- You have to bathe your puppy every 3 weeks.
- You are able to use a soothing and nourishing shampoo and conditioner.
- You have to brush often with the right types of brushes.
- You have to use a leave-in spray.
- You have to make sure that your pomeranian puppy rests and sleeps on a surface with a pad.
- You have to treat any skin irritations with a restorative cream.
- Make sure that you help keep your pomeranian puppy warm.
The Change of Color During the Puppy Ugly
Sometimes, this transition coat process also changes the color of the puppy’s coat. If you have loved their previous color, then you may be a little bit disappointed. Here are several possibilities of the color change.
- The colors can be darker. You may find that the coat of your puppy turns brown from tans. Or, if it is orange, it may deepen to red and many more.
- The colours can be lighter. This condition is more often to happen than darkening. You may see that the coat of your pomeranian fade such as brown to be tan, red to be orange, orange to be cream and many more.
- The markings that your pomeranian puppy has can increase or decrease. This is a common condition during the puppy ugly stage. You are able to expect some level of change. However, in most cases, the markings will decrease. In addition, the brindle and sable that your pomeranian puppy has may fade or decrease to some degree.
