All dogs have hair and that is a good thing! A dog's hair helps to keep him warm, protect his skin and protect him from the weather. Dogs have two types of hair, under hair and guard hair. The under hair helps keep the dog warm and the guard hair or "outer hair" protects the dog from the elements. There are many hair colors and patterns throughout all the canine breeds. The different patterns and colors help to camouflage each breed. Dogs can have solid colored coats such as: black, brown, red, white, tan or even liver colored. Some of the different patterns you can find on canines are: a saddle or dark patch of hair over the back. Sable, light and dark hair mixed together. Black mask, a mask of black hair on the face area or on the muzzle. Brindle, light colored hair overlaid with darker colored stripes. Lastly is my favorite pattern Irish-Marked: white color is only on the tip of the dog's tail or on just the feet, muzzle or neck. My beautiful mixed breed dog is Irish-Marked.
Most breeds of dogs shed their hair at least twice a year. Canines are designed to have a thicker coat of hair for the winter and a thinner coat of hair for the summer. A dog needs to shed to have a thin coat and needs to grow in a new thick coat for colder weather. The change in sunlight during the day is actually what triggers a dogs shedding. When a dog is primarily indoors it tends to shed all year long.