Wintercoats vs Summer Coats

[WolvenOne]

I've never seen a wolf during the winter, but I've gotten fairly close to them during the summer months, and that's where I got the idea that wolf fur was somewhat medium length.

I've just had a thought right now though. I don't know about wolves, but many dogs have slightly thicker and slightly longer fur in the winter when thier winter coats grow in.

I'm curious if the same holds true for a wolf, and if so, whether that change in fur length/density would be reflected in a werewolves pelt during winter months.

Plus, I'm also wondering if a casual observer would even be able to tell a difference.

Okay, I know, this isn't really a really vital question, but still, the more info we can provide to the movie makers, the better.

[Terastas]

In the Shaggy/Normal/No fur poll, I suggested the idea that a werewolf's fur would vary based on his/her personality -- a lazy and/or anti-social werewolf would let it grow out while a self-conscious pack leader would try to keep himself well groomed. The same could apply to their choice of how they groom themselves for the season -- they would let it grow longer in the winter and keep it shorter during the summer.

[Treads Lightly]

Real wolves shed once a year to eliminate some of the extra undercoat that is so necessary in the winter. Most pictures that are published of wolves are taken in the winter when they look muscular and full. However, in reality they just have several inches of fluff filling them out. In my opinion, this fluff would easily cover any highly defined muscles they might have. Just as another point of reference, all canines sub-consciously adjust the ?fluff? of their coats to change their level of insulation. Wolves often seem to loose 20lbs overnight when, Midwest weather being what it is, the temperature changes for zero at night to 60 in mid afternoon.

On the grooming aspect, real wolves sometimes do not know that they have burrs and what not trapped in their coats because of its thickness. They do like them to be removed, but as if you had gum in your hair, it hurts. It seems that a new werewolf would have to learn exactly how to clean his coat and learn different aspects of traveling through wooded areas.

This could be used to give individuals interesting personality aspects. Say one werewolf, for example refuses to go into a particular area of the packs territory because of a prior bad experience with burrs, or rather the aftermath. Wolves, as we probably all know, are very much one time learners.

[Nirvelli Shaddir]

They should change with the seasons as real wolf coats do

[Lasthowl]

Not sure if any movie would have the scope to show this transition.

[Sporty Fox]

Not counting the long guard hairs, wolves can have two OR three coats, depending on the animal. The thick winter down fur gives them that ridged or lambs coat look when it lifts the outer coat up. Some have a full, thick coat of the guard hairs (instead of the usual lightly inter mixed guard hairs) over the outer coat, so thick it gives them a blackish color over thier normal color. The blowing (shedding) of the winter coat takes weeks to occur in a wolf, but since a werewolf looses all his hair each transformation would we ever see a moulting werewolf? I would think not, but I would think we would see the different seasonal coats depending on the time of year the transformation takes place.