What is it about this time of year that means that I come home from work covered in so much hair I look like a yeti?

The answer is that our beloved fur babies are shedding and when you work with animals you get to know these seasonal changes very well. (My thoughts go out to the groomers.)

But why do animals shed and why is it particularly noticeable at certain times of year?

There are many triggers to shedding but this ‘seasonal shedding’ occurs twice a year, in the transition between summer and autumn and again between winter and spring. It is triggered by the length of daylight hours primarily.

As the day length gets shorter the summer coat begins to loosen and shed, leaving space for the thicker winter coat to come in. In reverse, when the daylight hours increase in the spring, the winter coat sheds and the lighter summer coat grows in.

However, day length is not the only variable. Breed does have a role to play. Some dogs, such as labradors, shed more than poodles, for instance. And dogs with a fuller coat, such as Huskies, shed more than say a Doberman. Or at least it is more noticeable to us.

The same is true for cats. A full-coated Persian will leave clumps of fur around the house whereas a short-coated breed will shed just the same but it will be less noticeable.

My mum had a beautiful cream Persian cat when we were younger and she shed so much that Mum redecorated the whole house to match the cat. She said it was easier than picking up all the hair.

There are a wide range of things that cause hair loss in our pets, such as flea infestation, hotspots, allergies, some endocrine diseases, poor diet and general ill health or stress, but this is a different mechanism to seasonal shedding, which occurs biannually in perfectly healthy animals.

Horses too show the same seasonal shedding and some owners try to manipulate it by artificially lighting their stables for extended periods to prevent or encourage shedding at just the right time for show seasons.

So how do you stop your pet shedding?

I did a quick Google search on remedies for shedding and I could not believe the number of pills and potions on offer to prevent this natural cycle. There was everything from shampoos to supplements, crystals to comfort blankets, and diets to doggy vacuums.

In my experience though, it is smart not to fight nature. The best purchase is a nice brush which when combined with some good old-fashioned elbow grease will solve the inevitable seasonal shed just fine.

• Lucy Richardson graduated from Edinburgh University in 2005. She started CedarTree Vets in August 2012 with her husband, Mark. They live at the practice with their two children, Ray and Stella, and their dog, two cats and two guinea pigs. She is also the FEI national head veterinarian for Bermuda