Shaving Your Dog

[wolf_Q]

Here's my two cents. Reggie and Sydney are shaved usually very short. Nebo is not, he has a full thick coat (that is brushed out) made for very cold climates, not heat. He tolerates the heat better than Reggie and Sydney. When we've taken them on hikes Sydney especially (I'm sure part of this is her black coloring) really has a hard time with the heat and Nebo is fine. His top coat gets hot but close to the skin its still cool where Sydney's skin with less hair is a lot more exposed to the sun.

I do agree that a dog can get heat stroke shaved or not shaved you just need to take procautions when it is very hot. Smokey got heat stroke years ago and I don't think he was shaved short at the time.

As for the coat I've seen some grow back just fine but many that did not. If you want to shave your dog that's a risk you have to take. Recently an aussie came in that was shaved a year ago and it had a large patch on his back that did not grow back and the rest of it did. I groomed a pomeranian yesterday that was also shaved about a year ago (when she adopted the dog it was severely matted there was no choice) and her coat looked perfectly fine but near the skin were prickly topcoat hairs that only grew back about 1/4 inch.

I, personally, do not like shaving double coated dogs. I think they are better with their coat, IF the owner BRUSHES the dog throughly. I think in most cases shaving the belly and trimming the feathers is a better alternative to entirely shaving a double coated dog. But if the dog is a matted mess I'd rather shave them then put the dog through the pain of brushing if the owner will not keep up with it anyway.

We get 90-100+ degree temps here in the summer and Nebo, a siberian husky, survives with all his coat. Of course I wouldn't just leave him outside in the heat all day either though..he has a kiddie pool and trees for shade outside and inside there's air conditioning.

[emilysgk]

Hmmm I didnt bother looking before putting a new post asking this. See mind is one of them long hair breeds. She is a lhasa with about half length coat. Previous owner always kept her really short. She tried to claim to me that even brushing daily didnt keep matts away. Yes if you dont know how to do so properly. I will admist I only brush about once a week. Its enough to keep her pretty clean (of dead under hair) and keep the matts and such at bay. I dont have to worry about caot damage since she has been shaved numerous times already. She has a LOT of curl to the top of her head and base of back...maybe shaving caused this? In any case im deciding if I should cut her short (NOT shaved extremely short) or not for the summer. She spends lots of time outside and we have no A/C

[emilysgk]

I forgot to say also, that I do agree that most breeds, not including the extreme ones like lhasa and shih tzus, dont need to be shaved. Like I know someone whe shaves there golden every year, I dont think that help much. Same with various shepards and such. Some do it to get rid of the clumps they can lose when shedding... dont get the dog if you cant handle taking care of it as it comes...

[BC_MoM]

Anyone heard of the FURminator? It works great in substitution for shaving.

[Cataholic]

Jessika- I could hug you for posting this! I have a neighbor and a couple of friends that shave down their dogs and a cat. I NEVER hear about how it is benefitting to the dog or cat, just how much less hair there is. They do it year round- so, bull-pucky that it is just to keep the dog cool.

JenL, you raise an interesting point, but, again, I never hear, "oh, the dog is so much more contented now"....just the less hair issue.

I see a big difference between a puppy cut, or, a trim and the full blown 1/4 inch bald look.

Get a picture of a dog if you can't deal with the hair (and, I feel totally comfortable saying that as I have 7 cats, 6 of them long haired, a small house, and lots and lots of hair).

[Logan]

I selfishly have my Golden Retriever, Honey, trimmed down short one time/year. It probably doesn't make a hill of beans of difference to her, but I'm happier, therefore, she's happier. We don't have to fight that thick, wooly hair in the hot summer afternoons (outside for brushing), I don't have big, white wads of hair all over the kitchen floor, so Honey and I have more time for playing together and loving each other. She is not shaved. Her hair is about the length of a Labrador Retriever now, maybe a little shorter, and she looks adorable!! And it will make it so much easier when she goes swimming to get her dry. She has the thickest, sheep like, woolly fur that I have ever seen. This is no "cheap" alternative, either. I paid $100 to have her done this year (including tip). So I don't take that decision lightly. I did choose to not trim Zipper or Lilly this year (this is before Zip passed away), as their coats aren't the same texture or thickness as Honey's.

It's an owner's perogative and if they are caring properly for their dog, then I truly don't see the problem with it. But, I do admit, it isn't for Honey, it is for me, which makes me a bit selfish, I guess, but like I said, in the long run, Honey is happier because I'm not chasing her with the slicker brush and shedding blade anymore. We can do a lot more fun things together!

Logan

[jenluckenbach]

You know what.........this argument is getting really "OLD".

Is it not personal preference? Don't poodle, cocker spaniel, schnauzer, terrier, (etc.) owners get their dogs shaved? (and remember, when I say SHAVE I mean they have a clipper blade used on them........they are not buck NAKED) Any why do they do it? Some do it for convinience. Brushing all the hair that the dog would grow if left natural might be difficult for their schedules. So when sheltie, chow, golder retriever, keeshond, border collie (etc.) owners have their dogs shaved because it is convienient for them to care for the dogs coat, why to we scorn them??

Most of these dogs getting shaved (remember.....NOT BALD) are pampered indoor pets. They aren't broiling out in the hot sun getting sun burned or heat stroke. They are inside lounging in the air conditioning. They get to spend more time having "dog-fun" instead of tedious daily groomings to care for their excessive coats.

I think I would worry more about the pet owners who's dogs are 30% (and more) overweight having heat stroke than a double coated collie who was shaved down.

Now can't we just agree that people who have a pet (be it a dog or a cat or a goat or a horse) and choose to have their pet's hair cut short is NOT killing their animal??????

just my humble opinion. And by the way I shave several of my own cats for various reasons and their hair have never been damaged by it.

[dab_20]

I shave both my dogs in the summer months. We usually end up having to shave Molli because her fur gets matts in it. No way around that until I find a brush that acctually works better. I notice Sam is alot cooler when he has shorter hair. When he had long hair he used to pant and become restless because how hot he was after walks. Now he doesn't. Right now Sam's hair is the length of a lab. I think we will stop shaving him and just cut it this short once a year. The rest of the time we give him a cocker cut, leaving feathering on the legs and ears. (in my sig)

[Jessika]

Shaving is not the same as trimming or clipping guys (unless you clip to like 1/4 inch that is). Just wanted to reiterate that point!!

Also, shaving DOES NOT help with shedding in the least bit, the dog or cat will still shed the exact same amount lol

[labmomma]

I have my dog groomed every spring and she is a long haired dog with very dense hair. My groomer doesn't shave her but leaves about 1/2" on her and she does great. It's very hot and humid here during the summer and she spends most of her time in the house so she doesn't suffer at all. She sleeps in the house at night as do my other two dogs that are crated. She is almost 14 years old and her grooming sessions does wonders for her spirits. My groomer makes over her and alway puts a little pink ribbon on one of her ears. She has arthritis really bad in her hind hips and she has trouble having a bowel movement because she can't squat the way she used to and we have to keep her backside clipped pretty close.

[shihtzulover850]

snuggles doesn't get shaved bare, just enough to keep her cool because in her case she gets really hot. but I have never thought about it like that before.... can you put sunblock on a dog to protect it? i mean do they make a special one for dogs?

[Jessika]

snuggles doesn't get shaved bare, just enough to keep her cool because in her case she gets really hot. but I have never thought about it like that before.... can you put sunblock on a dog to protect it? i mean do they make a special one for dogs?

Yes, and yes. You can put sunblock on a dog (I would recommend children's if you're going to use "human" sunblock) otherwise they do make sunblock especially for doggies. If you have a dog with a pink nose or with light patches of fur around their eyes or nose (like Charlie has a black nose, but his skin is white, and his fur is NOT thick around his nose/mouth area at all so I put sunscreen around that area) and Jamie has a pink spotted nose, so I put sunscreen on her nose because they ARE prone to being sunburned!