Do you shave your pup?

[ihartgonzo]

Thanks for the nice replies ;0) Gempress, your view makes perfect sense. He never gets shaved to the "skin", just a clip so he looks like a smooth-coated BC. I think I'm just going to talk with his groomer about it. I know clipping should not be done for shedding... Gonzo sheds very little thanks to his diet, anyway. It's mostly because he seems much cooler! His coat is particularly thick for a BC, almost Husky-like. I talked to his herding instructor the other day, and she made me feel much better about everything. She breeds Border Collies and has 8 dogs, all working dogs and house dogs. She clips their tummies herself when the weather is warm, and says she would take in 3 of her furrier BC's to get full-body groomed if it was economical. I really trust in her advice, so I might decide to get his whole body trimmed.

I agree that shaving a short-haired dog is pointless.

 

[Noxmorexlies]

My mom shaved our yorkie but not entirely. He loved it and we only take him out when theres barely sun, so he didn't have any problems. He looked like he liked it, he ran around afterwards and had more energy to do things. It was the first time but next time we will probably do the same if it gets hot enough.

 

[StillandSilent]

We clip our terrier mix year round. We just don't cut him as short in the winter. I'm still not sure exactly what breeds are in him, but if we don't clip him, he gets this funky white afro thing happening on his entire body.

 

[Poppy]

I think you already received fantastic advise. So, I am probably just repeating the advise.

For double coated breeds you normally can get a lot of the undercoat out by a professional grooming. I always had my big coated dogs belly shaved, right from their front legs all the way down. A big coated dog cannot get the benefit from a cold floor with all that coat. And anyone who states a big coated dog has that coat to keep them cooler is mistaken.

One last word of advise, make sure your dogs paws are trimmed. You or your groomer can shave in between the pads. Dogs sweat and regulate their body heat through the pads of their paws.

With my big coated dogs in their later years I did start having them shaved off in the summer. And it did make them cooler and more comfortable.

Gempress explained it very well.

 

[SalemWitchChild]

No. If I shaved Kota her double coat may not come in again correctly. Not to mention it is her system for heat/cool. Personally I wouln't shave any dog regardless of breed.

Why you should not shave your double coated dog

 

[Poppy]

For a double coated breed there is a chance of the undercoat growing out faster than the out guard hairs. That is a chance you take when shaving off double coated breeds. But, in some cases it is more sensible to do whats best for the dogs health rather than beauty in the eye of the owner.

Dogs like Poodles, maltese, shih tzus, and other dogs with no undercoat of course require regular grooming and haircuts, but dogs with undercoats rarely do.

hmmmm, so, lets not worry about your collie, no a collie as per the article you posted does not need regular grooming

Fast forward to the local groomers shop. "Oh yeah," they say, "You should shave that dog right now! How much? Oh about $50 or more since we have to shave so much hair off."

Or, why don't we brush that mess of a dog out completely, that will be $100.00 or more. Plus bring your dog in every 4 weeks so we can keep up with that coat.

It's completely a personal choice. If an owner is not vain about their dogs apperance then shaving off is a great choice. Keep in mind as well that many Great Pyr working dogs are lined up with the sheep each year and shaved off for summer months, why, to keep them cooler. These dogs are out working all day and it has been proven that they suffer no consequense from the sun.

Another thing to think of is horses, they are double coated and yet most people shave them off in the summer, why to keep them cool.

 

[Sprout]

I shave Sprout. He's got no snout, so the fur grows right into his eyes! So I hafta cut that. Then the fur on his head will get so long it will become dreadlocks! So I just shave him all down WHen they're shaved, they always feel clean, even if they arent heh

We shave our golden too. His fur is SOOOOO long and it sheds EVERYWHERE. We find ourselves petting him more often when he's shaved because you'll have a hand full of fur if you pet him when he's not shaved.. plus its fun to clip them hehe.

Edit: And I live in Az USA.. which is EXTREMELY hot. I know about all that insolation stuff that people say, but it really does help to keep them shaved. And its not like it gets cold at all in the winter So we dont have much to worry about

 

[Toller_08]

I don't shave my dogs, there's no reason for me to. I do however clip a friend's Border Collie often and just clipped Tango's brother yesterday. Both are clipped to an inch of fur and they are a whole lot happier and cooler when they're coat is shorter. Niether live outside, both are exercised either in the evening or very early morning when its cooler outside and the rest of the time, they're in the house sleeping. Some people say that they could get heat stroke quickly now that their coats are shorter but I really don't think thats a huge possibility and you can tell that they're happier this way. The BC is 9 and he's been getting clipped for almost his entire life, he seems to be jsut fine. Both of their coats grow in properly and don't look or feel any different than before they were clipped. I think its entirely up to the owner whether you shave your dog or not.

 

[LabBreeder]

Up until last night I thought it didn't matter. I was watching the Eukanuba 2006 (Best of Show, I think) on Animal Planet and one of the judges said that the bottom coat is fur and the top coat is hair and when you shave a dog you are actually not helping it because their coats are designed to regulate their body temperature. Maybe this only applies to certain breeds, but that's certainly not what it sounded like.

Either way, I don't shave my Labs. That would just look silly (IMO) and would defeat the purpose of being able to regulate their temps when swimming and hunting or doing field work.

 

[LabBreeder]

Just a quick article I found.

Some owners have asked about shaving their dogs during summer months and most veterinarians and professional groomers recommend AGAINST shaving your dog for the summer months because a dog's coat helps to protect his skin from the sun and provides insulation from the heat. Dogs don't sweat to cool themselves and they don't need exposed skin to stay cool.
http://adogsdreams.tripod.com/augustheat.html

 

[lakotasong]

Why not to shave your Siberian:
http://www.sibrescue.com/tip-shave.asp

I simply give my dogs a kiddy pool to play in, plenty of fresh water, and shade in the summer. Never had problems with my Siberians in the heat. Regular grooming works just fine, I'd never shave one. I do believe that their coat helps regulate their body temperature in both winter and summer. And some of my Siberians looked darn near naked in their summer coats. They do just fine without me shaving.

 

[RetrieverLove]

Moco gets shaved every two months.