Shaved Papillons

[puppydog]

People get the dogs shaved because either a) they think it cuts down on shedding b) they think the dog will be cooler in warm temps or c) they don't have the time/aren't able to brush the dog, often because they can't train the dog to be still or they just brush over the top of the dog and it gets matted underneath and needs to be shaved.

In case of A or B, they're just wrong. In the case of C....meh. I guess it's better than rehoming the dog, especially if they're spending the time they would be brushing exercising or doing other things with the dog.

I disagree. I shave Lilly in summer and she is MUCH happier then when she is fully coated. She suffers horribly in the heat and won't move much. Shave her and she turns into a puppy again.

 

[MaloreyAnimal]

I disagree. I shave Lilly in summer and she is MUCH happier then when she is fully coated. She suffers horribly in the heat and won't move much. Shave her and she turns into a puppy again.

Agreed. Simba is shaved in the summer as well, and you can tell he much more prefers it.

I love full coated Papillions! I couldn't see why anyone would want to shave their 'butterfly ears'. I don't mind the second dog on the first page, but find the first just ugly.

 

[~Jessie~]

In the UK, longcoat chihuahuas are more common and less expensive than shortcoats... and a few years ago someone on my chi board would shave her LC chi to make him "look like" a SC. It looked horrible. When LC chis are shaved down, their coats are pretty wavy looking, and they don't look like SCs at all.

 

[skittledoo]

oh dear... my husband actually thought those two pics of the shaved papillons are cute, especially the first one. I told him that when we get a papillon he will NOT be getting it shaved. My friend has a border collie that really HATES the heat so they actually shave her in the summer and she seems so much happier once she's shaved. She definitely turns into a puppy.

 

[Laurelin]

I see a big difference in clipping a schnauzer type coat than a sheltie type. At any rate, I don't think clipping papillon hair would do much either in the way of cooling or in the way of damage. As I said, they don't have an outer coat and under coat like most breeds. On the flip side, not having an undercoat means their hair is really easy to maintain. Like Kat said... they'd don't need much in the way of grooming at all, so I don't really see why you would shave to be honest. But I guess to each his own.

As for smooth shelties... I don't think they'd look as good as smooth collies lol. Shelties are kind of built funnily under that hair.

 

[JacksonsMom]

I'm in the odd one out, but I personally like Paps better without a ton of ear fringe. It makes them look more puppy-like to me. And it's a pet peeve of mine when a dog has a bunch of hair on their ears, I just want to cut it, LOL. I guess because I'm so used to the shaved look of the Yorkie ear. It bothers me when Jackson's ear hair gets too long.

But, I personally prefer to keep Jackson short. Just because a Yorkie is 'meant' to have long flowing hair down to the ground... I don't like the look, I don't want to deal with the upkeep, Jackson would be miserable, and well, I just don't like it. It's not a matter of me being lazy, I wouldn't mind brushing him out every day, but he's very much an outdoors active dog and unless you're wrapping the air, they simply can't do normal dog things without their hair becoming a disaster.

But I think it's different with breeds like Schnauzers and Yorkies, etc than Papillons. Pap's hair will stop growing and is not much upkeep whereas a Yorkie's will just keep growing forever and look a hot mess. They literally have hair and not fur. Paps are not a breed you necessarily have to take to the groomers every 8 weeks or whatever like a Schnauzer or a Yorkie. So I think it's different. I would never shave a Pap but I always keep Jackson pretty short.

Oh and my dads Dachshund mix gets shaved and he is sooo super happy and excited for like an entire week after his haircut. He LOVES it.
Before

After

We just think he looks cuter with shorter hair.

 

[Laurelin]

I actually get annoyed looking at pics of dogs where they seriously sculpt ear hair. lol I LOVE little flyaways and ear fringing on any dog and it just looks funny to have them all cut to a uniform length.

As far as pap fringe goes, I'm not a fan of some fringing I see that is too heavy (Rose almost falls into this for me) but they should definitely have hairy ears! It's the breed's signature after all. Saying I like papillons without fringe is like saying I like ridgebacks without ridges or dalmatians without spots. The breed name comes from their big, hairy ears. Nard is pretty good for my tastes. Mia's fringe is getting there too although she's still got more on the bottom of her ears than the tops and that kind of annoys me...

Plus when you dress them up like a turtle you get this nice hair look:

Beau and Rose's coats are a little fluffy but they were normal before they got fixed. Summer had NO hair before she was fixed (as can be seen in the pic posted earlier lol).

I don't think I could have a breed that requires shaving often or sculpting. I am too lazy. I like the wash and wear type and look.