To Shave or Not to Shave?
This is the time of year that we hear the question, “Should I shave my dog to keep him cooler?” If you do a quick search on the internet, what you will primarily see is “NO! NEVER SHAVE YOUR DOG! Their coat acts as a natural A/C!!!” This is only true if you are consistently brushing your dog and getting the loose hair off and out of the coat. These posts are generally written by “dog enthusiasts” who commit a lot of time to grooming their dogs.
However, if you (like me) are not somebody that regularly and completely brushes out your dog’s coat, that loose hair actually traps heat next to your dog’s skin, making the situation worse.The bottom line is that if your dog is getting AIR to his skin, he will be cooler. Having a well-brushed out coat can protect your pup from sunburn and bug bites.
(I’m not going to address “the coat will never grow back the same” debate. I have kept my Chow mix shaved his entire 17 years, so for me personally, I don’t care how his coat grows back. He’s not a show dog. Also, if you’ve met me, it’s no secret that my “blondness” isn’t natural, and my hair will never be the same, but again, I don’t care. You will have to decide if this really matters to you, but personally the only time I’ve seen it grow in “weird” is when a dog gets really old and their coat starts to thin due to age. Will it grow in coarser? Maybe. But you – again, you – have to make the decision if that matters to you.)
In addition, *I believe* that you need to consider your dog’s lifestyle. If your dog is primarily an indoor dog that goes out to potty and play for a little bit each day, then they are not acclimated to the heat and therefore are as affected as we are to the change from A/C to 100+ temps. These pups will probably benefit from a “summer cut”. However, if your dog spends most of it’s time outside then they have become used to the higher temperatures gradually, and if their coat is well taken care of, could benefit from having their coat left as-is.
Now to the most important part—how to give yourself a choice!
A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post about matted dogs and how to brush them to avoid that situation:
MATTED DOGS AND HOW TO PREVENT IT!
You see, once your dog gets really matted, you’ve got no choice—you will have to shave your dog.
(Eyes blacked out below to protect the innocent!)
As you can see, there was no way any air was getting to these dogs’ skin, and unfortunately had to be shaved all the way down. Both were due to getting the dogs wet (baths or swimming) without fully brushing them beforehand. Again, see post I linked to before on how to properly brush your dog.
Note:
If you do decide to get your pup a “summer cut”, please be very aware of sunburn. Make sure they have plenty of shade, don’t walk them during the hottest part of the days, in essence everything you would do for yourself to prevent sunburns.
Feature Image: Yes, it is the same dog! Photo from PetSugar.com.
Tags: cat, dog, healthcare, petcare
This article was NOT written by a canine health professional. Its true that DOUBLE COATED (Newfoundland, Chow, Siberian Husky, Malamute, etc.) breeds their coat as an insulator against the heat and more importantly the SUN.
Other breeds such as the poodle, bichon frise, etc. Who do not have a double coat may benefit from their hair being kept a bit shorter.
Those with double coated breed should NEVER shave their dog down to the skin, or close enough to mess with the undercoat. They need their topcoat as a shield, and the undercoat as an insulator against the temps. Those with double coated breeds wishing to keep them cool should provide lots of share and water for their dogs, walk them in very early morning or late at night, and brush out shedding undercoat DAILY.
Hi Star Utter, I”m Kelly from Sergeant”s, editor of the blog. First, thanks for commenting from your unique perspective as a dog enthusiast. You made some great points – especially, as Blair also stressed, about making sure to give pets shade and water! Protecting all pets from sun is important!
Blair is not a canine health professional, but a professional groomer. On Pet Health Central, we have a variety of regular bloggers with a wide variety of expertise. We do, however have a couple of veterinarians in our blogger group, so perhaps one of them would like to chime in from that perspective?
Blair – love the post. It really is a decision you have to make based on your dog”s lifestyle – and your own! I have two long-haired Dachshunds, and although I don”t shave them, I have to admit I don”t brush them nearly as often as I should. I didn”t think about that issue of adapting to the A/C inside and the heat outside for dogs that are mostly indoors (like mine.) I will brush them more. I would get them a ”summer cut” but I”m afraid they will scare people – Zelda, the little one – already looks like a ferret in the grass because she has dwarf legs (that is an actual item posted on her papers!) so going with that haircut might tend to freak out my neighbors! Haha, just kidding!
You have to look at this from two perspectives. While grooming or shaving certain breeds may not be ideal from an aesthestic or cosmetic perspective (like shaving all the dreadlocks from a Komondor) in some cases, it is medically or humanely necessary. If a dog needs surgery or an ultrasound, the hair has gotta go! It will always grow back. Ditto if a heavy coated breed is living in a humid, hot environment and is having issues with dermatitis, matted fur or infection (pyoderma).
You don””t necessarily have to be a veterinarian to have experience and knowledge in this particular area, and a professional groomer such as Blair sees a lot of variety in dogs”” coats and the serious issues that can come from letting them get matted. As the post stresses, if you have the time and are able to be fastidious in grooming your dog – daily brushing of the entire coat thoroughly – then yes, this is optimum. In some cases, though, shaving is needed to avoid medical complications and to keep the patient comfortable. An all-or-none philosophy regarding shaving and coat type does not help those that would benefit from shaving, such as the dog in the pictures.
Blair does a good job of showing in the photos what occurs when a dog gets too matted and must be shaved down to prevent medical issues from happening and to keep the dog comfortable. There is a REAL health danger to letting this happen, as Blair explains, because no air is getting there – I have seen this many times, and some of these patients end up with serious skin infections under the mats due to accumulated moisture and chronic irritation of the skin. These can take weeks of antibiotics to clear up and are very painful for the patient. This dog most definitely would have benefited from daily coat care and brushing, but, sadly, only a small percentage of the pet-owning community knows to do this or is willing to spend the time. As the comment above points out – for some breeds brushing is a great way to keep the coat healthy and maximize the sun-protective effects of a double coat, but if it is not done that same heavy coat becomes a liability.
Some dogs will experience skin irritation after close shaving (known as ‘clipper burn’) and one should not shave a dog just because the weather is warm – only if the dog is having an issue or seems to be uncomfortable. I agree that the coat can serve as a shield against the sun and protection against sunburn (I have seen a few dogs get a nasty sunburn on their bellies when they fall asleep in the sun). The suggestions about providing shade, water and regular brushing are spot on – in addition, consider keeping dogs indoors in a cool, air-conditioned environment when the weather is uncomfortably hot and humid. As a very general rule, if you are uncomfortable outside, there’s a good chance your dog is, too.
Our neighbors had Old English sheepdog(s) and I remember them regularly shaving their dogs each and every summer. The only thing they made sure to do was keep the hair long over their eyes (e.g. the ”ballcap” look) to help protect them from the sun. The dogs really seemed to love the change to “summer attire” and we always got a chuckle when they made their summer “debut.” I think Blair”s point about brushing completely is absolutely critical. My terriers have short coats and I know even I don”t always do the best job of brushing. Thanks for the input, Blair!
As a groomer, we encounter these issues on a daily basis at our grooming shops. As I mentioned, brushing out the undercoat daily is the preferred method, however that’s just not feasible for some people. Again, if that undercoat is left to mat or is not brushed out, it can actually trap heat and moisture on the body creating an even worse situation. Unfortunately, we see matted Huskies, Chows and other double coated breeds and the only option is to shave them off. To try to brush out these dogs would be inhumane.
We also find that it’s a lack of information, not a lack of caring, that usually leads to these conditions. You really need to think about your dog’s lifestyle and region that you live in. Here in Texas it gets HOT and my black Chow mix would physically slow down in the heat but once he got his summer cut he would literally prance around. He spent 90% of his time inside in air conditioning. Again, in a perfect world, we would all have time to brush our dogs daily but if that’s not possible, this may be an option for pet owners, and save their pet from misery. Whatever you decide, always make sure to provide your pup with a LOT of fresh water and plenty of shade if they are going to be spending a lot of time outdoors this summer! Thanks for your input Dr. Tony!! (side note: I also had an Old English Sheepdog growing up and she would get that EXACT haircut every summer…so funny!)
Very helpful information. Thank you Blair!
I have owned my chow lab mix now for six years and he has a very thick chow coat. The first year I did not have him shaved and all summer long through our heat and humidity, he looked miserable. I talked with my vet and they explained it could be a great thing for him as long as he wasn”t shaved too early in the summer, that he wasn”t shaved too short and that they suggested putting a skin conditioner in his food to help support natural oils growth to help keep his almost bare skin healthy from the summer elements. Now first of June he gets his shave and he LOVES it. He runs around like a puppy after he is relieved of all that hair. I do suggest heavy coated dogs be shaved as long as it is done by a professional who is trained to groom and shave the particular breed you are interested in shaving.
I just love these pictures! I had no idea it came off like that! Thanks for the tips. I really appreciate it. My lab will be thanking you soon also.
Somewhere, I have pictures of me wearing the hard matted fur from a case like this as a toupee. If I can find it, I will post it (and subsequently, lose what little respect I have amongst my peers…)
I am a professional groomer, and I own an Akita and Rott/shep mix. I have no intention of shaving my Akita as long I can take him to work with me or leave him in the house while I”m @ work. I do a sheddless treatment on him every 4 weeks @ least to keep the excessive under coat to a minimum. As pets age it”s not uncommon for their coats not to grow back right. Frequent shaving of double coated breed can even destroy the coat. It ””””s best not to let it get to the point of being severely matted. Having to demat can be painful to the pet and it can make them hate being groomed. Most double coat will blow out well with a good conditioning as long as they haven””””t gotten to the point of being matted to the skin(only somewhat packed in with under coat) A good experienced groomer should know when to draw the line. Though this process can be time consuming and costly. You really have to take into consideration the age and health of your pet, if they””””re old or severely overweight they may not be able to physically stand up for some of these procedures, and if the groomer or person doing the groomer doing the grooming doesn”t know how to work with special need dogs you could do more harm than good. I will say though that if your pet is pelting like the one in the pictures above, yes shaving is the only human option. However, there is still risk involved. When the skin and coat are matted that tightly together it”s harder for even our shortest blade length to get under the mats, even with the most careful handling and best behaved pets it”s easier to nick them because the skin is actually being pulled into the mat. Especially in areas such as the arm pits, and private areas there is very delicate skin and skin folds (where friction mating is common) that can actually slide between the teeth of the blade especially if you tried to use a blade that would leave the hair a longer length. Unfortunately, most owners don”t do the research they should do when it comes to the upkeep on the grooming requirements before the get a dog,( or cat) for that matter and it wides up being more than they bargined for. Right now we as groomers are starting to see the once maybe twice a year clients. Those people who usually leave there dogs outside all year than bring them in for their annual shave downs. Usually, these pets are so severely matted that the only humane & safest, option is to shave them down to either 1/8″ or 1/16″. You also begin to see more hot spots as the weather gets warmer when a pets coat has all that excessive undercoat trapped in there coat. In short it””””s really all on the owners as to weather or not it”s even possible to save a pets coat. Once a year clients usually don”t leave groomers with many options
i have a havenese, and she matts horribly…she LOVES getting shaved (not just when she is matted). she has a VERY thick coat and lives indoors.. but loves to go out when the weather is warm.. but she is happier outside without her fur (no idea why if it’s an insulator)..
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as for keeping the hair over the eyes, she has allergies and i had to cut it (eye goo) and discovered not only does the hair protect them from the sun (which i knew) it protects them from the scary stuff they never see (did not know that)… yup, a very freaked out dog for a few days 🙁