Grooming/Shaving a working Pyr?

NI on it...but I always thought it rather odd, that a working stck dog had such a mattable coat...it'd seem an Anatolian style coat would make more sense..double and protective but shorter...seemed like a really strange adaptation lol. Maybe just a closer trim would be better than a shave down?

Found this?

http://www.bountifulfarm.com/Grooming%20the%20working%20Pyr.html

eta: http://www.lgd.org/library/GroomLGD.html

http://www.bountifulfarm.com/lgd_seminar.htm#LGD_Grooming_and_Health_Care__

Those websites are really interesting. It sounds as though you shouldn't worry about bathing or brushing a working pyr much.

Do you happen to have access to a force dryer? I don't think you want to take him to a groomer, but if you could get your hands on a force dryer (you can buy a little one at upco.com for $50), it would probably do you a world of good. Instead of brushing him, you'll be blasting out loose undercoat and dirt, much more quickly. You'll also keep him from running through the brush while he's still wet, because you can dry a Pyr with one in 30 minutes.

jennie_c_d

Do you happen to have access to a force dryer? I don't think you want to take him to a groomer, but if you could get your hands on a force dryer (you can buy a little one at upco.com for $50), it would probably do you a world of good. Instead of brushing him, you'll be blasting out loose undercoat and dirt, much more quickly. You'll also keep him from running through the brush while he's still wet, because you can dry a Pyr with one in 30 minutes.

That is my best suggestion.  I would also trim out the areas that you can't see, but tangle easily, like behind the ears, in the arm pits, and around the behind/belly.

hmm. i dont buy into the whole "the coat will be messed up after shaving". i shave mine all the time in summer. so i dont think there's much to worry there. but of course i have no idea, how much a pyr is dependent on his coat. i'd say, try trimming.... i do it in winter, especially with moca, since she tends to matt and i hate, hate, hate brushing. it really depends on the personality of the dog though, because using scissors ona can obviously be dangerous. moca will just snooze on the bathroom floor, while i do her. be warned though, if you do this. it can take a few hours, depening on how thorough you are.

NI on it...but I always thought it rather odd, that a working stck dog had such a mattable coat...it'd seem an Anatolian style coat would make more sense..double and protective but shorter...seemed like a really strange adaptation lol. Maybe just a closer trim would be better than a shave down?

Ugh, I know. Chief is awesome, but if there's one thing I can't stand about him, it's his coat. Even dealing with an Akita coat was nowhere near as bad as this, because an akita's coat isn't so long that it attracts and swallows every inanimate object and piece of filth within a 30 mile radius, like Chief's does. Notice that all of my other dogs are smooth-coated breeds- I HATE grooming!

And, thanks for the links Gina- very informative. I guess for the most part I just need to leave him alone- I guess all of the bathing I'm doing is making him worse since it's stripping his coat and keeping it from self-cleaning. 

Jennie, I didn't think of a force dryer, that's an awesome suggestion- that way I could just blow all of the crud out of his coat without bathing him.

I guess I'll look into force dryers, and start keeping him trimmed-up in the spots that tend to mat.

We had a Pyr years ago, what a sweetie she was.  

When you use the h/v dryer use a slicker to brush in the same direction as the air is blowing just to help get dirt out.  It is hard to keep on top of those coats:(

The only thing about shaving a double coated breed such as a Newf or Pyr is your never guaranteed the coat will grow back properly.  Some do, some don't.  Also, the coat gets thicker when it grows in which can make the coat even more work to maintain and thus you will have to keep the dog shaved.  

Hi,

I have done lots of research on pyrs. I have one now and will be adding my second this Friday to our family. I have read and been told by my breeder who has working pyrs that you are NEVER EVER to shave a pyr. They have light pink skin underneath and are prone to heat stroke and sun burn. They are given that coat to protect their skin against the very things you find in his coat. My breeder doesn't even brush his working pyrs, and they seem to do OK.  I think the hair dryer is the best thing to try if you feel the need. But Please, please don't shave him!

Maureen, Shiloh and Logan

whether you want to believe it or not, everything you have said is true. pyrs should never be shaved, and most groomers will not even accepgt you as a client if you want the dog shaved. heres why:

1) any dog with undercoat needs their coat to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. you may not buy it, but it is true. the only reason a dog would be hot while in full coat is b/c he is not brushed out of all his undercoat. the only time a full coat will harm them is when the undercoat clumps up and instead of insulating them, it traps the heat in. you say you brush him, but without a high velocity force dryer, you will never get all the hair out. so believe it, as it is fact. if you dont believe me thn do some research and you will find that i am right.

 2) shaving does not ruin coat by itself. still it will take about a year for his coat to grow back to how it was, maybe more. but the coat does look horrible when first done, and does not work properly against the elements. so if you shavein the spring, and you live in a place that gets really hot in the summer, your dog will more than likely suffer from heat stroke, b/c he wont have any cooling agent. and you say he lives outside, even more reason not to do it.

 3) you dog will get heat stroke. he wont have the coat he needs to survive hot summers, and he could die.

the best tip: take him to  groomer to have his coat blown out every month, or buy one yourself and do it as needed. hv dryers are the only things that work on these dogs. and if you do end up finding a groomer who wouldhsvae i will tell you they are an unethical groomer who is only doing it for money, not b/c they love what they do and want to help dogs. i turn away anyone who wants a dog like a pyr shaved

lvdgs24

and if you do end up finding a groomer who wouldhsvae i will tell you they are an unethical groomer who is only doing it for money, not b/c they love what they do and want to help dogs.

"Unethical" groomer here, who loves what she does and wants to help dogs.  I shaved a 14 yr old Pyr, earlier this year. I've also shaved Newfs and Saints. I do it because I know that I'll do a good job, and I won't hurt the dogs. There are some nasty groomers in this town, who WILL injure a dog and not tell, and who will strike a dog. I have the patience to handle a 14 year old VERY large dog, and the strength to lift her. Why wouldn't I do what the owner was insistent on doing, to a HOUSE dog????

Is it just me, or are people on this board unusually snarky, today? 

lvdgs24 wrote

and if you do end up finding a groomer who wouldhsvae i will tell you they are an unethical groomer who is only doing it for money, not b/c they love what they do and want to help dogs. i turn away anyone who wants a dog like a pyr shaved

I already stated in an earlier post that I'm not going to shave him. This thread is like a month old.

And I agree with Jennie. A working Pyr that is out in the elements doesn't need to be shaved, I agree- but a house dog? They're not going to suffer heatstroke from being shaved because they live in a HOUSE. I live in GA where the summers are in the 90's-100's, and I knew someone growing up who always had their Pyrenees shaved down. He was a house dog, and he didn't drop dead.

Yeesh. I know nothng about grooming, but I think that blanket statements about groomers based on one decision that they make about whether or not to shave a dog is just a bit much.

the thing i find funny is :why get a large furry house dog and then shave it because its too furry? well that goes for any furry dog really...  i was joking with my husband last night about giant malamutes... he wants one, i certainly wouldnt kick one out of my yard.. but he said "Well we'd have to shave it! he'd die from the heat and humidity.."  i said no... it would stay inside... to which he exclaimed "INSIDE!? YOU? the one who has fits over pulling chihuahua hairs out of your mouth during dinner??" i told him if he wanted a dog that large then he might as well get a mastiff.... why SHAVE it? after that he left it alone it alone. i wouldnt mind a big furry dog in my house. yeah i dont like eating dog hairs... i dont have that problem with the bulldogs... not that i dont eat their hairs too.. i just dont see them.. dont end up flossing my teeth with them either..

i like dogs with full coats, long coats, thick, what have you. i dont mind brushing and grooming and keeping them neat and pretty and clean.. but its never made sense why someone would purposely get a dog that needs constant maintenance and then just shave it. just seems like a prerequisite of owning a furry dog... you brush YOUR hair every day.. so brush theirs too. its easy enough..

anyway just something i find silly. i dont fault people or condemn them on their choices in grooming and breeds.... just something i personally wouldnt do. if we ever some day get another coated breed it WONT be shaved.. whats the point?