Willow Got A HAIRCUT!!!!

Wow!  I like it.  She is beautiful either way!

Wow, thanks for all the compliments and responses. 

I really, really didn't want to cut her so short but she has a skin condition that she's had since we got her.  But, the vet wants us to use some medicated shampoos on the actual skin which is really hard to get to with all the fur, it was several inches long and very thick.   It's not a curable problem but manageable only not at that length.  Hopefully, I can get it under control and we can let it grow back. 

I think this will be a nice break for her too, she can run around and be a dog and not have to worry about getting matted or anything.  It's so easy for me, no more 45 minutes of grooming twice a day for awhile.  And, the skin she had coming off in dandruff was getting stuck in the undercoat and it was all over the house, YUCK.

I like Willow Lite!  My husband started calling her Little Willies cause she looks so small.  Anyway, thanks, she's still my Willow.  I knew as soon as she smiled at me. 

And, she DID need an adjustment on the harness it was WAY too big!

Hahha,,,,thats funny about the harness!  Gee, Willow is cute as can be both ways. But I bet she will feel better for summer.
My mother-in-laws neighbor had a dog,,,bet it was a Chow now that I think of it, but they shaved it every summer,,but like a Lion,,,with the big mane and a fluff at the end of its tail.     I used to love to see it.

[align=left]Arg! Lost my post!

Dyan, lion cuts are my absolute FAVORITE hair cut! If I ever get a Pom or a Chow, watch out, hair, LOL.

Lori, I bet you can bathe her yourself, now[] Emma gets shaved (much shorter than Willow) about every four weeks, so I can keep an eye on her skin. She's *much* easier to wash and dry, when she's short, and she looks pretty darn cute with her Poodle tail!

Yeah, I was doing the baths myself for the past few months but the stuff wasn't really as effective as it should be because of how difficult it was to really get to the actual skin.  This is SO easy now compared to before just in daily grooming and keeping up with it.  The chow coat is very high maintenance.

Aww Willow Lite....love your new 'do! I bet your going to be much cooler now in the heat!

She looks awsome!  What a big change in her apperance and I bet she is alot cooler now.

I like the new haircut.  She looks so happy. 
I found an old Chow book at a garage sale that has a section on saving Chow fur to make wool.  "Jerseys knitted out of Chow wool are very warm and comfortable, and the blue Chow wool is really a delightful color and of course, the color never fades."  I can't imagine how much fur someone would have to store to make a sweater.  It must be an eighties thing.

Well, based on how much fur she had she could of probably made two sweaters easily. 

I'm havin this huge urge to go get her a polka dotted collar or something with jewels on it.  She never wore collars before because they never fit well with all the fur plus you couldn't see them.  I just want to put it on for looks, I'd still walk her on the harness.
 
THANKS FOR ALL THE COMPLIMENTS!  They are helping me during the many periods of OH MY GOD, what did I do?? 

Willow looks beautiful with her new summer coat.  Although, I gotta say I love her long hair too.

Love her both ways, but the summer do makes her look kinda sassy! Very cute!  She looks so PLUSH!! 
 
I think you should celebrate with a fun, sassy collar!  The girl needs some bling!

It takes approximately four pounds of fiber to make a very light sweater or poncho.  That doesn't sound like much but it would probably take at least two "fleeces" from chows.  Mongolians make clothes from their dogs' hair - it takes a couple of shearings to get enough off their mastiff-type dogs.

Willow Lite is way cool.  Have I mentioned how much I love blue dogs?  [sm=wink2.gif]

Thanks everyone!  DH talked me OUT of the bling collar, said he'd look like a "girlie-man" walking her! []
 
I know you're all gonna think I'm crazy, but her coat is already visibly growing back and it hasn't even been a week

"Girlie-man"!  What, is Willow a personal accessory, or a doggy individual?  She can style without affecting his manhood, just like you or a daughter or niece going out for a walk could!

There's a really nice line of inexpensive collars at Wally world right now - lots of flash without too much "bling".  Or something like this, fairly subdued but still nice http://tinyurl.com/zp2oc

Willow looks beautiful. I bet it makes using the medicated shampoo so much easier. Grooming has got to be a breeze.....good choice!