Dog Community

Posted : 7/9/2007 11:19:40 PM

I don't believe the guard hairs can grow if the undercoat is shaved to the skin. If the undercoat is gone the guard hairs aren't coming back right either, if at all.

nfowler

Posted : 7/9/2007 11:33:01 PM

ORIGINAL: nfowler

Perhaps it's a breed thing?

From DPU: No need to shave my Great Danes.

Ha ha ha, DPU. I never shaved my hound, either, but I have terrier mixes and so does Jennie_c_d. I knew a woman who shaved her husky and it never grew back (like the story of the one here).

Lori's right--must depend on how far down you go, and, too, what type of breed you have?

grab01

Posted : 7/10/2007 1:54:09 AM

Legend was shaved last year all the way down due to a skin and coat issue, his coat is completely back to normal, guard hairs and all. So I think it does vary from dog to dog.

rolenta

Posted : 7/10/2007 3:04:19 AM

I had to snip Loki's coat down to hardly anything because of mats... I guess we'll see what happens.

By the way, can someone explain how a long, thick coat keeps a dog cool? If there's thick insulation around a dog's body, which is constantly creating heat and the heat's not escaping... how does that make it cooler? I've heard over and over that shaving them doesn't make them cooler, but since Loki got his haircut, he is so obviously cooler. I don't think I'll ever clip him down again (I only did it because of mats), I just wonder how on earth people explain this?

janetmichel3009

Posted : 7/10/2007 4:21:47 AM

i have also seen a big improvement on how moca deals with heat after getting shaved (never all the way down. i have no reason to do that). jason doesnt really mind either way, but he has such thin hairs that it often gives my sister and my BF allergies, so as long as he doesnt need it, i will keep it short.

moca is a cocker spaniel and her coat grows back exactly as it was before.. she has a weird coat on her head and legs (kinda fluffy with thin hairs) but it was that way even before i ever shaved her...

Luvntzus

Posted : 7/10/2007 5:18:39 AM

ORIGINAL: rolenta

By the way, can someone explain how a long, thick coat keeps a dog cool? If there's thick insulation around a dog's body, which is constantly creating heat and the heat's not escaping... how does that make it cooler? I've heard over and over that shaving them doesn't make them cooler, but since Loki got his haircut, he is so obviously cooler. I don't think I'll ever clip him down again (I only did it because of mats), I just wonder how on earth people explain this?

For a dog with a big fluffy coat like Loki, Chows, and some other heavy coated breeds, I can see how shaving them would help because that's A LOT of hair and too much insulation. The idea is to have a layer of fur so that the sun isn't beating down directly on their skin. Groomers can user clipper attachments to take off different lengths of hair, not all the way to the skin. So even leaving 1/4" of hair will provide the skin some protection from sunburn and the sun's heat. [

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Edited to add- with dogs like Australian Cattle Dogs, Labs, etc their hair is already so short that if you shave them it's going to be down to the skin.

snownose

Posted : 7/10/2007 6:35:58 AM

In my situation I couldn't imagine shaving a Husky or a GSD, there is a reason why they blow their fur[8D]

Cheryl

Posted : 7/10/2007 7:01:06 AM

I live in TX, and I get my two Eskies scissor clipped two or three times a year and their coats fill in fine.

One time, I made the mistake of trying to find a new groomer closer to my new home and they almost completely shaved my babies bald. My husband almost cried when he saw them, and this man rarely shows emotion of this nature. They looked like little pigs. Luckily, their coats came back in fine and I take the time to drive 45 minutes each way to get them groomed with their original groomer-I trust no one else after the shaving debacle.

bluelighting

Posted : 7/10/2007 7:58:01 AM

I believe it's how short you go if the hair grows back if you take off the undercoat it will not grow back properly. We just recently groomed a German Shepherd mix that we had to shave which we have never done before I explain about the coat not growing back properly and that way we have clipped her before was better for her due to it leaving the undercoat. She came back in last week sure enough her coat is not come in right and she looks terrible.

I've seen several dogs that's undercoat has been shaved off and it doesn't grow back normal it comes out weird.

Anonymous

Posted : 7/10/2007 8:08:14 AM

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

Petco isn't going to start "educating" thier clients because you decided that you weren't happy with your haircut. That's exactly how they're going to see it, too. You decided you didn't like it, so you're calling about it. They won't see it as an educational opportunity, because they shave double coated dogs every day. They see them come back, time after time, with totally normal coats, and not dead of heatstroke or sunburn.

It's not that I "wasn't happy" with my haircut or that I didn't like it. Did you even read this thread? It about the health of the animal. It has to do with that they could have suggested not getting my pet's coat shaved because it could be detrimental to him and instead played up some of their other services...

And there is nothing wrong with at least placing a phone call and letting them know.

Anonymous

Posted : 7/10/2007 8:11:56 AM

ORIGINAL: Luvntzus

Edited to add- with dogs like Australian Cattle Dogs, Labs, etc their hair is already so short that if you shave them it's going to be down to the skin.

Well, Patton's coat is medium, not short. So now, with him being shaved, it's about a bit shorter than a lab's.

houndlove

Posted : 7/10/2007 8:28:05 AM

I've never really considered doing it. Conrad has a really thick double-coat and he definately gets hot outside in the summer. But I feel like that's okay and natural. He's in air conditioning most of the time and if the temperature gets over 85 or it's an ozone action day, we skip the evening walk and instead have a short romp in the yard. In the winter, he's full of spunk and loves to roll around in the snow. And that's fine too. The weather here in Pittsburgh can be pretty craptastic in the summer time, though it's not Florida or Texas, it can get pretty bad. But Conrad seems to deal just fine. He siestas, he takes it easy, he lays in front of the a/c vent and chills out. I don't force him to be active in the heat if he doesn't want to be.

I just couldn't imagine him all naked.

g33

Posted : 7/10/2007 8:45:18 AM

It is a breed-specific thing. You should not shave a double-coated dog. The double coat serves a dual purpose in keeping the dog warm in cold weather and cool during hot weather.

Why you shouldn't shave your long haired double coated dog.
Nov 27 '00

Look, I'm going to let you in on one of the biggest scams going. It's summer and 100 degrees F outside. You notice your Golden retriever panting, or your Sheltie, or your Chow or your Malmute (see where I'm going with this?) and you think to yourself, wow, Fido must be hot in that fur coat!

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."

Bull cookies. Long haired, double coated dogs do not need to be shaved in the hot weather, any more than you need to shave your head in the hot weather. Double coated dogs are dogs that have a heavy undercoat (the lighter softer coat that sheds) and do not need to be shaved. Unless the dog has passed the point of no return in the matting department, the best type of grooming for these dogs is a vigorous undercoat raking with a special tool that helps remove undercoat, a bath, and a blow dry to help separate the hair so the groomer gets the rest of the undercoat out. Once the undercoat is removed, the dog does feel cooler. The guard hairs on the top that do not shed out provide protection against the rays of the sun, and actually insulate the dog from the heat. On most dogs I will shave a strip up their belly, so that they can lay on cool surfaces, and get maximum coolness.

Another myth is that by cutting the hair off short, it will cause the dog not to shed. Again Bull cookies. Dogs with undercoat shed. It may shed shorter hair, but it will still shed.

The most hurtful myth as far as the dog is concerned is..."Don't worry, it'll grow back". Well, sometimes it will. The older the dog, the less likely the guard hairs will regrow. The undercoat will regrow, but the upper hair sometimes does not. This gives the dog a patchy, scruffy appearance.

Also skin that is damaged by UV rays that they would not otherwise be exposed to, can take a long time to heal, and the dog may have scaling and dandruff for quite some time after the hair has regrown.

So don't let your groomer shave your long haired, double coated dog in the summer, it's not necessary, and it's not good for the dog.

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.

robinkay6573

Posted : 7/10/2007 9:08:00 AM

ORIGINAL: ark3

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

Petco isn't going to start "educating" thier clients because you decided that you weren't happy with your haircut. That's exactly how they're going to see it, too. You decided you didn't like it, so you're calling about it. They won't see it as an educational opportunity, because they shave double coated dogs every day. They see them come back, time after time, with totally normal coats, and not dead of heatstroke or sunburn.

It's not that I "wasn't happy" with my haircut or that I didn't like it. Did you even read this thread? It about the health of the animal. It has to do with that they could have suggested not getting my pet's coat shaved because it could be detrimental to him and instead played up some of their other services...

And there is nothing wrong with at least placing a phone call and letting them know.

It's funny you say that...my good friend owns her own grooming shop. Just about everyday in the summer she has someone with a golden, husky or another double coated breed come in and want their dog shaved. You know "because they will be cooler." She DOES educate every one of them. Does she shave the dog if the owners insist even after she educates them? Sure, because if she refuses they will just take the dog somewhere else. My dog does get shaved in the spring but that is only because she has a terrier coat and looks like a wooly mammoth.

mudpuppy

Posted : 7/10/2007 9:20:30 AM

most of the heat comes from inside the dog, not the outside. If you have a thick long coat, it traps the heat in there. How could a thick coat possibly help "cool" a dog? Protect from bugs and sun, sure, but really, it makes no sense at all. Even if the dog gets his long coat wet it won't cool him efficiently, his body heat will warm up the water and he'll be a hot, wet dog. A short-coated or shaved dog can rapidly evaporate the warmed water and cool off, but not a long coated dog. When you're cooling a hot horse with water you have to constantly scrape off the warmed water and replace with cool water.

I shave the bellies on my double-coated dogs every summer and they stay much cooler and cool off much faster when wetted down.

I had my dog shaved- was this wrong?