Why not to shave your dog

[Bethers]

OK, I've gotten in trouble with friends and acquaintances over this before - so will use an article to make my point. Shaving a dog cuz it's hot out is to make it easier for YOU and could do damage to the dog - plus it does NOT cool them off. Does the opposite. Oh, and proper grooming and shaving are two different things. Unfortunately, there are groomers who don't know the proper way to groom all dogs -

http://blog.aspca.org/content/heat-wave ... e-your-pet

[Christine]

I see this all the time ( shaved dogs) as a groomer ( retired ) we might have cut them 'shorter' but only shaved the dog like Cockers that were so matted down to the skin, its all you can do.. Being in a mild climate helps if this 'needs' to be done'....
People need to be educated.. but sometimes it doesnt compute ...!! Buying and having a "coated' dog is a committment to take them to the groomers every 4-6 weeks depending on the breed for the rest of their lives.. some people just don have a clue...

[OregonLuvr]

IF I was to shave my dog she would be waaayyyy too embarrassed to leave the house!!!!!

karen

[Dawn309]

Amen. We have always had standing grooming appointment for every 6 weeks since we have Schnauzers and Yorkies. People don't realize the commitment to these kinds of breeds. I hate to see a matted up dog. The groomer has no choice but shave them then. I see it and hear about it when Danny, our groomer, is brought a dog in that kind of shape. He can only advise, though. We do have the hair cut shorter on their legs at the first of summer one time and then let the longer pattern grow back. By fall, they are back to the full pattern.

[ellenw]

This is a great reminder and timely, Beth and Christine. Tucker goes every 4 weeks for a brush and a bath. On alternate visits he also gets his teeth brushed and a #4 haircut. I have no idea what a #4 is, but he seems comfortable, the groomer recommended it, and I have no interest in learning the trade, so I trust her instead. I was warned when I bought him that as a non-shedding dog, it was imperative that he get his spa treatment regularly.

[OregonLuvr]

OOOH Ellen you have a non-shedding dog.....wanna trade??? My dog sheds BIG time, I furminate her frequently too. She loves being brushed, bathed, blow dry (not so much lol) The groomers love to do her as she loves her pampering and lets them do anything they want to her. ALso have a small hand vac attached to my right arm!!! One in the house and one in the Motorhome.

karen

[BirdbyBird]

#4 probably refers to the blade that the groomer uses to cut him down. The lower the number the longer the hair that is left. A #40 blade it to the skin and is used around wounds and in surgery. I use a #10 blade on Stuart's ears and face but Remi and Stuart get anything from 5 to a 3 blade on other parts of their body depending upon the weather, etc.

[BarbaraRose]

When I was young, my girlfriend's dad had two afghan hounds and he had them shaved every summer. I loved afghans and couldn't believe he would do that to them! They looked awful!

We had a mutt dog with long fur and my dad would get him shaved in the summers too. That poor dog would be so embarrassed that he would hide behind the furniture for a couple of weeks until his fur started to grow back out!

My dad gets his cat (a persian) shaved twice a year. He tries to keep up with the brushing of her fur but it is so fine that it gets matted easily. He tried to cut out a matt once and ended up cutting her skin so bad she had to have stitches, so after that, he started getting her shaved. She loves it! She prances around and gets all full of energy afterward. She is an indoor cat tho.

I personally think that if you don't/can't take the time to take care of longer fur, that you should get a short haired animal. I prefer animals with longer fur. I am sure there are exceptions and different situations that call for getting trimmed or shaved down.

[oregonrambler1]

this thread brought a real smile to my face. We had an irish setter and every summer he would get his 'feathers' cut off. He had such long hair on his sides and tail that he would literally sweep the ground clean of burrs -they'd all be in his tail! what a mess. He wasn't a show dog, he was our 3rd twin (we had infant twin boys when Happy was a puppy). He would romp with the boys, followed them wherever they went -even tried to jump into the above ground pool once. We had Happy for 14 happy years. Thanks for the memory.

[retiredhappy]

A non-shedding dog???? Buddy, my Lab, sheds a poodle a week no matter how much you brush him.

[Redetotry]

Hey Karen, I found that poodle Buddy shed!




One day as I was sweeping up I had an artistic moment!
I groom my Standard Poodle and the two Havanese. I'd groom 3 Standard rather than one Havanese, their hair is impossible!!! Fine as a baby's hair and just tangles if you look at it.

Paulette, we had Irish Setters a long time ago, one was a really good bird dog although other hunters laughed until they saw him work. I remember how many cuckleburs we had to get out of his leg hair after he came in from hunting. He was over sized, around 30 inches at his shoulders and would stand his ground with anyone else but all I had to do was say Shannon, I'm getting my fly swatter and boy he hopped to! We showed the female in obedience and was just about to finish her CDX when her eye sight failed.

[Sandersmr]

A non-shedding dog???? Buddy, my Lab, sheds a poodle a week no matter how much you brush him.

Karen I have 2 like that!!!

[Redwahine]

I have always had sporting dogs. Mom said I was born an Irish Setter because I was born the same week as Coleen, our I.S. had 7 puppies and my hair was red. For my 16th birthday I got my own I.S. and showed her on the bench and then field trials. While showing her, just show groom. But once she was a field dog I had to keep everything short. Then I had German Shorthaired Pointers and English Setters - both bench and field. I love the short hair and the temperament of the German Shorthaired....lack of grooming a big plus. After getting a land base I rescued an English Cocker Spaniel ( clone of Stuart) and then Tyler, my English Setter. He matts up really easy so I keep his feathers short.

Another reminder to help your dog stay cool. Unless they are swimming - Wet his/her tummy - not the back. The hair traps air and water and holds heat like a sauna. Their tummy is analogous to the our necks for heat relief.

Aarrfff

[Bethers]

Moxie, the eskie I had before had her own little pool that I put out in the summer - yes, when in TX in the rv, her pool was out! She wanted to be outside, but I knew it was hot - so put a couple inches of water in the little kiddie pool and she would lay in it - and get to stay out longer.

Once, when I took her in to be bathed - they shaved her belly and. I had a conniption fit - didn't pay a penny and never went back to that groomer. They said they were doing me a favor - as those dogs are hard to keep brushed. I asked if she had mats. They said no. I said, well, I think that means she gets brushed regularly and doesn't have a problem, wouldn't you say? Well, we lived in WI at the time and Moxie LOVED winter. The next winter, her fur wasn't all back - which is why you never shave eskies - and I couldn't let her stay outside the way she liked (she would simply go lay out on snow or ice - but without that fur, she couldn't do it without being in danger. Oh, was I angry. The place told me they shaved lots of eskies - to "cool them off" in the summer. I told them they were a vet and groomer who didn't deserve to be in business. (BTW, it was the 3rd year before her chest and belly hair was back completely.

[oregonrambler1]

Over the years we've had Happy (Irish Setter), Boscoe (beagle), Alabama (smallish mix), Dixie (wire haired terrier mix), Max (small german shepherd), Holly (black lab mix), Pepper (short haired mix) and now Rylee (short haired big dog), and Sophie (small wire haired chihuhua terrier mix). All were either rescue dogs or dogs that adopted us. The only ones we trimmed were Happy, I cut his 'feathers' off each summer and Alabama who matted terrible so she got a 1/2 length trim each summer. She loved it! I swear she would show off her new look for days. People have funny ideas about pet maintenance sometimes. We figure God made them and they are all perfect so we do the minimum for comfort. Happy hated being fussed over, picking burrs out of his tail was torture for him and Alabama's tangles were a haven for creepy crawlies