[Plumcreek]

What is the reasoning for not shaving a German Shepard? Our plush coat female is very hot in 90 degrees and there seems no end to the undercoat fur coming out. Even after gobs of shedding, she is still uncomfortable. My practical friend says she used to shave her Collie with no dire results. I scissor clip my long haired barn cat when he is matted in spring and his coat grows out just the same by winter.

So what harm would be done to her eventual winter coat if I do a not-tight body clip?

[Emryss]

I'm very cautious about shaving double coated dogs. Sometimes there is no problem with it; sometimes the dog's coat reacts with clipper allopecia and there is never any return to normalcy afterwards.

That undercoat is what is causing your dog to overheat - it's like wearing a down coat in the heat. Remove it, and your dog will be comfortable. Yes, that takes real work, but it can be done - I did that as my first job (combing out the undercoat of the both dogs) - you need a good slicker, a Greyhound style comb or a poodle comb if your dog needs a wider tooth, Show Sheen, and patience. If a kid can do it, so can you.

Step One: bathe your dog in warm water and spay liberally with Show Sheen...outside. If you do that in your bathroom, you will wipe out on the slippery floor and die.

Step Two: start brush your dog, one six-inch square at a time, from lower back legs up to the head. Use your comb to check that you've gotten all the undercoat out. I go from widest toothed comb on down.

Brush weekly.

You will be surprised at the difference proper grooming makes in the comfort of your dog. That coat protects him from weather - both hot and cold.

This, by the way, is the best-written article on the subject I've found yet: http://www.theunion.com/article/20110603/NEWS/110609950

[SMF11]

I have a collie with a long coat, and I shave him each spring and again in the summer. His coat regrows by the fall and it looks no different from before clipping.

He is MUCH more comfortable! With coat he stops following me and finds every patch of shade to lie in. Without the extra hair, he's his old self, running around the farm.

I never understand the "insulating" argument. If I put on a winter coat it would insulate me, but in the summer I would be stifling. I don't see why that's different for dogs. I could be wrong about that, but as far as I can tell people only make assertions about how it feels (just as I did) but there is no proof. So, I say go with what makes the most sense for you and if you can see your dog is more comfortable with short hair then that's the proof.

[SMF11]

I just read the article posted by Emryss. I believe my dog has a double coat (he has a lot of australian shepherd in him too -- he's an English shepherd).

I have to respectfully disagree. She says if you clip your dog is susceptible to sunburn -- solution: don't clip so close to the skin!

She says your dog will be wooly and uncomfortable because the undercoat is growing and the guard hairs haven't yet. Solution: clip again, until it is fall and it is comfortable for the dog to have a thick coat again.

She says your dog can lose its hair due to clipping. I myself have alopecia and I'm pretty educated on the subject -- I've NEVER heard of losing your hair because it is cut! I'm willing to say it might happen -- but how frequently?? Once in millions of cases I'd imagine!

Shaving your dog's coat is not the big deal some make it out to be!

[Trakehner]

I used to clip my Old English Sheepdog every summer...poor thing was just overheating like a draft horse when it got hot. Got out the clippers and did he look like a different dog.

[TKR]

We clipped our GSD, BC and Yorkie for the summer and all are happy and comfortable. It also keeps alot of dirt and shedding out of the house -- much easier to bathe or hose off and dry. I will repeat this next summer. No problems whatsoever.
PennyG

[Simkie]

I had a Samoyed that we finally started clipping every summer toward the end of her life and it made SUCH a difference! I wish we'd done it sooner.

Her coat DID require some careful grooming in the fall, as the undercoat was the same length as the guard hairs. We just had to be sure to lie her down and do a full groom to really separate the hairs, or she would be one big mat by spring. It was not a big deal, and no more work than the normal grooming.

[LauraKY]

If you get the undercoat out, it will do wonders for your dog. I've always groomed my collies myself, send them to a pro once a year for a touch-up. If you can't, won't or don't know how to really, really get out the undercoat, send the dog to the groomer.

Personally, I would never shave a double coated dog.

[wendy]

I would never NOT shave a long-haired or double-coated dog in the summer. It's just cruel to make them suffer in the heat.
All of the reasons not-to are just myths and/or totally incorrect (insulate from the heat? yeah right).
The real reason is some people don't want their dog's coat to look different during the summer.

How do you totally remove the undercoat without cutting the hairs or painfully plucking each hair out? my dogs' undercoat is firmly attached to their skin even in the summer.

[jetsmom]

How do you totally remove the undercoat without cutting the hairs or painfully plucking each hair out? my dogs' undercoat is firmly attached to their skin even in the summer.

Warm bath and blowout with a high velocity dryer.

[alto]

be

I would never NOT shave a long-haired or double-coated dog in the summer. It's just cruel to make them suffer in the heat.
All of the reasons not-to are just myths and/or totally incorrect (insulate from the heat? yeah right). The real reason is some people don't want their dog's coat to look different during the summer.

How do you totally remove the undercoat without cutting the hairs or painfully plucking each hair out? my dogs' undercoat is firmly attached to their skin even in the summer.

That is a very ignorant statement.
Read the science on long coated breeds & how the different hairs work, there are also scientific journal published papers where the actual body temperatures of shaved vs non-shaved dogs were measured (also blood chemistry levels).
There are also plenty of topics & photos on sunburned shaved GSD's (I used to be very active on a GSD forum so I use this as my example) & every experienced groomer has clients that have exhibited clipping alopecia - do not confuse dogs with humans: they react very differently to any number of chemical & events.

If you feed & groom your coated dogs appropriately, they will be in their summer coat before the intense heat arrives - nutrition has a major impact on coat management in cats, dogs & equines.
Most dogs/cats would never have developed the extreme coats seen in pet lines - this is an artefact of line breeding & these animals do need human intervention to remain comfortable as a result.

Some dogs may also be susceptible to overheating & collapse - this is not altered by shaving the coat: a friend has a dog with this syndrome & his answer is the loveliest muddy puddle he can find

[alto]

Warm bath and blowout with a high velocity dryer.

This.
We got a rescue sheltie that had been living outside in -40C weather & reducing his coat was a real adventure

[threedogpack]

Warm bath and blowout with a high velocity dryer.

second this.

[threedogpack]

re: clipping a long or double coated dog.

I had a Corgi here, who had an enormous amount of coat. When clean and blown out he was flippin' gorgeous. However, he had to have some minor surgery which included clipping a section of his coat. It took 2 years for all that outer coat to grow back. That's 4 seasons of coat still blowing and growing and blowing and growing. The under coat is what blows out and causes the most hair flying around. When you clip a dog, you still have to brush/groom/bathe/blow out the undercoat.

Before I'd do that to my dog, I'd bathe, use a HV dryer, repeat as necessary to remove the UNDER coat. The first bath will likely make the loose hair worse as the grime holding it in has been partially removed. The HV dryer will make a world of difference.....it literally blows the loose hair out.

[easykeeper]

Last Year we shaved our Shilo Shepherd, she was MUCH cooler but looked too much like a coyote. Needless to say, she wore a HUGE neon orange collar all summer! This year we opted for the intense undercoat/blowout. She seems to be doing fine.

We shave our Newfie every summer and have for years, and her coat always comes back beautifully for the winter.

[wendy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by wendy
How do you totally remove the undercoat without cutting the hairs or painfully plucking each hair out? my dogs' undercoat is firmly attached to their skin even in the summer.

Warm bath and blowout with a high velocity dryer

that won't remove the undercoat, it'll just remove the loose unattached hairs.

I've seen too many dogs go from hot and lethargic to instantly happy and active after being clipped down to believe that it's somehow bad for them. I like to shave the belly to the skin and shorten the upper coat- the dog can rapidly cool down by putting the belly in contact with something cool like water or a cool floor, and they aren't going to get sunburned with just a shortened, thinned out upper coat.

[Guin]

Step One: bathe your dog in warm water and spay liberally with Show Sheen...outside. If you do that in your bathroom, you will wipe out on the slippery floor and die.

[tradewind]

Bathing and blowing out with a HV dryer is the way to go...When its 90 degrees out, you are hot, horses are hot, dogs are hot. Dogs do not sweat, so removing the coat does not make a difference, and alters the texture of the coat making it much more difficult to deal with the more you clip it. Some dogs do regrow the coat after clipping, alot do not and then you have a patchy, baldish dog that looks like it has a case of mange. Regular brushing to get out the packed hair is a must. Once it packs down, it can not insulate the dog properly..

[SMF11]

I've seen too many dogs go from hot and lethargic to instantly happy and active after being clipped down to believe that it's somehow bad for them. I like to shave the belly to the skin and shorten the upper coat- the dog can rapidly cool down by putting the belly in contact with something cool like water or a cool floor, and they aren't going to get sunburned with just a shortened, thinned out upper coat.

This has been my experience as well. The dog made it crystal clear how much more comfortable he was once his heavy coat was off.

[TKR]

We didn't "scalp" ours, just clipped short and in this hot, steamy, humid Alabama weather they are much happier. I am much happier also because they are inside with me alot and less dirt tracks in with them and if they do get muddy or dirty, they clean up quickly. They are obviously cooler like this. I did my BC last year and we do our Yorkie regularly and they both grow their coats out without a problem. And I do feed the "good stuff" like Taste of the Wild, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, etc. My GSD also gets some raw diet stuff and loves raw carrots. Stripping out the undercoat would help to a degree, but they would still have alot of hair.
PennyG