Facts About Shaving

Ann said:
This is a great article for anyone who considers shaving their Shelties for summer, or to keep them cooler.

http://woof.doggyloot.com/truths-and-myths-about-shaving-dogs-with-double-coats/
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Good article, Ann! And timely as we hope to eventually get summer this year! And a position that I support for all the reasons listed.

This has been a somewhat controversial topic on the forum. And I respect everyone's choices in this regard based on your dog and your specific situation.

That being said, sometimes there is no choice if the dog is severely matted. I would like to think that no one who takes the time to participate on this forum, would get their dog in such condition unless it was a rescue though, so it should me a moot point, right? :wink2:

From my personal experience, I had the dogs groomed once....I asked for a poop chute. She did an entire butt shave. Bacca's top coat never grew back. Granted Bacca had other health issues that might have impacted too. Indy's did mostly but not entirely. He still has parts of his butt with no guard hair.

:hide. Now over to those who shave with their counter opinions! :smile2:
 
I agree with you, Barb. Even the article says that if your dog is badly matted, shaving may be the only option. For other double coats though, regular brushing to clean out the old undercoat should be enough to see them through summer.
 
Except for Bitsy Boodle, who should have been born and raised in Siberia. She never loses her undercoat and suffers terribly from the heat. All winter, except for the bitterest days, Bits hung out under the dog door steps.
 
Before Oberon, we had a Samoyed, Mercutio, also a double-coated species -- and originally from the very top of the world. Never allowed him to be shaved, except for a sanitary shave and occasionally a small amount behind his ears due to matting. He was a blood donor, so they would shave a small amount of his neck when he donated. Those areas seemed to grow back without a problem, but I don't know if it's because they were very small areas or not -- the biggest was the neck shave, and even that was only about a 2-inch square. During the hottest days of summer he would lay on the tile bathroom floor, and was less active than he was on other days. But it never would have occurred to me to shave, or even cut, his hair off.
 
mimiretz said:
Before Oberon, we had a Samoyed, Mercutio, also a double-coated species -- and originally from the very top of the world. Never allowed him to be shaved, except for a sanitary shave and occasionally a small amount behind his ears due to matting. He was a blood donor, so they would shave a small amount of his neck when he donated. Those areas seemed to grow back without a problem, but I don't know if it's because they were very small areas or not -- the biggest was the neck shave, and even that was only about a 2-inch square. During the hottest days of summer he would lay on the tile bathroom floor, and was less active than he was on other days. But it never would have occurred to me to shave, or even cut, his hair off.
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Sorry to detract from the thread for a minute.....a blood donor for dogs....I've never heard of this. Though if makes sense.....but certainly no one seems to talk about it.
 
BarbV said:
Sorry to detract from the thread for a minute.....a blood donor for dogs....I've never heard of this. Though if makes sense.....but certainly no one seems to talk about it.
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Yep, just like for people. If a dog needs surgery, they need donated blood. Turns out there's two types of doggie blood, and Mercutio had the rarer type. So every 3 months or so they'd call us and he'd donate a pint. The qualifications were the dog had to be between the ages of 1 and 7 and had to be 70+ lbs. In exchange, we got a discount on heart worm meds (but were required to keep him on them year-round) and the knowledge we and he were doing a good deed. We were extra-proud of him that he was the only non-service, pet-only dog that was also a donor dog :smile2:
 
my vote is for shearing

I have never shown a sheltie-so mine don't have to look just so. I have them strictly for pleasure, and in my experience they seem happier in my lil corner of the world in summer, losing part of the mass fur explosion they produce. I have never gone to the extremes shown here after some unfortunate grooming visits, but they do get clipped, and the back end goes. Savannah is coming up on 8 mths, and her back "petticoats" are just going crazy. Great for winter, not so fun in the intense sun we have at high altitude. So come Memorial dayish-I shear them down, otherwise they spend their days in the shade, panting and not wanting to do anything. The fur has ALWAYS been replaced with MORE fur come fall. So I figure do what works best for your fur kids, and keep 'em happy. :yes: I have already filled the bottoms of my patio containers with the remnants from the last two weeks of brushing. Temps have increased here and the fur is coming off both my girls like crazy-the volume always amazes me...so I shear, not shave...and it works out pretty well.
 
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