We shave our shetland sheepdog because he's extremly old (15) and can't take the heat or the wieght of his fur. All together when we shaved him (not to the skin) he had a little over 2 pounds of fur! He seems to get along alot better and its alot easier on his hip that got broken when he was hit by a car.
I used to have Komondors. This is a large Hungarian dog with a very heavy corded coat. We clipped them every year. It is very hot where we live and the difference in the behavior of the dogs after being was remarkable. They were far more active and seemed much more contented. The clipping made it much easier to keep them clean and control fleas. We had a lab cross with a very thick dense double coat and we clipped her, too. If we didn't, she was just miserable. We didn't clip them to the skin. We left enough hair so they wouldn't sunburn.
said: From experiacne, any kind of shaving would make the skin worse and the coast would never grow in the same. One of the great things about BYC is that there are people here from all over the world with many different experiences, knowledge and opinions. I appreciate your opinion on this subject but I've had personal experience that is opposite of your personal experience. That doesn't make one of us wrong - it makes us both right in our own situations. We shave our Newfie every spring down to about 1/2". We live in the country and have lots of mud, foxtails and other weeds not to mention our pond that he loves to play in. He's a different dog after getting his coat cut down. He acts like he's a puppy instead of nine years old! He loves his summer coat. He cannot take the heat and his heavy coat is a negative here in our 90 plus degree weather. If he isn't shaved he won't leave the garage floor - he just lays there wasting his days away, panting heavily. Once he's shaved - he is outside doing chores with me, playing with the kids and being a happy dog. In the winter, his favorite days are those in the single digits and teens. He LOVES cold weather and again, becomes a puppy. His coat grows back in every year just as beautiful as the year before. His skin is just fine and his coat is gorgeous. And, he will be ten in two weeks... that's getting up there for a Newfie. He's in excellent health so our shaving hasn't hurt him a bit. So - don't go knocking those with experiences that are different than yours.
Quote:One of the great things about BYC is that there are people here from all over the world with many different experiences, knowledge and opinions. I appreciate your opinion on this subject but I've had personal experience that is opposite of your personal experience. That doesn't make one of us wrong - it makes us both right in our own situations. We shave our Newfie every spring down to about 1/2". We live in the country and have lots of mud, foxtails and other weeds not to mention our pond that he loves to play in. He's a different dog after getting his coat cut down. He acts like he's a puppy instead of nine years old! He loves his summer coat. He cannot take the heat and his heavy coat is a negative here in our 90 plus degree weather. If he isn't shaved he won't leave the garage floor - he just lays there wasting his days away, panting heavily. Once he's shaved - he is outside doing chores with me, playing with the kids and being a happy dog. In the winter, his favorite days are those in the single digits and teens. He LOVES cold weather and again, becomes a puppy. His coat grows back in every year just as beautiful as the year before. His skin is just fine and his coat is gorgeous. And, he will be ten in two weeks... that's getting up there for a Newfie. He's in excellent health so our shaving hasn't hurt him a bit. So - don't go knocking those with experiences that are different than yours. a Newfie coat is alot like a Bernards..(actually, newfies are how bernards got their long coats) so...i think i will shave my boy down also....thanks for the info, wendy
Quote:This post is not reguarding dogs that NEED onthly clipping like cockers, bichons, poodles, setters, and nonsense. Its more towards the naturally long haired breeds like border collies, goldens, pomeranians, which are meant to have long coats.
Quote:That really doesn't make any sense? If you're saying that naturally long coats should not be clipped, then why clip any dog? I get that it can protect the dog, but seriously, I don't know of any dog with a massive heavy coat that wouldn't feel better with short hair in the summer.
Quote:This post is not reguarding dogs that NEED onthly clipping like cockers, bichons, poodles, setters, and nonsense. Its more towards the naturally long haired breeds like border collies, goldens, pomeranians, which are meant to have long coats. sorry... whats the differance between a Cocker and a Bernard? they both grow long coats...this is an honest question..*not being a smarty pants* just curious what the differance is for it being okay to clip and not okay for other breeds?
Hey y'all! We have a golden and a german shepherd, and cut our goldens fur each spring - we don't shave it down to the nub like the pic provided earlier in this thread - we just shave it down to probably 1.5 -2 inches. She really seems to enjoy this - and when we don't do it, she gets heat rashes, picks up foxtails in her walks around the lake with us, and seems generally very miserable in August - of course - every living thing is miserable in August in Mississippi! her coat comes back each time and looks beautiful - we brush her each week - and don't do the shave to take the place of grooming - it just seems to us that our golden really feels better with some of the long hair gone in the heat of the summer. I wonder if the issue might be one of extremes? I can imaging if a long-haired dog was shaved down to the nub - into the undercoat to the point where it might actually get ingrown hairs, etc (*ewww*) and have skin exposed - that the dog would in fact be vulnerable to the sun, and may have difficulties in regaining its coat. I guess what I am wondering is if the key is in moderation - like so many things -- can't see the harm in a trim of the outer coat-- it is the close shave that may pose a problem?? Just a thought -- The NEAT thing is to see so many people who care so much about animals! People whose hearts are all in the right place!!! That is what makes BYC such a FABulous place to be!!!!