To shave or not to shave??? Busting the myths 8
This will be a short one. Because it's just hair. So it's very simple: do what you please and let others do as they please, given noone is hurting anybody. Just as I don't care what haircut you have, I don't care what haircut your dog has. It doesn't make you a good or bad person. It's just hair - simply and completely irrelevant.
Getting angry at people for shaving dogs and yet being indifferent or even supporting chopping off tails and ears and dew claws and spaying and neutering shows a bit of double standards, no??? I think cutting off internal organs and body parts affects a dog a bit more as cutting his hair, so maybe our time would be better spent discussing those???
And yes, I know there are many good reasons to spay and neuter - but this is definitely something you might want to give it another thought before actually doing it - unlike with shaving. And yet many people spay/neuter without a 2nd thought - and then argument shaving is against Mother Nature??? It might be just me, but I think Mother Nature might have a bit stronger feelings about reproduction organs as about length of coat???
from left to right: smooth, medium, 2x wild, shaved
Even more: I'm afraid dogs' hair is NOT Mother Nature's idea. It's selective breeding that created it. That same breeding that created German Shepherds who can't walk, Bulldogs who can't breath or give birth, many breeds with constant eye problems, breeds with average life span of 7 years etc. So I think your time is better spent fighting those practices instead of fighting people who choose to shave their dogs. I think it's pretty obvious who suffers more here???
Interestingly, everybody fighting hard against shaving never had a shaved dog. Those who did and tried both seem to know the world won't come to an end because of it. Most observe their dogs are actually much happier that way and everybody who tried seems to agree the dogs tolerate heat much better, so I'm just not buying "coat has a cooling effect too" myth - sorry - I need evidence and no, drawings of how the air is circulating is for me not an evidence that coat is cooler as no-coat.
My reasons to shave:
1. No grooming/vacuuming.
2. She seems to love it.
3. Ticks seem to like hair to hang on, so my hairy dogs always get more of them as my smooth/shaved dogs.
4. Tolerating heat better.
5. Better looks: I like to see their body build.
6. Coat grows back exactly like it was in my breeds of choice. I can't talk for other breeds though.
My reasons not to shave:
1. Looks - I like wild Le's hair, it makes me laugh. She has very little and light coat so I don't think it would make any difference for her either.
2. Some dogs might stress about the noise and feeling of being shaved - To might, so I just let it be. For Bu however, grooming is more stressful as shaving, so I just go with whatever I believe we all enjoy more.
Things to pay attention to if shaved:
1. Keep them warm another way if it's cold.
2. Don't let them on direct sun for hours - but please don't do that with not-shaved dogs either!
So why don't I just get smooth varieties of my breeds? Because, again, I don't care about hair. For me, there are TONS of more important traits in a dog as length or color of her hair and I will never let something as irrelevant as hair get me distracted from important things.
More myths busted: Busting the Myths series
I agree with you! I have cut Chani every summer for three yeare, and she love it! After shaveing she has got more energy, she start play and cuddle much more offten. She look and behave as she was younger :). When a full fur I’m not able to wash out of the sand. Now, taking care of it is easier 🙂 Greetings from Chani!
Diesel, my African Wildog, totally agree -- she is a much happier and good looking dog without all the hair! 😀 (y)
🙂
Why would anyone care if you choose to shave your dog? I don’t get it??? That is crazy….. geez, people will always find something to be religious about…..
I know!!! 🙂
Great article! I shave Bosse once or twice in the summer but I try to avoid it as constant shaving of a double coated hardcoated dog can eventually ruin the coat -- they will lose the different hair structures they would normally have -- soft undercoat and harsh topcoat that’s somewhat water resistant. After too frequent shaving and not removing the dead hair at all they’d have this dull, really prone to matting hair that doesn’t keep the warmth as well as the “original” one. Some people say that the double coat regulates the heat better than a shaved coat, for example for pomeranians and huskies. So the type of the coat can make a lot of difference.
I know many BCs that are shaved constantly for years and still have exactly the same coat. BUt I don’t know any shaved northern breeds or spitz, so it might certainly be different with that type of coat!
It seems to change goldens coats, but the question would be if they were going to change anyway?????? Who knows!!!!! Some dogs coats change as they age without shaving!!!! Spur’s coat has lengthened gotten WAY heavier undercoat and become a lot rustier as he’s aged. And some people say after shaving their heads their hair comes back different, but was the hair going to change anyway, no one would know!!!!
I opt to just trim Spur instead of shave just because I prefer the look.
So cute!!! Yes, Bu’s coat was just getting thicker&thicker and harder&harder to maintain even though she was never shaved before -- that’s why I decided for shaving afterall. It’s super easy to maintain now! 🙂
Harpo’s hair when clipped and on the floor weights 1.1kg. Plus the heat and big jumps…its a no brainer for me…but I have to hear loads about that…and that he looks much better with the long hair…I like him in both ways. But since I have to trim him myself I have to recognize its not a good looking result…but again…I dont care as long as he is more comfy.
Looks super cute to me! And oh yes, 1.1kg off sure makes a difference!!!
Super cute!!!!!
I’ve had show-dog people attack me because we shave our spaniels. I was told there’s no way they are feeling good, and they would be much happier with a full coat.
We shave them because a) It does keep them cooler, even though all this rage about air-circulation b) there are dangerous plants that cling onto their long fur and climb their way into the skin. (Then the dog has to undergo surgery, etc…)
But i guess people who show their dogs can’t understand this because they never exercise their dog to the point where they could feel that the heat is holding them back… And they don’t really go for walks into the wilderness as well. Their dogs are much happier this way, right?
Personally, I had to spay my dog because we had problems with pseudopregnancy and with all the stray dogs braking into our house when my dog was in heat ( which isn’t so great because we spend almost all day away from home during the year…)
One way or another, here is a poor, tortured, shaved spaniel suffering in the summer:
We have the same crazy disussions on fb here in Norway. A friend of mine posted a pic of her shaved sheltie and got accused for animal abuse in a comment under the pic…I just don’t get what the fuzz is all about! And I agree: I don’t think any of those who are against shaving dogs have any experience with shaving their own dogs…
My shapendoes Aira had full coat until she was 5 years old. She was happy before and she is happy now, I don’t really notice a difference. The reason I decided to shave her and have been shaving her the last 3 years is that I was so bored of spending 2 hours a week on grooming, and think there are many more fun things to do with my dog 🙂 A great bonus is that it’s much easier to keep both her and my house clean 🙂
It has just come to my mind. Komondor. They were farm dogs and farmers had been shaving them together with sheeps. 🙂 And now on dog shows? They are fully dread-ed.
We do tend to forget, that some breeds had much, much less coat, shorter coat and were shaved…Look what the breeders have done to rough collie and BC as well, setters… Dogs who were bred 50 years ago, who were doing what they were bred to do, had much less hair. So far I’m only cutting my dogs hair on paws, for easier nail trimming. But you never know. She is 9, she hates summer,she can barely tolerate me 1h of grooming her per week. So I might cut a bit on her tail, hind legs, tummy. Scalibor prevent ticks superb.
Yes, I think most breeds used to look completely different when they were still “functional”. I used to have scalibor, but wasn’t completely happy, switched to foresto for this year -- but that was even worse, so I’ll go back to scalibor. But when tick season is on, nothing works 100% in our woods!
Foresto was a disaster! i stoped counting with 10 ticks. Ex spot was super for 6 weeks, so I had high hopes for Scalibor and now it is second season I’m using it. Happy! Walk in woods, lots of ticks. I got two when I forgot t spray my legs with som ebio spray (not biokil), Bina zero.
My dogs get some also with scalibor, I’ve had it for 4 years now. I don’t use anything for myself though and never get any -- no hair to hang on ha ha 🙂
Emmm I use epilator haha. Smooth legs. Only head hair on me :D. But I like to stop ad blackberies and those ugly parasites like to hang there as well. Got two tiny ticks! And with so much tick diesise around me and I hate doctors, being sick. I just spray a b it. 😀
day has 24 hours. Dogs do sleep and do eat. So no dog is working 24hrs per day.
For christ sake what’s the big deal? I mean really. Yes it is your job and hobby. But really does it harm the dog in any way? Who on earth is shaving all of the fur down? Most people, use 1cm razor or 1.5-1.9cm.
Dogs coat is suposed to be functional. Just look how did the afgan looked 1950 and NOT on the dog shows. They had a short hair. 😉 The mor epopular the breed is, the more popular the dog shows were…the longer, havier, puffier got the coat. In most breeds. BC, Aussie, golden retrievers, setters, rough colliec, beardies…So no. Such long coats are not ment to be for these breeds nor so thick. Therefore I do not care if someone trims them or saves them.