To shave or not to shave. . .

[jenncotton]

Hi All -- I am new to the neighborhood and have a question. I have two saints and live in Texas. It gets REALLY hot here in the summer and I am wondering about everyone's opinions on shaving my dogs. I've heard that you shouldn't but we have shaved our older dog in the past and he seemed so much happier. Please let me know what you think.

Thanks!!

[elmo]

dont do it!

[alexeeah]

i must agree with the above poster. the risk you take of sunburns and such I would much rather spend the money on a good airconditioner for the babies!!

[saratogajones]

To add to the first post, I am considering shaving her only because we spend so much time on the water, I fear it will weight her down as well as cause her great discomfort in the heat.  Any ideas?

[newflvr]

We have shaved the Newf bellies in the summer....left all the rest of the coat alone.  They keep their bellies on the cool floors or on their cool-pads on their beds and seem to do well in the summer!

[kuvaszlily]

Hi - I also live in TX and completely understand the heat issue.  I have a Kuvasz and they also have LOTS of hair.  We kept going back and forth about "to shave or not to shave" and we just finally did it.  We have now had it done 3 times... she is SO happy when she comes back from the groomers...she rubs all over things and is so affectionate.  BUT the Kuvasz also has black skin, so the sunburn thing isn't much of an issue for her.  Another amazing thing is when we let her coat grow in over the winter it was just georgeous!  You could always start with shaving underneath and then just trimming the legs and back -kind of blending it...  

You may also want to call around to some groomers and ask for suggestions.  What part of TX do you live... we've lived in Austin and now near San Antonio - I could make a few suggestions if you live near us.

[mastiffmommy]

HI, Depending on a few things I would vote for a shave. I am a dog/cat groomer, no longer working, but for many years had people dealing with the same issue. And all in all, I have to say, that the ones that opted for a shave were always real pleased and said "wow why have we not done this before". I totally agree with a previous poster, look out for sunburn. But the skin condition overall will imporve if you shave, rather than having a dog that is too warm or when in water a lot and maybe not get real dry into the skin. Well I could go on and on lol.... But my six cents worth, is for a shave. Good Luck.

Marit

[jenncotton]

Thanks All. . .

I appreciate all the advice. I think I'm going to go ahead and shave them. They are mostly inside dogs and I'm not going to shave them all the way to the skin so I think I can avoid sunburn. Also, they have good shady spots to hang out in in the back yard.  I'm in Austin and the heat and humidity are already starting to get to my older dog. He's pretty pitiful and just looks miserable.

[mastiffmommy]

Good Luck to you all, One little advice though. Make sure you and the groomer you go to are on the same page, when you discuss the length you want them clipped to. Having had that discussion many times with customers, I know how hard it is to say, short or medium or whatever they use to tell me how long they want the coats to be. What is a clip to me may be a shave to you, and vice versa. So to eliminate all mistakes let the groomer show you different clip blades/comb attachments verses hand shearing, to make sure you pick up a dog with the kind of clip you wanted.

Good Luck and please post pic after they have been to the hairdresser,

Marit

[Nina]

Hi

I have a Great Pyr and we are told NOT to shave as their coat keeps them warm in winter and cool in the summer. And also they have such fair skin they will burn, so I think it all depends on the breed that you have. I don't live in texas but here in Edmonton Alberta (Canada) It does get very hot here in the summer. 40 degrees Celcius, I think that is above 100 Fahrenheit, probably close to 110.
I think the biggest worry would be the sunburn potential.

Nina