It’s hot and sticky outside; you are looking at your dog and thinking; should I shave my dog’s hair? Short answer: No. Here’s why you should not shave your dog’s hair in summer.
Shaving your dog’s coat in summer changes his/her coat texture, doesn’t help him/her cool down, make it easier, the sun can get his/her skin a lot easier and burn their skin, and not all dogs are comfortable with the way they look without their coat.
Super furry dogs like Huskies and herding breeds like German Shepherd dogs are double-coated breeds, so are Golden Retrievers dogs, and many more. They have two layers of hair to keep them winter in cold and protect them from sunburns in summer.
If you want to know more about Shepherd dogs, click here.
Don’t shave your dog
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More about double-coated dogs:
So, double-coated dog breeds have layers of hair; the out layer is to guard your dog against extremely cold weather, and snow and the undercoat layer becomes so thick to keep your dog warm, and dry.
However, the same layers do a different job in summer; so, your dog shed the undercoat layer to keep him/her self cool and leaves the outer layer to protect his/her skin from sunburns and cool down his/her body.
Therefore, dogs need to keep their coat in both seasons, also dogs with sick or double coats naturally shed, so they get to lose the extra hair, and leave only the need hair in summer that is suitable with the weather. All you need is to brush his/her coat to help that natural process to be completed naturally.
What happens if you shave your dog?
If you decided to shave your dog, your double-coated dog’s hair will start growing pretty fast. However, you will notice that your dog’s double-coated hair texture is different. Why? Because the outer coat will soon be mixed with the undercoat hair; it will soon be sticky and will stop doing its actual preventing, and cooling down process.
Also shaving your dog’s coat can lead to discomfort because your four-legged friend coat has several layers that are extremely important for your dog in both seasons, so robbing it off means that you robbing off his/her cooling down system.
Risks of shaving your dog:
- Different hair texture
- Sunburns
- Risk of skin cancer
- Risk of heat stroke
Help your double-coated dog to stay cool in summer!
I believe that the main two reasons that made you think of shaving your dog’s coat at the first place are that you need to cool your dog down and make sure he/she doesn’t get any flea or tick in summer. Which I really understand, and I was thinking about all winter, too.
Therefore, I did my research and found out that there are a lot of things that can help my dog cool down, and gets no flea and tick all summer, without shaving his coat.
Grooming.
Maintaining a regular grooming schedule for your double-coated dog is the best way to help him/her cool down. Therefore, you need to bath your dog, use your dog’s grooming tools to brush your dog’s hair. Be careful, if you are going to ask a groomer help; make sure he/she knows that you don’t want to shave your dog.
If you are going to groom your dog home; you need to be careful, and calm, You also need to be careful because any sudden move can hurt your dog.
To do that, you need to make sure that your dog trusts you, remember if your dog doesn’t trust you he/she will jump out of your lap any time; which can lead to awful consequences.
Don’t force your dog to sit down, don’t use sharp tools, and don’t make any sudden move beside your dog.
Avoid Mid-day walks.
Walking, exercising, and training is a must-do task for your dog everyday, been there and done that. However, in summer, mid-day walks are not the best choice when you are trying to cool down your dog. So, you need to avoid walking with your dog in the morning and try to re-schedule his/her walking time at night.
Mid-day walks will just not help your dog to cool down, it also will hurt his/her paws and cause some serious burns on it, which will lead to severe pain, and we don’t want that to happen.
Another added value to the night walks is that your dog will have the chance to get rid of all of his/her energy before he/she sleep, which will help your four-legged friend to avoid getting any Zoomies before bedtime.
If you want to know more about zoomies, check this article.
Keep your dog hydrated.
Hot weather makes your dog even more thirsty. Therefore, you need to keep a bowl of cool water near your dog, always.
Moreover, you need to make sure that he/she gets even more money while playing, exercising or training. So, offer your dog water, even he/she didn’t ask for one. Just call him/her and put the bowl of cool water in front of your dog’s mouth.
Offer your dog a wet towel or an ice pack.
It is a very smart thing you can do in such
In no-time, you will find your dog ready to play, and in the mood to move. Hot weather
Give your dog ice-cubes.
Ice-cubes are can really help your dog to cool down, and get rid of that uncomfortable feeling. Also, it will take time
Besides, ice-cubes are fun. They will play with it until it melts, and they will stay busy till they finish it. So, yeah, it helps in all ways.
Make your dog homemade frozen treats.
Those are the absolute best solution, and the worst enemy for heat. Homemade frozen treats will not just cool you dog down, it will also help him/her feeling refreshed, fulled, and will enjoy every single bite of it.
However, you need to make sure that those homemade frozen treats are made of foods that are not poisonous to dogs, and here is a list of poisonous food to avoid.
Get your dog wet.
Whether you will give your dog a nice cool bath to cool him/her down, or you are going to get him/her the amazing home dog pool, that you can unfold it, put some cool water in it, and leave your dog play, and cool him/herself down in it. It is
The main purpose here is giving your dog the chance to cool him/herself down and have some fun with the water.
The flea and tick collar.
Last, but not least. If you want to shave your dog, so you can help him/her avoid the pain the fleas and ticks give him/her, which I totally understand, the flea and tick collar can really help you get rid of all those ticks, and fleas, and keep the hair.
You can find all that you need to know about the flea and tick collar, here. Also, you can ORDER NOW, and get your DISCOUNT.
Related Questions:
How to speed up hair growth?
You need to keep your dog healthy, be aware of what you feed your dog, give him/her the right diet, and make sure your dog gets the needed vitamins, directed by your dog’s veterinarian, and the needed supplements, for instance, Omega-3.
Also, you need to make sure your dog gets his/her weekly/monthly check-ups, and ask your dog’s vet if there is a specific vitamin, or haircare your dog’s coat need.
What are the main causes of hair loss?
There are several reasons for hair loss. For instance, lack of the required vitamins that are responsible for hair growth, a non-balanced diet, stress, skin problems, fleas, and ticks.
What is a double-coated dog?
a double-coated dog is a kind of dogs that their coat consists of two layers: an undercoat with short hairs, and a top coat of long hair; called guard hair.
The topcoat is called guard hair because it guards the dog’s skin against getting burn, and have direct contact with the sun, it also called guard hair because it prevents the dog from getting cold in winter, and cools him/her down in summer. That’s why you shouldn’t shave your dog’s hair.
Now, after you knew why you shouldn’t shave your dog and how to help your dog cool down; tell us about your tips and tricks to help a dog cool down in summer.
