There are two major types of longhaired dogs. A single coat consists of one type of hair all over the dog’s body. A double coat is made up of a coarse, outer layer with a soft, dense undercoat. Single-coated dogs like poodles, lhasa apsos, shih tzus, etc. can be shaved because their hair will grow back normally.
Shaving double-coated breeds of dogs such as labradors, shepherds, huskies golden retrievers, those in the herding group, spitz-type group, mastiff-type group and the largest group of all, the terriers, is not recommended. It does not benefit them by keeping them cooler and it is actually not healthy for them in many ways.
Double coats are designed to capture air and use it as an insulator to both keep the cold out and the heat at bay, enabling the dog to regulate its body temperature. Without this insulating layer, it becomes susceptible to heat stroke.
Dogs don’t cool down like humans do. When humans are overly warm, our skin perspires over our whole body and the evaporation of the perspiration helps us to cool down. In dogs, this evaporative cooling process is limited to a very small area – the foot pads, which sweat, and the lungs, where panting allows for latent heat to be removed through evaporation. Shaving the coat will have no effect on these areas.
Dilated blood vessels in dog’s ears and on their faces carry warm blood to the surface of the skin, allowing heat to escape. Again, body shaving will not influence this.
A dog’s fur coat protects him from sunburn and decreases the chance of developing skin cancer. Think of a bald human head at the beach in the sun; a light hat allows the occupant to be cooler and his head to be better protected from sun damage.
Shaving a double coat can also result in improper re-growth. The undercoat, the insulation, is shed regularly. The outer coat, or guard hairs, is coarser, fewer and longer, which gives the dog its color and is not shed as often. If this type of coat is shaved, the undercoat grows back quickly and sheds normally, but the guard hairs don’t grow out as quickly and sometimes cannot grow back at all, because they are crowded out by the faster-growing undercoat. This can result in color and texture changes in the dog’s coat, a patchy appearance to the fur, follicle damage and clogging, plus the loss of weather and water protection that guard hairs provide.
A knowledgeable groomer will make suggestions to the dog owner based on each individual dog. Some double-coated dogs may, for whatever reason, have reached the point of being so matted that there is no alternative but to shave. Hopefully, the dog can be protected from the elements while the new coat grows back in, and hopefully it grows back in just fine.
Another alternative is to comb out the excess and/or matted undergrowth and then to trim the outer coat down to an inch longer than the undercoat.
There are other ways to help your dog stay cool: Provide lots of fresh, cold water. Make sure the dog always has shelter when it is outdoors. Do not leave the dog outside in hot weather. Remember that it is easier for us to cool down than it is for them, so if it’s hot for us, it’s hotter for them. Regular grooming is paramount. A clean and fluffed coat is a dog’s best defense against the heat. Using a tool that helps remove the undercoat the dog is already shedding due to warmer weather is very helpful.
Nature has seen to it that a dog’s hair affords it protection from the sun, heat, insects, dirt and water. Perhaps we should not undermine the process by shaving.
Cate Drown is the proprietor of Beyond Reason Ranch, where she provides specialized care for all beings large or small. Contact Cate at latecate1957@gmail.com