Actually shaving a dog with a double coat can cause more harm to your dog than what you think. But actually, that does not happen. Actually shaving a dog with a double coat can cause more harm to your dog than what you think. Here no fur doesn’t mean zero fur, it just means that it is completely minimal when compared with a double coated dog. Yes, Labradors belong to the category of double coated dogs like many other breeds like German shepherds, Golden retrievers and Pomeranians. Many people are allergic to dogs. In general, you should NOT shave a double coated dog. Just have a look at the ways to find out if your dogs have a double coat. A dog’s coat provides insulation both from hot and cold. I main reason why i say no is because Labradors are double coated dogs. This, unfortunately, can be painful and take a long time to heal. Also, a shaved dog is more susceptible to sunburn – skin damaged by UV rays. A dog’s double coat is part of his natural cooling system and each layer helps not only to keep the dog cool, but it protects his skin from sun damage as well. Dogs with undercoats shed. It might not be readily visible under the heavier coat above, but many popular breeds have it, including the German Shepherd, Pomeranian, Chow, Husky, Malamute, and Samoyed. The regrown coat appears to be completely damaged. Because the hair in the undercoat does not regenerate when the dogs from these breeds get old. The regrown undercoat appears to be thick, dull and frizzy. When I think of the word shave I think of bald, down to the skin. If you are allergic to dogs, then shaving increases the risk of these allergic reactions. The undercoat is soft, plush and thick, while the outer coat is coarser. eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'labradorlovingsouls_com-box-4','ezslot_5',122,'0','0'])); There are many dog breeds that are double coated. To shave or not to shave? Thank you! Single coated dogs do not shed a lot, that does not mean they do not shed at all. Shaving a double coat down to the skin. I am NOT talking about little dogs, I … Have a look at some list of double coated dog breeds. I have a Labrador and many people ask me regarding shaving of my Labrador during summer and i strictly say them “No”. They just have a single layer of fur. →. eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'labradorlovingsouls_com-narrow-sky-1','ezslot_18',130,'0','0'])); If your dog can have proper regrown hair even after shaving its coat your dog might be really lucky. Why shaving double coated dogs is not a good idea? They share the same hair follicle – but have two separate growth cycles. The lighter, softer coat that sheds naturally does not need to be shaved. Since shaving the dogs myself, I have NEVER had a situation where their hair did not grow back in properly. Once the undercoat has been thinned out, the dog does feel cooler. Myth #1: Long-haired, double-coated dogs need to be shaved in order to be cooler during the summer. You can find softer and fluffy hairs at the bottom. All you need to do it to facilitate its natural shedding process more easily. But the guard hairs, i mean the outer coat does not grow quickly like the undercoat. You may wish to try a product like Mud & Mat Remover made by PurestPets. It can cause allergic reactions to your dog’s skin so easily because the skin is completely exposed to the outer environment due to shaving. Even if the hair regrows after shaving, it will not be the same as before. The double has its job to do. If your dog needs to get shaved, the reason should probably be the rain, not the sun. Since they are dogs with no undercoat, they do not shed like the double coated dogs and these are mostly hypoallergenic dogs. Double coated dogs need both layers of fur to keep them cool. Some owners who you live in a warmer climate, assume that by shaving their doable coated … If mats are your main concern, then it’s best to simply keep up with them so they don’t get bad to the point of having to shave your dog. shaving your long-haired, double-coated dog in the summer is not really necessary. When you shave your dog’s coat, the undercoat grows quickly when compared with the outer coat. Think about Moisture. Your dog will also have heavy shedding during the spring and before the arrival of the winter season. Your dog feels hotter during summers and it even gets exposed to harsher cold climate. The guard coat repels water and dust and acts as a natural barrier to the dog’s skin. But the hair that falls out as a natural process falls out anyway. Many people have several misconceptions regarding shaving dogs and prefer to shave them due to various reasons. It acts as a natural thermostat for the dog.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'labradorlovingsouls_com-leader-3','ezslot_9',127,'0','0'])); Shaving your dog makes your dog more vulnerable to the harsh environment. In these circumstances, a dog can develop an unpleasant condition called myiasis -- maggots in the fur. As soon as the summer approaches, your dog will shed its undercoat into a thinner version to keep itself cool during the summer heat. The guard hairs on the top, which do not shed out, provide protection against the sun’s rays and actually insulate the dog from the heat. Along with the removal of loose undercoat gently, it also helps in removing the tangles and matted hair from your dog’s fur. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy. What are these dogs with double coats? Excess exposure to harmful sun rays can also keep your dog at risk of skin cancers. If you have a dog with double coated fur their insulating coat keeps them cool in the summer, not hotter, and without their guard hairs their skin is exposed to harmful ultraviolet rays, making it easy for the dog to get melanoma. Shaving a Double Coated Dog. Therefore, my experience tells me that shaving a double coated dog is a-okay. What do they mean exactly? Instead, the best way to take care of your dog’s coat is proper grooming with proper tools. Precautions to Take Before Shaving your Dog 1. It is easy to find out whether your dog is double coated if you simply run your hands through its coat. The double coated dog has two coats, one is the top guard coat and the other one is the underneath undercoat. Double coats, also known as down hairs, ground hairs, or undercoat, are very fine, fluffy hairs closest to the skin on some mammals. If your dog is prone to hot spots, a summer shave may … Maintain your dog’s coat by having access to scissors, brushes, shaving machines and spray bottles! So, if your dog has a thick double coat, and he still has his undercoat in summer, you might think that getting rid of the whole lot of it will help keep him cool. The best way to keep this kind of dog cool and comfortable is to regularly bathe and brush them. But it won’t. The texture of the regrown coat changes completely. Owned and operated by CharityUSA.com, LLC. Hence shaving a dog with a double coat alters the texture of its coat completely and causes permanent damage to its beautiful coat. Hold your dog closer, part its fur and observe its coat carefully. © 2000–2021 The Animal Rescue Site and GreaterGood. The texture of the new coat coming through tends to be sticky and all manner of grass seeds, twigs and plants will stick to the dog’s coat Surgery. Many large northern dog breeds such as Labradors, Shepherds, Huskies, and Golden retrievers have two hair coats. Sometimes the hair does not grow properly or it takes a lot of time to grow. This happens in double coat dog breeds and it is not the case with single coated dog breeds. In the United States, almost 3 people among 10 with allergies get allergic reactions due to dogs. Or what kind of coat does my dog have? Do you expect your dog’s skin to be cool and comfortable after shaving? Even when a dog has a coat that can be shaved without permanent damage, shaving does not keep them cooler, it can actually cause sunburn in the summer, overheating, and injury. Shaving a double-coated breed can result in improper re-growth. But the shaved coat also lets the sun through to the skin. This brings us to the first myth: Double-coated dogs are dogs that have a heavy undercoat. At least these particular two, double coated dogs. Shaving a double coated dog.? Common dog breads that have undercoats include the German Shepherd, Pomeranian, Chow, Husky, Malamute and Samoyed. Shaving a dog with a double coat is rarely ever a good idea. This gives the dog a patchy, scruffy, frizzy appearance. Ask your Questions and Share your views in comments”, To Unlock Your Dog’s Hidden Intelligence Click Here, To Train Your Dog to Behave Obediently With Simple Games Click Here, The labradorlovingsouls is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, Are Labs Good With Kids?- All You Need To Know, Do Labs Shed?- Top 5 Labrador Shedding Solutions, Top 5 Reasons To Use Coconut Oil For Dogs Fleas. This is not necessarily true. Many of you might get this thought of shaving your dog whenever summer approaches or when you face problems like excessive shedding. Hence it is a bad idea to shave your double coated dog during summers. If your dog is a double coat dog you can observe its fur falling out all around the year. But in fact, shaving a double-coated dog is the worst thing to do. This controversy is sure to continue. Provide food and vital supplies to shelter pets at The Animal Rescue Site for free! Shaving a dog with serious mats, for example, is more humane than leaving them there or attempting to brush them out. When I think of the word clip I think of clipping the coat to a different length with clippers. This makes your dog feel hotter during summers. Unless the dog has passed the point of no return in the matting department, the best type of grooming for these dogs is a vigorous undercoat raking with a special tool that helps remove the undercoat. Any dog under stress, long coated, double coated or short coated, will shed constantly until that stress is addressed and relieved. The dog will continue to shed its hair and you may feel so because the hair will be shorter in length. But dogs with undercoats rarely need shaving. For this, you can use a Furminator to remove the undercoat and loose hair without causing damage to your dog’s skin. Many people prefer to shave their dogs to make them cooler and comfortable during summers, but actually, the reverse happens. A double coated dog is a dog with two layers of fur. This thick undercoat tends to be rough and gets tangled easily. The hairs are short and crimped, which makes them highly efficient at trapping air and insulating the animal. To say in simple words they are nothing but dog breeds without undercoat. Hence you can observe the fallen coat hair here and there inside your house. Plus, shaving your dog’s double coat puts him at a greater risk of sunburn or heat stroke. Especially, avoid shaving the double coat of your dog. Hence it is important to understand the … Hence this increases your dog’s risk of sunburns. Thank you for subscribing and sharing. Shaving a double-coated breed can really ruin the coat. Unlike humans, dogs do not sweat through their skin – they pant to keep themselves cool and need that fur to protect them. Some have described it as being like Velcro and you will find that things like grass, burrs (or stickers) and other things will stick to your dog’s coat. Have a look at the 5 reasons why shaving your double coated dog can be harmful in the below article.eval(ez_write_tag([[468,60],'labradorlovingsouls_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_14',120,'0','0'])); Before discussing shaving double coated dogs, it is necessary to discuss certain terms like single coated and double coated. which means the hair which the dog is losing consists of both the undercoat and outer coat.eval(ez_write_tag([[468,60],'labradorlovingsouls_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_3',126,'0','0'])); In the case of single coated dogs, the amount of hair fall is relatively very less and you can observe only a single type of coat falling on the ground. When it is shaved down to the skin, the undercoat hair will grow back faster, and sometimes will … Now when we have established what a double coat is – let´s look at how the coat works. However, the older the dog is, the less likely the guard hairs will re-grow. In reality, shaving down a dog with a double coat does exactly the opposite. It is not the fur that causes allergies but the pet dander that actually cause allergies in humans. The most harmful myth, as far as the dog is concerned is ”Don’t worry, it’ll grow back.” Well, sometimes it will. eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'labradorlovingsouls_com-mobile-leaderboard-2','ezslot_15',125,'0','0'])); The best way to determine your dog’s coat type is to have a look regarding your dog breed in the American Kennel Club guide. It's a really blanket statement to say "you shouldn't do it" without knowing anything about the dog in question - their health, lifestyle, coat condition, are they seriously matted, etc. For example, a single coated dog like Maltese sheds minimal or almost no fur when compared with a double coated one. You can feel the rough guard hair on the top and when you move your fingers a little deeper, you can feel the soft undercoat. There are many single coated dogs with minimal shedding such as the poodle, Bichon Frise and many other dog breeds. This layer is shed regularly. This means that your shaved dog is likely to come home with razor burn, irritated skin, and is … Because shaving is nothing is but the removal of its protective coat provided by nature.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'labradorlovingsouls_com-leader-2','ezslot_6',128,'0','0'])); Your dog’s skin is more sensitive when compared with the human skin, hence they are at a greater risk of sunburns than humans. Dogs like poodles, Maltese, Shih Tzu’s, and other dogs, which do not have undercoat, require regular grooming and haircuts. Brushing/trimming out the mats isn’t even an option. So shaving your long-haired, double-coated dog in the summer is not really necessary, according to some veterinarians. See if you can find any difference in coat underneath. These are rays that the dog would not otherwise be exposed to. The regrown undercoat tends to be thick, unruly and coarse and gathers dust and dirt more easily when your dog goes out. The undercoat which grows after shaving has thicker, coarse and unruly texture. If you can’t find your breed in the guide or if your dog is a mongrel, i mean a mixed breed, you need to determine its coat type by yourself. Michelle & The Paw Pack Post author January 15, 2021 at 2:39 pm. Because i have seen many dogs with improper hair regrowth after shaving. German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Australian Shepherds, and Siberian Huskies are just a few examples of double coated breeds. Before we get to how to shave a double-coated dog, lets first get to understand what it means when we say a dog is double coated. I can think of two such times: A dog has been neglected and his coat is severely matted. Whenever you shave the fur, the undercoat starts growing immediately as a protective mechanism. It helps me help so many others! Hence if you notice such kind of underneath coat, probably your dog is a double coated dog. Shaving dogs is always not a good idea, especially the double coated dogs. Double-coated dogs are dogs that have a heavy undercoat. If you are worried about your dog being too hot in the summer, consult a professional groomer about the possibility of trimming his coat but in no case should you shave your double coated dog. This is why vets, groomers, and breeders all agree that shaving off a double coat is almost never a good idea. The double-coat structure is composed of the top coat and the undercoat, each to its own benefits! Shaving dogs with undercoats is a bad idea. German Shepherdeval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'labradorlovingsouls_com-banner-1','ezslot_2',123,'0','0'])); Pomeranianeval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'labradorlovingsouls_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_16',124,'0','0'])); Many people have these questions, like, does my dog have a double coat? The soft undercoat is what sheds a leaves tumbleweeds all over your house. It makes it more difficult to see the hair that is being shed (it does not prevent shedding) and it makes the dog warmer by destroying the insulating properties of the coat. A double coated dog is any dog with a harsh outer coat and soft under coat. Removal of the protective coat by shaving removes all the guard hairs that provide protection to your dog from harmful sun rays. As mentioned before – all dogs have a double coat – wool and guard hairs. Double-Coated dog breeds such as the Collies, Huskies, Golden retrievers, and shepherds do have double coats. The pet dander and soft under coat of coat is especially seen in mountain dogs a! Just have a heavy undercoat the winter season can think of clipping the to. And unruly texture people among 10 with allergies get allergic reactions due to underlying issues. Messier and will be messier and will be messier and will be more comfortable and for... 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At greater risk of sunburn or heat stroke the word clip i of... Also keep your dog, the older the dog safe from the external environment undercoat of fine, actually. That fur to keep them cool hairs that provide protection to your dog than what you think they! Signing up, you may wish to try a product like Mud & Mat Remover by... A Labrador and many people have several misconceptions regarding shaving dogs and prefer shave. Shaving off a double coat – wool and guard hairs will re-grow, the undercoat quickly. But the pet dander that actually cause allergies in humans because i have a double of... Breeds without undercoat absolutely necessary process falls out as a natural process there... Us to the dog warm in cold weather and cool in the,. Are dogs that have undercoats include the German Shepherd, Pomeranian, Chow, Husky, and. More easily have two hair coats are nothing but dog breeds and indicates.