# Trimming a Pomeranian



## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

A relative of mine has a Pomeranian that she has trimmed to keep the coat lower maintenance. She's also under the impression that it makes the dog cooler, though I'm skeptical of that. I was just curious if this was advisable or not. I would think since she's trimmed and not actually shaved, that her under coat would be left intact, so it'd be no problem, right? Aside from being lower maintenance I think it's incredibly cute. I'd be inclined to trim my own dog this way if I ever ended up with a pom.

Freakin' adorable, right??


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

Its still a shave, just not a short shave. You can already tell her coat looks "off". No "trimming" it wont do a thing for the heat/cold and trimming like this can and still does ruin dogs coats. But yes she does look cute.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

The problem is the dog can still get matted, sometimes worse than if you didn't touch the coat. The undercoat is usually softer and more likely to catch burrs and such, the guard hairs are courser and prevent that. Cut it all the same length and it doesn't work as well. Plus they can matt, trust me! Combed out a shaved dog that had been shaved last fall, and the undercoat had almost felted to the body. It was a lot of work to comb out and it wasn't even long!

As for the whole 'keeps the dog cooler' thing - just don't put the dog in an oven in the first place! Or anywhere that they can't get shade and water and cool down. If it's too hot for the human to be outside in full sun for long, it's too hot for the dog. Shaved or not, doesn't matter. Even if you have a short haired dog, you can't let it over run in the heat without problems. Never has made sense to me. My guys have coat and we just don't go doing bike marathons in the heat, if it's too hot they have their pool or are inside with the fan on and we go later evening or in the morning before it's too hot. If we're training, there's usually swimming included and they train wet.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Oh, this dog doesn't spend a whole lot of time outside in bad whether, so the "heat issue" is more the owner anthropomorphizing. This dog is owned by an elderly woman and is pretty much attached to her at the hip. I was afraid you'd say that about it still ruining the coat and making matts easier, though. I assume by "ruining a dog's coat" you just mean that if allowed to grow out again it wouldn't look the same as before she was shaved? It's too bad because it looks nicer than a normal pom coat IMO, but of course there are more important things than looks. Anyway, I was mostly just curious. Thanks for weighing in, guys.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

kafkabeetle said:


> Oh, this dog doesn't spend a whole lot of time outside in bad whether, so the "heat issue" is more the owner anthropomorphizing. This dog is owned by an elderly woman and is pretty much attached to her at the hip. I was afraid you'd say that about it still ruining the coat and making matts easier, though. I assume by "ruining a dog's coat" you just mean that if allowed to grow out again it wouldn't look the same as before she was shaved? It's too bad because it looks nicer than a normal pom coat IMO, but of course there are more important things than looks. Anyway, I was mostly just curious. Thanks for weighing in, guys.


 Exactly Kafkabeetle. She is a pet. She is cute, and she isnt going to die because her coat was trimmed. She isnt living in the desert as a wild dog, nor in the arctic as a wild dog. She is a pet in a home and whatever the owner likes for her haircut is all that matters. Will her coat ever be "right" again? Probably not, but who cares since the owner likes her like this, it doesnt matter. I shave and cut down doublecoated breeds like this just about every day. I explain the effects on the coat, and if the owners still want to do it, I do it and make em look darn cute. We arent dealing with wild dogs trying to survive. They are pets in temperature controlled environments. And if it was correct about double coats keeping them cool, we would see dogs bred for desert living looking like huskies and newfies. I dont buy into all that. When a dog pants and is hot all the time, then is shaved and stops panting and acts more comfortable at home, it works. Regardless of all the supposed science. I think that science refers to a bald dog, not one cut down with a 7 or longer. Sorry for the rant. Just so sick of this debate. They are pets.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Graco22 said:


> When a dog pants and is hot all the time, then is shaved and stops panting and acts more comfortable at home, it works. Regardless of all the supposed science. *I think that science refers to a bald dog, not one cut down with a 7 or longer.* Sorry for the rant. Just so sick of this debate. They are pets.


I think that's probably the case, because I can't see how a dog like Katie (the one pictured above) would have any more trouble regulating her body temp than a dog with naturally short fur. But maybe I'm wrong. *shrug*

I guess I was also kind of wondering if keeping the shave longer could prevent "ruining the coat" but it sounds like that is not the case? Regardless of how short the fur is cut it will grow back funny (because the guard hairs aren't growing back as they should)?


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

kafkabeetle said:


> I think that's probably the case, because I can't see how a dog like Katie (the one pictured above) would have any more trouble regulating her body temp than a dog with naturally short fur. But maybe I'm wrong. *shrug*
> 
> I guess I was also kind of wondering if keeping the shave longer could prevent "ruining the coat" but it sounds like that is not the case? Regardless of how short the fur is cut it will grow back funny (because the guard hairs aren't growing back as they should)?


It seems to be more of an issue because of the guard hairs being cut, not the undercoat being cut. And the guard hairs are the longer, coarser hairs. Its a crapshoot really. I have shaved dogs down pretty short with a 7, over and over and their coats come back every time just fine, many with less undercoat and nice silky guard hairs. And I have taken dogs down to lengths longer than the pom in this thread, and after one time the coat is coming in all funky. It just depends. However, if you stop trimming the coat, and let it grow back, I have never seen one that didnt come back almost completely normal, after a year to a year and a half. Sometimes its a thyroid issue, sometimes nutrition, and sometimes its old dogs with ailing skin and coats. Young, healthy dogs almost always grow back fine, in my experience. Will it ever be a show coat after clipping? Very unlikely. But pom show coats are also packed with undercoat...that is not removed/brushed out. So a pet coat and a show coat are very different anyway. Without seeing a photo of this dog before it was ever clipped, its hard to say how much if any damage was done to the coat. Some dogs have yucky coats to begin with, especially mill bred/puppy store/byb dogs.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Yeah, I really have no idea what he coat was like originally. Honestly, I didn't even realize until recently that she was shaved...I guess I thought there was such a thing as a short-haired pom or didn't really realize how much coat the breed is supposed to have. I can see how it appears damaged though, kind of like frizzy split ends. I know she was a "rescue" of some sort, so probably came from a mill or byb. I doubt she'll ever have her full coat again since her owner really likes it this way. I'm not really into the super tiny dogs but I have to say she's one of the nicest, calmest, most absolutely adorable dogs I've ever met irl. She's a really nice match for her owner and is doted on constantly. ;p


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

kafkabeetle said:


> Yeah, I really have no idea what he coat was like originally. Honestly, I didn't even realize until recently that she was shaved...I guess I thought there was such a thing as a short-haired pom or didn't really realize how much coat the breed is supposed to have. I can see how it appears damaged though, kind of like frizzy split ends. I know she was a "rescue" of some sort, so probably came from a mill or byb. I doubt she'll ever have her full coat again since her owner really likes it this way. I'm not really into the super tiny dogs but I have to say she's one of the nicest, calmest, most absolutely adorable dogs I've ever met irl. She's a really nice match for her owner and is doted on constantly. ;p


 And thats all that matters. She is a well loved and cared for pet.


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## Pepy311 (Jul 19, 2011)

I have a Pom mix. He has long fur. I always shave him in the summer and trim his belly in winter. It does not keep him cooler but he drys off really fast with short hair. We go hiking and to the beach a lot so the short cut keeps him clean and dry.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Pepy311 said:


> I have a Pom mix. He has long fur. I always shave him in the winter. It does not keep him cooler but he drys off really fast with short hair. We go hiking and to the beach a lot so the short cut keeps him clean and dry.


Sounds like a shaved dog who gets to do all that stuff would be happier than one with a perfect coat that had to stay home.  I wouldn't envy anyone who had to regularly clean mud and sand out of a full pom coat.


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## Pepy311 (Jul 19, 2011)

kafkabeetle said:


> Sounds like a shaved dog who gets to do all that stuff would be happier than one with a perfect coat that had to stay home.  I wouldn't envy anyone who had to regularly clean mud and sand out of a full pom coat.


Yeah he is a tough little dog. He loves to swim and play in mud. All that long fur gets in the way. He loves his hair cut. It really is amazing how fast he drys off with the short fur.


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