# Summer Cuts



## pinksand (Dec 11, 2013)

I feel like summer cuts have been coming up a lot recently. Growing up with a Beardie that we kept long year round, I can’t tell you how many times we’d get comments like, “poor dog with all that fur in the summertime! Don’t you think you should shave her?” I’d always learned that dog’s fur is like insulation for a house, which is very different than how our bodies deal with heat as we sweat through pores all over our bodies. Long fur in the summer should then keep them cooler and protected from sunburn. I know it sounds counter intuitive since I’d be dying if I walked outside in a fur bodysuit right now. I’ve been searching online and although the general consensus is that long fur shouldn’t be trimmed shorter than 1” to protect from sunburn, it sounds like certain coats are better suited for the heat. With Charlie being a poodle/schnauzer mix I’m not exactly sure how his coat would be categorized, double or single? He’s due for a trim in July, but I’m just getting so sick of having people comment on his “winter coat” and look at me like I’m abusing my poor dog by not shaving him way down. I was planning to have him cut to about 1.5” mostly to keep his coat more manageable since he’s very active outdoors and everything he touches sticks to his fur like it’s Velcro! Does that sound like an appropriate length to still protect his skin and body temp?

Does anyone else get this a lot? It's seriously driving me crazy and I don't feel like explaining it to every stranger on the street who comments.


----------



## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Honestly I doubt 1/2" vs 1" vs 1 1/2" probably matters very much in the grand scheme of things.


----------



## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I don't think a single coated/non-shedding type coat really provides the same insulating powers of a coat with an undercoat. And like Sass said, I don't think the difference in 1/2" to 1 1/2" is going to make a real difference to the dog.


----------



## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

elrohwen said:


> I don't think a single coated/non-shedding type coat really provides the same insulating powers of a coat with an undercoat. And like Sass said, I don't think the difference in 1/2" to 1 1/2" is going to make a real difference to the dog.


Ditto all this. Single coats aren't insulating and an extra half inch doesn't make a difference.

I DO make a point of keeping my dogs paw pads shaved out during the summer and I also (gasp, shock) shaved Thud and Kylie from their sternum down. They like to sprawl out on the tile floors to cool off. Kylie didn't have a ton and it probably didn't make a huge difference. Thud *did*, and removing something that insulated him from the cool floor seems to have made him happier. All over clipping? Nah. 

I'm kinda considering doing the insides of their ears, though.


----------



## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

CptJack said:


> I'm kinda considering doing the insides of their ears, though.


LOVE doing the insides of his ears. They really do get so much more airflow that way and I expect aid a little in cooling (since many animals use their ears for temp regulation).

I've considered shaving Watson down below because he pees on his feathers, but then I think it might look super awkward considering his coat type.


----------



## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

Assuming he is single-coated dog, a good trick I use is shaving a strip down the chest, belly, and inner thighs. Picked it up from lurking in poodle forums. It's not visible most of the time, and it lets the dog get more skin contact on cool surfaces. Does seem to make a difference, although I tend to keep Samwise between 1/2 and 1/4 inch in the summertime, so he doesn't have a ton of fluff to begin with.


----------



## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

elrohwen said:


> LOVE doing the insides of his ears. They really do get so much more airflow that way and I expect aid a little in cooling (since many animals use their ears for temp regulation).
> 
> I've considered shaving Watson down below because he pees on his feathers, but then I think it might look super awkward considering his coat type.


THUD looks weird to me, because it seriously exaggerates the depth of his already deep chest. It's mostly disguised, but I have the occasional snicker/snort at him. He is DEFINITELY cleaner, though hiking his leg to pee also helped that one. Kylie it made just about no difference on appearance wise, but she's got longer fur and didn't have a ton of belly fluff to begin with.

Annnd that was all the encouragement I needed to shave out the inside of Kylie's ears. That was strangely fun and satisfying.

...and now I want to slap a long guide on there and clip it all. She's got a single coat. It would make not one whit of difference. (I'm not going to, but I get clipper happy).

*(ETA Strike that. I slapped a long guide on there and clipped her. She doesn't look much different since I left her head, tail, and most of her butt feathers alone, but she's more even all around.


----------



## Jen1959 (Jan 29, 2014)

I have an old black lab who has the worst doggie smell when he is wet, and that is every day down here (for 6 weeks)at the beach. He swims in the ocean then comes back and gets in the pool. I try to dry him with a towel( he barely shakes the excess water off himself if at all). Last year I shaved him down to about a half inch but his coat came in badly with dry patches on his skin. It is now fully grown out and really thick around his neck and chest. He goes swimming every morning and is almost dry by bedtime but the doggie smell is everywhere! I have an appointment to get him groomed and trimmed down some next Thursday . In the meantime I go through gallons of Febreeze and Wet Dog spray. Any other suggestions. I have a super short haired other large dog and a Great Pyr mix who never smells bad when damp.


----------



## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

This is a pain, but honestly?

Rinse the dog with high water, and dry him COMPLETELY. Last year my (only) double coated dog started to smell horrendous because of all the time he spent in rivers and lakes. He also developed hot spot and a never ending ear infection. The smell was a combination of all 3. Rinsing with water out of a hose and using towels and a blow drier to get him COMPELTELY dry (especially his ears, arm pits, and around his neck) resolved the smell and the skin/ear infections.


----------



## LoMD13 (Aug 4, 2010)

I shave mine down year round-- but we go extra short in the summer and the difference before/after a cut is like night and day. She's more energetic, runs faster/peppier in agility, and has better stamina in the heat. I actually prefer the scruffy look, but she's a much happier dog all clipped down. It's also easier to just splash some water on her if it's particular hot.


----------



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Mia got shaved this summer (and dyed purple ). She has a single coat but it really has seemed to help her feel better. I took a 1/4" comb to most of her but shaved as close as I could (safely) on her chest and belly. She has breathing problems and heat affects her a lot so any little bit helps. This way her belly and chest can get on the cooling mat even closer.


----------



## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

I'm afraid to go extra short on Dove with it being summer, she has light skin and I am afraid she will get sun burn. She is a poodle/chi mix so she gets clipped year round (non-shedding coat) and I don't leave it super long to begin with but just that little bit of protection from the sun is nice. I do like it shortish to keep her from dragging in mud and grass, she isn't exactly lady like.


----------



## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Kylie enjoys her naked stomach. The rest... it's hard to tell anything was done, though something obviously was.










*I* can tell because I can tell where fur is missing, but otherwise? Not so much. We'll see how much difference it makes, but she's pretty happy right now. And if nothing else, she looks a little neater and having a bald stomach seems to make her perkier.

On the other hand, this really verifies for me that, yep, she's fat.


----------



## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Jen1959 said:


> I have an old black lab who has the worst doggie smell when he is wet, and that is every day down here (for 6 weeks)at the beach. He swims in the ocean then comes back and gets in the pool. I try to dry him with a towel( he barely shakes the excess water off himself if at all). Last year I shaved him down to about a half inch but his coat came in badly with dry patches on his skin. It is now fully grown out and really thick around his neck and chest. He goes swimming every morning and is almost dry by bedtime but the doggie smell is everywhere! I have an appointment to get him groomed and trimmed down some next Thursday . In the meantime I go through gallons of Febreeze and Wet Dog spray. Any other suggestions. I have a super short haired other large dog and a Great Pyr mix who never smells bad when damp.


If you go over the old guy with a brush every few minutes he will dry off a lot faster and loads of fur will come out as well. Or just ruffle up his fur every few minutes. It will take a good hour to get him reasonably dry and is definitely an outside job. A blow drier would take ages but might help at the end. 

Won't help with the smell other than dry dogs stink less than wet dogs or if some of the stink is due to stuff growing on the damp fur. Sassy stunk until she was on cooked food. Turned out her anal sac build up wasn't just bothering her rear end, she licked and spread the lovely stink all over her fur and once the sacs were healthier she stank less. If he has anal sac build up you might try experimenting with a simple kibble to attempt to eliminate a possible mild allergen.


----------



## Kyle071785 (Nov 28, 2013)

I just had Jax trimmed down for the summer as well on Monday. Not because of any comments people were making, just personal preference (and he needed a good trim anyway since he was starting to get too fluffy and it was becoming a chore to comb out the tangles every other day)

before:









I still have to snap a picture of his summer cut but it looks great. Trimmed down to 1/2" on his body, 1" on his head and his tail was left untouched for now. I also had the inside of his ears fully trimmed out as it'll help the airflow (as mentioned). Seeing as he's had an ear infection already as well, keeping the ears clean is a must for him


----------



## pinksand (Dec 11, 2013)

Aw, Jax is always such a happy looking boy! As you probably know from my puppy thread, I went quite a bit longer with Charlie's first cut (1/2 the length off but still around 2"). I'm thinking I'll probably get his next trim at around Jax's pre-cut length... maybe a bit shorter. Last time she trimmed his belly and inside of his legs shorter so I'll have her do that again and ask about the ears. He hasn't had any infections and I hand trim and pluck some of the inner hair and use ear wipes, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to shave down the undersides and would make cleaning easier too!

Regarding the lab question... Charlie's fur is very different, but I can agree that it dries much faster if I brush it out while he's drying. I also massage coconut oil into his fur to keep it moisturized and his skin from drying out. He ends up smelling very tropical  I'm not sure if this would work with your lab's fur? Just a thought!


----------



## SDRRanger (May 2, 2013)

Do you guys find that shaving their underneath causes more bug bites? Ranger has a slightly hairy belly and the black fly bites look horrific if we've been in the woods.


----------



## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

SDRRanger said:


> Do you guys find that shaving their underneath causes more bug bites? Ranger has a slightly hairy belly and the black fly bites look horrific if we've been in the woods.


Not that I've noticed, but Kylie's always had a mostly bald underside, anyway, and I've never had major issues with bug bites. One or two here or there but not a ton.


----------



## LoMD13 (Aug 4, 2010)

I'm guessing it must be a regional thing. I haven't had any bug bite issues with Lola and she's only 8 inches tall so she's very very close to the ground.


----------



## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

This was Kiska's belly after I clipped her down, then walked out in the field. I bought some bug spray for the next time we go out there.


----------



## pinksand (Dec 11, 2013)

OMG! Poor Kiska, that's horrific! The bites were from horseflies? I don't find that we have many horseflies in the woods until later in the summer for some reason. I've never seen bites like that before. Can you just use normal bug spray or is there dog safe specific spray you recommend? Did they only get her on the belly or are there bites under her fur as well?


----------



## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

I keep Jackson shaved year round. I will let him scruff out a bit more in the winter, but I just prefer him very neat and tidy.

The single coated dogs, or most of the non-shedding/minimal shedding dogs, can be shaved without the same consequences as a lot of the thicker double coated dogs. 

He gets professionally groomed every 6-8 weeks in the warmer months, and every 8-10 weeks in the colder months. But this is how I prefer him year round



I'm too lazy to learn how to groom on my own, plus it won't ever look as good as what our mobile groomer does, so I leave it to the pro!


----------



## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

One year I had a hair meltdown and shaved all the dogs. Even the cat. It was bliss for there was no hair floating in the house for a month. At that time I had Rottweiler, collie and a sheltie. The dogs did seem to love the do. The rotts could not tell that I shaved them. The collie so loved her shaved body she ran around the house barking and zooming. I only shaved her down one more time and that was not till the next year. As soon as she saw the clippers she laid down and fell asleep while I shaved her. Again as soon as I was done she ran around so happy. I was lucky and that her hair grew back just fine. 

Now I just shave my miniature horses. The little guy was so fuzzy with winter fluff, he really liked having all that hair gone. 

I have a friend who has goldens and in the summer she does what Cpt Jack does. She shaves the bellies to help keep them cooler in the kennels. It does seem to help.


----------



## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

For the Lab---make sure he gets dry! A friend of mine has an outside dog, a Lab mix, and they gave him a baby pool that he sat in just about all the time. They also didn't comb out all his undercoat and so he was constantly damp (And, yes, smelly ). And now he has. . .I wanna call it rain rot but that's horses. Similar to rain rot anyway. It's nasty. They also tried to shave him but didn't know how to get close enough so now he has a bad haircut AND a skin fungus. Poor Charlie. So, definitely, make sure he gets all the way dry and rake out his undercoat as much as you can. 

I have shaved Penny (similar coat to, um, maybe a Samoyed or Keeshond) but not the boys. She does seem more comfortable when I do it. I don't know if I'll do it this year but if I do I'd better do it soon so it grows back before winter. I like it better when I can just comb out ALL the undercoat, she looks really sharp with her long topcoat lying flat, but I've only managed that one time. Usually I rake and rake every day and she's still poofy and thatchy and that's what annoys me enough to break out the clippers.


----------



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I clipped Mia down even closer. She really enjoys being shaved and gets really happy when you groom her. She feels like velvet right now but looks kind of silly since I clipped her close.


----------



## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Laurelin said:


> I clipped Mia down even closer. She really enjoys being shaved and gets really happy when you groom her. She feels like velvet right now but looks kind of silly since I clipped her close.


I want pictures!


----------



## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

I clip Rusty down short in the summer. for years I hand stripped him every summer but then one year his winter coat grew in really thick, and hand stripping has been useless ever since. I'm sad because I think he looked great when he was stripped and shaving his coat does not get the same effect lol 
normal coat:









shaved:









stripped:


----------



## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

OMG Rusty looks like he could be Roxie's dad lol the only thing really different is his face


----------



## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

> OMG Rusty looks like he could be Roxie's dad lol the only thing really different is his face


haha, i'be always thought Roxie looks an awful lot like Rusty  Rusty is a JRT x Pomeranian


----------



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

CptJack said:


> I want pictures!


Nekkid.


DSC_1238 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr


DSC_1129 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr


----------



## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Laurelin said:


> Nekkid.
> 
> 
> DSC_1238 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr
> ...



God, I love that dog - you did a good job, too!

I need to get better pictures of Kylie now that she's all balded. She looks like she did when she was four months old. Just with more tail fluff.


----------



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Thanks! I'm discovering that I love grooming! A lot! I want to clip and trim ALL the dogs.

So now Summer is this: 
Before:


ilp4 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

AFter: 

DSC_1393 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

That was thinning shears though.


----------



## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

AW, Summer!

I seriously get clipper happy. I start clipping/shaving/cutting and I just don't want to stop. I need a poodle/maltese/yorkie/something to play with.


----------



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Me too. Me too....

I'm actually considering a nice mini poodle down the line sometime.


----------



## LoMD13 (Aug 4, 2010)

Lola dogs for everyone!

PS, LOVE Mia's haircut. I bet she feels great.


----------



## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

laurelin I think you did a great job on your dogs. Mia looks great. so does Summer. my long haired dogs seemed so much happier when I shaved them down.


----------



## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

Laurelin said:


> Nekkid.
> 
> 
> DSC_1238 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr
> ...


Hey you can see collars now! Yay


----------



## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

CptJack said:


> AW, Summer!
> 
> I seriously get clipper happy. I start clipping/shaving/cutting and I just don't want to stop. I need a poodle/maltese/yorkie/something to play with.


I would lone you Dove. I wish I could do her clipping myself but I'm nervous I would hurt her. I once had to clip my mother's angry old cat. The poor thing was so arthritic that my mother felt bad brushing her (because she hated being brushed anyway and my mother convinced herself that it was hurting her hips). Well she got so matted it just had to be done. It didn't turn out too badly (it wasn't pretty but an old naked cat isn't going to be pretty).


----------



## kbt_guy (Dec 2, 2012)

I started cutting Tully's coat shorter in the summer by accident. First summer we had him, I accidentally scissored closer than I had intended on one side, not a gaping hole or bare skin, just shorter than intended. So, I scissored the rest of his coat down to get it more even. That night, and every night after, he slept much more calmly, without the tossing and turning we had been hearing as the weather warmed up. I guess the shorter coat didn't build up as much heat when he was sleeping. 

Anyway, since then I keep his coat shorter in summer.


----------



## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

Ok heres my summer cut (mine had a nasty hotspot on her belly, more like a infected zit, that we cleaned and treated and looks a ton better now)....

She def feels cleaner and cooler in her short Do- its trimmed with clipper blades quite short on her skin and most of her belly is trimmed too, just a few fringes left to give her the schnauzer look....


----------



## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

Not a dog (obviously) and not done on purpose but Halloween had to have her belly shaved for a spay and she has been spending an awful lot of time like this since. She is really loving it. I told hubby I may just have to shave her belly again next summer (can't hurt right?). She seems so happy with her "belly cooling system", and she only looks a little silly.


----------



## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

Lol that's adorable


----------



## Na-Tasha (Aug 13, 2014)

When I got Tasha (Rough Collie), I ended up having to shave her due to a severely matted undercoat. I wanted her coat to fill back out to the glory that is a Rough Collie, but unfortunately because of the heat and humidity, she was suffering and couldn't even handle a fifteen minute walk. So, I shave her belly and keep her in a close contour cut during the summer. Last year was experimental, but I think this year I got it right. She's definitely been happier and more energetic than the last two summers, she's still raring to go even after an hour walk(I'm bushed after half an hour!haha!).


----------

