Ryuk is my first dog with fur (I've grown up with dogs with hair, the kind that doesn't shed)....Considering this is the first day that it hasn't been over 95 degrees in the past week I'm wondering...is there any damage to the coat if you shave your dog with fur?


Now I have started regularly shaving his belly to keep him cool and he's getting daily brush-outs but I'm wondering if I should take the clippers up a bit farther and do his entire lower half and neck (like a high trace clip on a horse) but I like his soft fur and don't want it to grow back with a different texture.

Anyone done this? What were your results?

You'll regret it. Not only does it change the texture but it also puts unnnatural pressure on the thyroid. I personally don't shave furred dogs except poms unless there is a very good medical reason to.

get a large kiddie pool and fill it up with water in the shade, that would be more effective and extend the play time

 Quote: Melissa Thom

You'll regret it. Not only does it change the texture but it also puts unnnatural pressure on the thyroid. I personally don't shave furred dogs except poms unless there is a very good medical reason to.

Interesting. Would you please elaborate on the thyroid issue?

What about poms makes THEM ok to shave?

 Quote: Dennis Jones

get a large kiddie pool and fill it up with water in the shade, that would be more effective and extend the play time

I live in an apartment with no yard, and no access to a hose, and the pool is off limits to all dogs.

We've been walking a few miles to play in the Connecticut River but even the walk there is getting to exhausting and there's no parking allowed in the area so...

 Quote: michael_wise

 Quote: melissa thom

You'll regret it. Not only does it change the texture but it also puts unnnatural pressure on the thyroid. I personally don't shave furred dogs except poms unless there is a very good medical reason to.

Interesting. Would you please elaborate on the thyroid issue?

What about poms makes THEM ok to shave?

I know the other side of that question, which is that Cushing's disease and hypothyroidism can both prevent the coat's re-growth. So there's a direct correlation that makes sense both ways. I'm interested in the Pom question; I've seen the breed on lists of "never shave" breeds, but I have no idea why.

Their coat helps their body regulate it's temp to some degree & actually keeps the sun away from their skin. So you can actualy have the opposite effect by clipping him. He can heat up more or sunbun.

 Quote: Jamie Craig

 Quote: Dennis Jones

get a large kiddie pool and fill it up with water in the shade, that would be more effective and extend the play time

I live in an apartment with no yard, and no access to a hose, and the pool is off limits to all dogs.

We've been walking a few miles to play in the Connecticut River but even the walk there is getting to exhausting and there's no parking allowed in the area so...

well then, you have no alternative but to move in next door to me and we can share eleven acres of pasture. I'll loan ya a hose 'til you can get to Lowes

As explained to me by my grooming mentor. Poms especially from show lines are exceptionally long furred for their body size. This can make them a challenge to keep clean and their undercoat tidy and unfelted. Dirty dogs are uncomfortable suffering dogs so, poms are often shaved down or radically trimmed up compared to other dogs to keep clean. It's also fairly standard practice to shave young poms to get their fur into show shape for sculpting into that characteristic round appearance. Poms are also also notorious for a condition called black skin disease where the coat just does not grow correctly and looks ratty. Evening the coat out is sometimes all you can do for them.


http://www.justusdogs.com.au/upload/flex_img/07062008080317_01.jpg
This is a natural coated young pom. He has likely never been shaved. He will eventually have that rump hair and belly hair grow out and need to be trimmed up.

http://www.vipet.com/images/pomeranian.JPG this is a pom in a show clip. You can see the exposed undercoat. Very likely this dog was shaved young and has been sculpted via scissoring ever since.

http://www.pomerama.com/graphics/skin.gif Pom with black skin disease. It's under high debate what causes this, some point to grooming practices, others point to genetics.

I'll write another note on the thyroid hair connection. But all you need to know is that you can't tell from just looking at your dog if they have the potential for a thyroid issue which will cause coat issues until after you shave it. After that point of discovery all doubt may be removed for the rest of your dogs days looking like this. http://www.petsborough.com/images/shave1.jpg

 Quote: Melissa Thom

.... you can't tell from just looking at your dog if they have the potential for a thyroid issue which will cause coat issues until after you shave it. ...

This is what I'm finding today on my trip through vet med books and web sites.

CRFA (canine recurrent flank alopecia) can indeed by hypothyroid-related, although many cases are not.

And who does thyroid bloodwork when there are no symptoms (like with a borderline dog). Finding out this way seems like a very bad thing.