Clipping your sheltie

Starr said:
How is sally doing?

The groomers hear say shave a sheltie. that's it's too hot for them here. I've also heard (from a groomer) that they are trying to out-law shelties and like dogs here, because it is cruel to have them in this heat with all that hair. :cry:
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That is the most riduculous thing Ive ever heard! Outlawing long hair dogs because of the weather?! that would also elimate Goldens, collies, shelties...etc essentially 3/4 of the dog population is either longer coated or double coated...
Mine do just fine here in the summer and its usually 90 or higher and about 80% humidity!:dead:
As far as shaving your sheltie It shouldnt be done, if you like the shorter hair then dont get this breed, get a smooth collie!
 
I had Callie's coat trimmed her first summer- she looked very puppyish. no problems and all grew back just fine. Last summer, she was all long hair and no problems with that either. We live in South AL and we'd just wait until almost sunset to go for our walks. she'd go out in the middle of the day if she wanted to but she prefers the air conditioning/tile floors etc. I will try the tummy trim this summer- she will probably like that. :wink2:
 
Lightplum said:
That is the most riduculous thing Ive ever heard! Outlawing long hair dogs because of the weather?! that would also elimate Goldens, collies, shelties...etc essentially 3/4 of the dog population is either longer coated or double coated...
Mine do just fine here in the summer and its usually 90 or higher and about 80% humidity!:dead:
As far as shaving your sheltie It shouldnt be done, if you like the shorter hair then dont get this breed, get a smooth collie!
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I know! Now, maybe if they are kept outside in the heat day in and day out. But my dogs will ALWAYS be inside dogs that go outside to play and go potty!
 
I clip ears, paw pads, and do a sanitary clip under the tail but would never cut my dog's coat down. People do it though, I've had some dogs come into rescue with the worst clip job in the world. They always look terrible when it grows back and you are very right it never is the same again.

I remember one time when I still had my first sheltie Kelsey. My hubby was doing some yard work and let him outside. Long story short he wandered way and had an adventure. When he came home he had one of those berry vines intwined in one side of his coat and down to his under belly and out between his back legs and snarled in his tail. We tried and tried to remove it without scratching him with the thorns or cuting ourselves up. Finally as a last resort we clipped the vine out of his coat. He looked lopsided from then on. That long beautiful outer coat just never grew back in.

Hugs
 
My male has had a couple of very bad grooming experiences. One time his beautiful mane was clipped and it has taken 6mths for it to grow back.

We have very hot summers and cold winters where I live. I don't think it is worthwhile cutting back in summer because the number of days over 35 degrees is limited compared to the number of days it is better for them to have a full coat. Esp as to get the coat back in full by winter it would already need to be halfway grown back by the hottest months.

I also noticed that the fur around his neck grew back thickly because it was all the same length at the same time - so the breeze didnt blow through it so readily.

My brother used to clip his sheltie - esp as he got older and couldnt take bathing, and also because he was an outside dog. I do give mine some clipping in summer because of the grass seed problems - the Sheltie guide to grooming is great for this.

However, I think if you live in a humid climate and don't have cold winters I can see you may want to keep the coat short.

PS - while I remember, A vet published an article in our top dog magazine in Aust about to clip or not (as he had been getting many overheated double coated dogs in summer). He said that while the coat may insulate against sun it also traps heat.
 
We have two shelties, one is four and the other is five. Samantha, the five year old female, has a VERY thick undercoat, and has had problems with heat rash during past summers (July and August). Our low temperatures can be 90F + those months !! This summer we have trimmed off their outer coats to see if Sam does better.

My wife has been asked if Samantha is a "show" dog many times. I just hate to see her without her full coat but don't want her to suffer.
 
Why trim when you can just take the undercoat out?

Use a mattbreaker, and it removes all of the undercoat (or most of it).
 
Shaving

I shave just the belly on Shadow every summer and it keeps him cool and you do not even know he was shaved.He is much happier.
 
bad experiences

We took Bentley to be groomed last year, and specifically told the groomer "do not cut anything unless it is matted" (ie there were a few mats under his ears). When we picked him up, they had cut his fur! It wasn't shaved or anything, but he definitely lost a lot of it--we were so upset!

It has grown back, which is good, but we are now very careful about the groomers we take him to. We just ask that they trim his ears, feet, and the poop chute.

It's really hot during the summers here, too. So we just make sure not to take him out too much during the day, and even our agility trials don't start until the evening. Then we take our little fan with us and prop it up in front of his crate and he does fine.
 
Narmowen said:
Why trim when you can just take the undercoat out?

Use a mattbreaker, and it removes all of the undercoat (or most of it).
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Hi there!

How would compare a mattbreaker (I've never heard of it!) to the Furminator? Indy still has massive undercoat and is shedding lots!
 
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