When Your Dog Is 90% Hair
About once a year we have to go beyond getting the dog trimmed and let her be shaved in order to get rid of a bunch of matted fur (we are not very good at brushing her but to be fair she does not do it either). She is a lot cooler in summer this way but I worry about sunburn. Before and after:
It is interesting, for a couple of days after she is shaved she acts super-vulnerable, like a person walking around naked or who has body image issues. Don't worry, it grows back fast.
Matthew Teague:
Is this a Bichon Frise? My parents had one, and she lived to just over 17. We shaved her frequently as well. Great dog for people with allergies, but the hair is a lot to keep up with!
August 11, 2017, 12:00 pmauralay:
We once had a dog that was mostly hair. At about a year old we had her clipped, like yours, almost to the bone. She looked so comical everyone who saw her just couldn't help bursting into laughter. She was really upset and aggrieved at being laughed at and we never had the heart to have her clipped again. I hope you are able to be less insensitive with your dog!
August 11, 2017, 12:03 pmMike Robinson:
We just had our 125 LBS German shepherd shaved too. A great way to stay cool, cut down on the dozens of furballs running in herds between rooms. Amazing how much your dog looks like ours w/ a buzz cut!
August 11, 2017, 1:11 pmMcG:
When I was a kid we had a "terripoo" who had to get nearly shaved pretty often -- maybe once a year but for some reason I'm remembering more often -- and he loved being free of all that extra fur. Or maybe he just loved all the attention he got during and right after...
August 11, 2017, 1:55 pmGriz Hebert:
I've done my tomcat once a year for years.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/96b285cd42cb4504b527673489079a79439a105e5fa7cee9d652e189291e7c59.jpg
August 11, 2017, 6:12 pmMcG:
Looks like he's thinking, "Well... that just happened again..."
August 12, 2017, 6:33 amCapitalistRoader:
I used to do the same every summer with my 9 lb. Shih Tzu/Lhasa Apso/Poodle mutt. She loved it but it scared the hell out of the cat the first time she walked in the door shaved.
August 12, 2017, 7:24 amGriz Hebert:
That's his "guard dog" pose. He is still when we cut his hair.
August 12, 2017, 8:09 ambloke in france:
Why not get a sheep?
August 12, 2017, 2:13 pmSamWah:
Wife got our dog trimmed, except for the legs...which now look like Popeye's forearms.
August 12, 2017, 3:57 pm