The Artful Dogger: A Sheer Thing? Why not to clip your dog this summer
August 5, 2008 by Dr. Davis
My nickname in high school was Mufasa. A la Disney’s “The Lion King.” My hair was comparable to the offspring of a brillo pad and a wool sweater. The first thing I did every summer was bolt to the salon for the ever-so-stylish bob and voila! I was instantly cooler–both socially and thermostatically.
It seems intuitive then, that man’s best friend surely must be suffering during these hot summer months with a long, thick hair coat, right? Think again! Consider the following information before you take your long haired dog or cat in for the Britney Spears look.
Let’s get the boring science stuff out of the way first. Heat is transferred by radiation, evaporation, conduction, and convection. You and I dissipate heat through our skin via sweat, and it’s evaporated. Dogs and cats don’t sweat much through their skin. Instead, they pant. So air circulation to their skin isn’t going to make any huge difference (let me blast another myth out of the water–fans on dogs aren’t doing much. Save your energy!).
Conduction, convection, and radiation all work in a similar matter, transferring heat down a gradient. In extreme environments where it is warmer outside than your dogs body temperature (normal body temp of a dog ranges between 99.5 and 102.5 F), the hair coat actually does insulate the dog against heat being transferred by conduction, convection, and radiation. Thankfully, dogs cool themselves by panting (again, not by sweating through the skin). The length of the hair coat does not impede an animal’s ability to pant, and thus the ability to cool themselves.
Secondly, scientific studies and my personal clinical experiences have shown clipping dogs with light skin pigment make them substantially more prone to sun burn and UV skin damage. The natural hair coat of a dog offers significant and necessary protection against UV rays. And this is not just applicable to the lightly-pigmented dog breeds (Golden Retrievers, Yellow Labrador Retrievers, etc.) Oddly enough, a dozen or so cases of deep thermal burns from UV light have been reported in Dalmations. The thermal injuries were
limited to just the black haired portions of the dog!
If shaving your dog causes them to actually be warmer and more prone to sun damage, what can concerned pet owners do during these sweltering sticky summers? Channel your inner Mommie Dearest and brush, brush, brush (and no wire hangers)! Brushing out your dog’s undercoat as well as frequent grooming trips will ensure that the microenvironment of your dog’s coat is at it’s best. Also, provide shade and plenty of cool water for your companions if they spend time outdoors, and make sure a cool surface on which they can sprawl out is available.
For those of you that have shaved your dogs already, do you think it’s helped? I’m interested to know how well science stands up against “real life” scenarios. What other ways are you are keeping your puppy dog cool this summer?
The Artful Dogger pet column is a regular CvilleStyle feature written by Dr. Erin M Davis, DVM.
Erin, welcome to Style! I don’t have a dog, but I know we were playing kickball and one of the opposing team members had their dog sitting out in the hot sun, so I think it’s pretty basic to remember to keep your dog in the shade and a good reminder for us all.
My little one has never been to a the groomer’s for anything other than a nail clipping. His coat is too pretty to shave.
He’s shedding like crazy these days, though. My Furminator is getting quite a work out.
I’ll bite…. My long haired cat Tayden always seems much much happier after a haircut. Yep, cat, haircut. His whole attitude changes, he goes from being a cranky grump (ok, normal feline) to acting playful and almost like a kitten. Add to that the fact that he won’t let me brush him. I’ve tried many types of brushes and he just bites! Not something I want to deal with every day.
Ideally, I’d like to find a groomer that doesn’t require keeping him for several hours as I think the experience of being groomed is traumatic enough without being kept in a cage surrounded by Dogs all afternoon.
Pictures (not sure if I can use HTML so I’ll just post bare links)
Before: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/2366729191_6dc1dbd463.jpg
After: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/12/16729027_7a433a3af8.jpg
Thanks guys for sharing your thoughts. I love the pics by the way, Saraj. What an adorable cat
My little guy, Henry, has a full head of black fur that does not shed, so regular trips to the groomer are a must. He feels like a solar panel in the sun, so we keep his hair cut short (not shaved) and try to keep him hydrated, but this heat can be brutal!
Erin, can you recommend any groomers in particular that you like?
I’ve had great results with Pampered Pets (www.pamperedpetscville.com) and The Dogg House (www.thedogghouse.com). Don’t forget about the best grooming in town–You!
Saraj, I’ll echo your sentiments on shaving long haired cats. Especially the ones with, ahem, a bit of weight added on (my own personal kitties, not Tayden!). It seems the less grooming they have to worry about, the more they can focus on sleeping or eating rubber bands. And with that, you have an instantly happier feline!
I have had wonderful experiences at The Dogg House with Linda Morris. She has been grooming my puppy since Dixie was only 10 weeks old. LInda is temporarily not working there (for personal family reasons), but will hopefully return because she is wonderful with my little dog! Since Linda was out last month, Dixie saw another groomer at The Dogg House, and we were pleased. I highly recommend The Dogg House to any of my friends.
Saraj, it may just be the pics, but Tayden looks happier before the shave, I think.
We used to have a short haired collie, but his coat was till pretty thick. My mom used to get him shaved, and he always looked ridiculous. I think he knew that, too. Despite the lack of shedding, the ease of finding ticks, and few other minor benefits, I finally convinced her to stop getting him shaved. Plus they always put a stupid bow on his head. Beau was no sissy, he was tuff. Tuff I say.
I’ve had several dogs. They helped me keep safety present in the compound, so all they got was excellent training, and bath every week and a whole lot of food.
What they didn’t get was to come in the house (they had one of their own) and socialize with strangers.
/They were always on a mission and I still love them.
NewmaN,
Those pictures are a few years apart, I was looking for a really fluffy one to compare the haircut with. Tayden probably looks happier because he was not allowed outside the summer of the haircut picture, hence the red SoftPaws toenail covers (I recommend them for indoor cats in apartments where they try to insist on declawing).
This past week I took my dog into The Dogg House to be groomed. I have been going there to the same groomer for about a year. SInce my groomer was not there, I saw one of the other groomers. The result was horrible. My dog was not herself one I picked her up and the grooming job was horrible —- so choppy I think I could have done better. When you are paying $55 (plus tip) to have your dog groomed, you expect much better than what I received. I decided to take my dog to Petsmart that night since their grooming services are open until 7:00pm. They only charged my $5 to fix-up the job from The Dogg House. I will never return to The Dogg House again for grooming…. and I wanted to share this with each of you so that your dog will not have a similar experience.
Thanks, Susieq, for the rec for Petsmart. We’ve recently had some issues w/ him being too jumpy and hypersensitive to strangers. My trainer’s first thought was that the groomer may be too aggressive with him and we should ask to watch them while they groom our dog. I believe they let you do this at Petsmart, so I will give them a try!