Grooming Question

[Tommy Coyote]

One of my customers has an Aussie. Last summer they had him shaved down. And most of his hair never grew back. His back now just has some hairs growing but there is lots of skin showing through.

 

What would do that?

 

One of my resucues came to me shaved down but his fur all grew back just fine.

[Sue R]

I read a linked article on FB that mentioned that for some dogs, the guard hairs might not grow back at least not in the short term. That said, I've heard of folks who clipped with no apparent aftereffects, and those whose dogs' coats were never the same again. I'm curious to know why people have such differing, long-term results.

[Tommy Coyote]

The owner said something about glogged hair follicles. She said she should have been brushing him more.

 

I never brushed Bandit when his hair was growing back. I never did anything and he was just fine.

 

Maybe some of the groomers here on the board know about this stuff?

[waffles]

I worked at a grooming shop for years and many people had collies, Aussies, Goldens completely shaved. Many dogs had their coats grow back fine but many don't. The under coat and top coats for many dogs dont grow at the same rate and some never fully come back. I mostly saw the worst effects in Goldens. Their fur would look cottony and uneven without laying flat nicely. A lot had very light soft fur at the ends and the base was dark. Very strange looking.

We always tried to get people to re think shaving since most did it because they thought it would end the shedding.

I don't know why the coat would not come back at all though. It can take a year or more to really grow in the way it was before shaving. Many people would just keep getting the dog shaved because they hated the look of the uneven tuffs growing in. We could usually tell which dogs had been shaved in the past even with fully grown in coats. Many just never get that nice soft feel /look back.

Was his entire body shaved? Legs? Did any hair grow back or does he still look like a lab? I would wonder if something health-wise was going on.

[Flamincomet]

http://www.examiner.com/article/why-you-shouldn-t-shave-your-double-coated-dog

 

When I worked at a chop shop I saw countless double coated dogs get shaved down. Sometimes the coat grew back fine, but usually it grows back soft and cottony, at least for a while, and sometimes the guard hairs never grow back or there are bald patches. What happens is if the guard hairs are shaved off, the undercoat grows back first and much faster, so it can choke out guard hair growth. the best thing to do to help a shaved coat grow back is to brush, a lot. Get the undercoat out so the guard hairs can grow back again, and DON'T shave again! I refuse to shave double coated breeds now, unless the coat is pelted and there is no hope. Even then I do a wet shave and try to keep as much length as possible.

[Sue R]

Thank you - that was the article I had seen.

[KrisK]

Thanks for posting the article (I'll read it tonight at home!)

 

The previous owners shaved Spark..and his coat is coming back VERY slowly. I'll be sure to brush him a lot - I want his guard hairs to grow back. In all the heat, he's been the hottest dog I have..the others in full coat are just fine.

[waffles]

I refuse to shave double coated breeds now, unless the coat is pelted and there is no hope.

How do you have any business then? I kid... but seriously, so many customers insisted on having their double coated dogs shaved. I would guess half the double coated dogs that came left shaved when there was no reason to other than owners request. I used to cringe when the border collies would come in and people wanted them shaved. Even after trying to educate the owners, they still insisted fluffy will be better protected from the heat being bald or that he will shed less when shaved (instead of just shedding shorter hair!)

[denice]

I would suggest this dog be check out for possible medical issues. It is possible that it could be anything from thyroid to cushing to poor diet. I have been grooming dogs for a long time and shave dogs for folks who simply don't want to deal with the hair. The only problems I see are usually associated with health issues

[Flamincomet]

Lol. I don't have any business currently, but that's due to my own health problems. Usually the owners who want their dogs shaved have let their coats get to a certain point, so I would shave it once, explain to them what I would like to do next time, and if it came back in again like that I would send them to another groomer. I had the privilege of being able to pick and choose my clients though, since I was the business owner and sole groomer. I'm not gonna lie it was the best, if I can get back into grooming again I wouldn't ever work for someone again. I had the best clients too.

[Tommy Coyote]

This poor dog looks like he suffers from allergies - just really soft thin hair on his back. He looks awful. And the rest of his coat is really dull.

 

I don't know what they feed him but it's one of those foods from the grocery store.

 

The hair up around his head that wasn't shaved looks perfectly fine - shiny and long.

 

So the moral of the this story is that if you have a couble coated dog don't have it shaved. Or you may end up with a dog with no coat.

[Jaymax23]

Groomer here!

I inform pet owners so often that double coated dogs should only be shaved if absolutely necessary. Even hair trims can cause a disruption to hair growth depending on how deep they do it. Im still working on growing out my borders face and neck mane, she matted and had to get her pants spot shaved and I hate the appearance now. I just want her long and flowy again.

Double coated dogs have that hair for a reason. Proper maintenance is feather trims, brushing, and bathing. Thats it. Shaving is for if their hair is so matted or the tangles are jn a spot you can't safely brush. Yes. I have had to spot shave a mat that could have been brushed off a ballsac. Not putting my brush there lol!

The anatomy of a dogs hair is basically that every hair follicle has different stages of hair growth, and each guard hair, the main hair, has 7-25 secondary hairs growing off it, that's why dog fur is thicker than yours! If you cut the guard hairs prematurely and too short, it could possibly never recover. The hair follicle has been clogged and damaged and can't recover nicely at all.

To dispell myths for why you shave:

-shedding: dogs shed! Regular brushing and bathing and using good products for these tasks can help a lot! I regularly bathe my bc in furminator shampoo and conditioner. And we brush every other day or whenever she gets something stuck in her. Shedding is greatly reduced.

-its hot!!: yes...it is! But your dogs double coat can actually help them temperature regulate better in heat if its left alone! Because it stops and repels the sun fron getting too close to the skin. The density prevents the heat from going too deep. Imagine wearing linen in the desert, you do it to prevent rashes and sun burn, so does their coat! Clearing the excess hair from paw pads can do the best work for this if anything.

-appearance: to be blunt...don't get a long haired dog if you don't like how it looks. Thats all. Or have your groomer take the feather trim really tight. Thats all you can really do.