# shave/clip??



## beteaa (Mar 26, 2012)

3 months ago we adopted a senior GS (great dog, settled in with us very nicely).

He seems to be a "hot" dog, pants quite a bit. We live in Phoenix, AZ and it is HOT in the summer. He loves to walk and I hate to keep him in all the time. Has anyone clipped or shaved their German Shepherd? We're already looking at 90 at the end of the week. When it's 100-115 -- poor dog..............


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

NOOO..... the coat works as an insulator from heat as well as cold. 
Make sure you are feeding him a good diet, brush him regularly and exercise in the early am and later in the evening.
Keep his weight down too, seniors tend to get chunky, so that extra weight would be detrimental in the heat. 

You do have air, right? He's not an outside dog, I hope. Was he adopted from another area of the country?
Thank you for adopting a senior and welcome to the board!


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## gsdheeler (Apr 12, 2010)

Shaving is not a good idea... Keeping the coat free of dead coat and undercoat is a good idea. When it's hot I only walk the dogs early in the AM or late in the PM and I keep the walks short, I also cut back on extra calories for my older guys, they get carrots or apples as treats. Also in the hot weather I buy raw marrow bones and stick them in the freezer.and give them frozen.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Bring him to a groomer and ask them to "blow him out".
Don't clip his coat.


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## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

DON'T SHAVE! As others have stated, he will find it even harder to control his body temp and will be miserable. 
I live in Georgia, temps in the upper 90's most of the summer with a handful of days above 100. The difference here is the humidity, we have a few friends who listened to someone and shaved their GSDs, they were miserable all summer and to top it off the coat never came back in as it was.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

early am walks and after the sun goes down walks. during
the day short walks or let him use the back yard. keep
him in the house with the ac on high. keep water available.
no shaving.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Can I add another NO?! Stosh is long coated and we live in TX so we're not unfamiliar with heat. We do what others have suggested- exercise in the cooler hours, a soak in the kiddie pool then inside on the tile floor with the a/c on. I got permission for our local mall's security to walk Stosh with all the other mall walkers before the stores opened which was a great socialization exercise as well as physical. I bought some cooling towels by Frogg Toggs and once you wet them they hold a temp 30 degrees cooler than air temp. Probably the best thing I do is let Stosh regulate when he wants to be outside and inside and he surprises me at how much he still wants to be outdoors even though I think he should be in.


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## VonKromeHaus (Jun 17, 2009)

I am a groomer and I can tell you that dogs that are shaved that are not supposed to be, Sibes,GSDs,Akitas,Labs etc. have a much harder time with the heat than if they were just properly cared for and blown/brushed out! 

I have a GSD and a Huskyx, I blow them both out and keep them brushed, they have no problems with our 100 degree weather in the summer. The key thing is keeping them clean and brushed out!


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

doggiedad said:


> early am walks and after the sun goes down walks. during
> the day short walks or let him use the back yard. keep
> him in the house with the ac on high. keep water available.
> no shaving.


Oh I forgot, too, don't walk them on hot sidewalks or asphalt. Both can burn their feet. Dogs cool themselves through their feet so if you can allow them to walk on grass when it's hot out, that's better than cement or asphalt.


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## CeCe (Jun 1, 2011)

Shaving isn't a good idea. The military dogs serving in Iraq aren't shaved and I can't imagine how hot it gets over there. Exercise him in the mornings and evenings and consider using a cool vest and a small kids pool for your yard when he is outside.


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## beteaa (Mar 26, 2012)

*thanks for the no-shave opinions~will take your advice*

Our home is air condioned, and he is an inside dog. We have a yard and a doggie door (except he really likes company when he goes out).

His story is intreresting, I was at an estate sale and someone had a pedigreed and trained german shepherd that needed a home. The dog had belonged to this man's father who had died, and he was going to Australia in a few months. A long story short -- we took him and he's part of the family now. We're in our 70s and his owner was a senior too so he fits right in, though he prefers men.

You all mentioned grooming = this dog LIKES to be vacuumed, so he gets a daily vac plus occasional brushing.

A neighbor had a Great Pyranese and kept a fan running specifically for dog. That's probably what we'll do.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

VonKromeHaus said:


> I am a groomer and I can tell you that dogs that are shaved that are not supposed to be, Sibes,GSDs,Akitas,Labs etc. have a much harder time with the heat than if they were just properly cared for and blown/brushed out!
> 
> I have a GSD and a Huskyx, I blow them both out and keep them brushed, they have no problems with our 100 degree weather in the summer. The key thing is keeping them clean and brushed out!


I'm a groomer also, and I concur with this! Shorthaired, double-coated breeds don't need to be shaved, they just need to be brushed frequently to remove dead undercoat. Summer temps here often exceed 100 degrees, and my GSDs do just fine with their coats left on.

One thing I have done with longhaired double-coated dogs (Goldens, longcoat GSDs, etc) is to clip the dog's underside from the armpits to the groin. That way, the dog still has coat to protect him from the sun, but can lie on a cool floor and soak up the coolness more effectively. Shorthaired dogs already have short hair on their bellies, so you wouldn't need to clip.


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