Some people think that shaving their dogs down will make their dog more comfortable in the summer. In most breeds, however, this is not the case.

A well-maintained coat will do more to protect your dog, acting as insulation from the sun’s rays and heat, protecting from bug bites, and more. Your dog will lie there, panting as much or more, without that coat. It will be more vulnerable to heat stroke. I am talking about breeds like Golden Retrievers, Collies, and Huskies. Going into the summer months, getting excess undercoat removed will do more to increase your dog’s comfort than a shavedown.

Consider this. A dog’s hair follicle contains numerous hairs, anywhere from 7 to 25 hairs at one time. (Compared to human hair, one hair per follicle!) Is it any wonder he sheds so much?

Each canine hair follicle contains 1 to 3 slow-growing “guard hairs” -- the beautiful, colorful outer coat. The balance of the hairs in the follicle are undercoat hairs, often in a perpetual cycle of shedding out. Some breeds especially “blow coat” twice a year. As the seasons change and daylight hours change, the follicles “clean house” and start a new growth cycle.

When we do a “ShedLess Treatment” we apply more water, shampoo, conditioner, scrubbing, brushing, and air volume to remove those extra undercoat hairs. This works best done on a 3-4 week schedule. Most of the excess hairs can be made to come out in the tub and drying room, giving your couch and carpet a break.

Stop and think a minute. If your groomer shaves this dog instead of flushing out the excess undercoat, will your dog still shed? YES!!! It will shed smaller pieces of hair, but it will still be shedding—and the small pieces of hair will be sharper and pricklier and harder to get of your clothes and carpet.

You should also know that some dogs never grow back their original coats. This can be due to genetics and diet, hot clipper blades or too close of a shave, thyroid conditions, and other unknown reasons.

Groomers and vets only started realizing this in the last several years, but it makes sense. You have 25 hairs growing out of that follicle. You shave it off at the skin. How are the hairs going to get cycled out, when they were depending on friction, brushing, and other external factors to get out? Some may manage to shed out but often the follicles become blocked. The slower-growing guard hairs get stuck in the jam between the profuse undercoat hairs trying to get out.

This is why you often see a thinning of the guard hairs and frizzy, fuzzy coats taking over on dogs that were once beautiful. And often, once a dog has been shaved, the undercoat will always be difficult to control even if the outer hair does grow back. It is almost as if it grows into a solid mat straight out of the hair follicles. Forcing you to spend more time grooming, pay for more dematting, or keep shaving it off. It can be a real heartbreak!

This is also why you often see sebaceous cysts, bumps and skin problems on Cockers and Schnauzers. These breeds are commonly shaved very close, although they were originally “hand-stripped and carded.” Even if your pet is clipped, carding can improve the skin and coat. It is a technique that draws out the loose hairs from the follicles, and should be done before bathing for best results.

Doggy odor is worse in some breeds than others. Many of the sporting breeds and hounds needed extra protection from the elements, and so their coats produce more of the water-repellent oils. The oils themselves are odorless when produced by the sebaceous and apocrine glands, but develop that smell when combined with bacteria at the skin’s surface.

Frequent baths can help reduce the odor temporarily, but can also strip the skin of those protective oils. This can cause a chain reaction of the skin producing extra oils, and more persistent odors! You can reduce this effect by using a conditioner after shampooing your dog, to help re-moisturize the skin.

Some breeds, like the spitz-family breeds, and sighthounds, have much less doggy odor.

Mats are bad news, aren’t they? You may not be aware of just how bad until you get to the groomer and face either extra charges for de-matting, or the prospect of taking home a naked dog! There are, however, other mat facts that pet owners need to know about.

Mats cause the pet’s coat to not be able to perform as it should. The pet’s coat acts as protection against the sun, cold and hot temperatures, bug bites, dirt, brambles, and more. If the coat mats up it loses its ability to insulate properly, and it holds in contaminants and other unpleasant things.

It pulls at the skin, causing discomfort to the animal. Left too long, matting can even tighten to the point where the skin is torn or becomes raw. It is a very unpleasant sight to shave off a mat and find shiny raw skin, or maggots squirming underneath! NOBODY should ever have to see that! Not to mention how uncomfortable it has to be for your pet!

Where do mats come from? Mats are formed primarily through friction, static electricity, saliva, and dirt. There are certain areas on your dog, like his ears, elbows, knees, and collar area, where the longer hairs rub together and start forming mats. As they rub together, static electricity starts to bond them. This tickles, and the dog will often scratch or chew at the area. The saliva bonds the hairs together more. The combination of saliva and static begins to attract and retain dirt also. More scratching and chewing, and the clumped hair sticks tighter. Before you know it, your pet is matted. Now what?

What can you do about mats? Don’t panic. It is a great thing, if you are asking this question. Your dog will be happier, your groomer will be happier, and you will be happier to see your dog looking better and more content all the time.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You should be able to prevent mats by brushing and combing your dog one or two times a week. Some breeds with long coats might require daily brushing. Shorter haircuts may just need weekly attention. The basic tools you need are merely a slicker brush and a greyhound (combination wide and narrow teeth) comb. A spray bottle that sprays a fine mist of detangler spray or water is a big help, too.

The slicker brush is the one with a lot of wire bristles that are bent. The bristles act as little fingers to untangle the mats or sticky areas in the coat. Start by misting the tangled area lightly. Stabilize the area with your left hand, pushing the hair up, with just a little area of hair below your left hand. Gently pat the center of the slicker brush onto the exposed hair. Let the bristles slide down into the hair, then lift it lightly back out. You may hear a staticky noise as the bristles run through the clumped hair. Repeat the pat and pull motion, lightly. Some people call this Pat and Pull, some call it Tap and Tug. You need to continue in this area until the staticky noise is gone and you are brushing down to the skin. Be careful not to scratch the skin—you are brushing the hair, not the skin. Test the pressure you are using on your own forearm, if it is uncomfortable to you it will be uncomfortable to your dog too. Light pressure and patience is what you need.

It may take longer than you expect to cover the whole pet, depending on how matted it is. You must be gentle and keep the experience positive for your pet. You may want to limit the work sessions to five or ten minutes at a time, with lavish rewards and praise, to build you pet’s trust and patience.

Remember to mist the areas as you go. The detangler spray can help the tangled hairs to slide apart more easily.

IF YOU BATHE YOUR DOG AT HOME, BE SURE TO REMOVE THE MATS BEFORE THE BATH! Otherwise, the knots will tighten up more as the pet dries and be much more difficult to remove.

After brushing, you should be able to comb through the coat easily. Try the wide-spaced teeth first, then flip the comb around and try the narrow-spaced teeth. Remember to check the armpits and behind the ears. If you find tangles, just reach for that slicker brush and the spray, and gently work the knots out. You can do it, it just takes patience and persistence.

Once the mats are out, check the dog weekly and take the time to brush it out.

Matted hair will often re-mat more quickly than healthy hair, due to the surface of the hair shaft being roughed up and damaged. (This is why many groomers prefer to just shave it all off and start over.) But you can usually maintain it, with some care and attention.

If you feel like this is more work than you really want, you have two options. You can request a lower-maintenance trim, the next time you visit the groomer. Or you can visit the groomer more often. As a groomer, I want the owner to be happy, and the pet to be happy. We can work together to find the point of balance you are most comfortable with.