Shave my white gsd? - Page 1

I have a 10 month old female white gsd. Now that we are entering the summer months, she gets hott very quickly on our walks or playing at the dog park. Her coat is very thick and slightly wavy. After 30 mins outside with plenty of water, she will still be panting and drooling and it will take 30 mins atleast for her to cool off and stop panting once back inside. Will shaving her thick coat help, and will it grow back the same?

No and No...

Yep, NO and NO... Nan

What can I do to help prevent her overheating?

Walk during the coolest parts of the day, conditioning, swimming and cooling vests.

The coat keeps the dog warm in the winter and helps cool in the summer. Never shave a GSD.

Melissa

If your dog will play in water, buy one of those hard plastic kiddie pools , the biggest you can and fill it partly with water for a cheap, easy back-yard pool and cooling-off spot

.

If her winter undercoat hasn't fully loosened up yet so you can brush it out completely, give her a warm bath, and she should start shedding it out like an avalanche.

As for shaving her, in case everyone else wasn't clear enough:   NO!  But at least YOU had the good sense to ASK if it was a good idea or not before you had it done... Shaving her down will just expose her skin to the sun, and increase her risk of developing skin cancer. Lucky for her she's got an owner who checks that stuff out first, though! Props to you for that!

If she is matted to the skin with her undercoat, I would not shave her as it will probably come in even thicker, coarser and more miserable for her.  I also have used a small kiddy pool for my guys. 

I am glad to see someone asks before doing something like this...My hope is that you follow thru with some of the advice your given...

I will just go back over some of the advice you've been lucky enough to have gotten here...

*Groom your dog...Use a Comb...Rake...Brush...whatever works for you but remove the undercoat so that it doesn't add to your dog's heat factor...

*Get your dog in shape...When exercising do shortened periods of exercise or play...

*If your dog gets Over-Heated...Cool them off by putting them under a water hose...(Cool Water ONLY)...You can hose them down over their head and chest areas...

*If you want to exercise you and your dog...Do so early in the morning or after the sun goes down...

*And one of the most important things is to keep an eye on your dog and know their signs of being Over-Heated...Being Exhausted...

 

~Bob~

Here is a very important tip for Summer time that mostly horse people know NEVER give a hot dog COLD water NEVER let a hot dog DRINK all they want They will most likely BLOAT