Shave down before wintertime??
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| I think a puppy cut would be a nice compromise. Another tip from a "hot dog" mom - shave the belly/armpits and groin down short. The major blood vessels are there and it's an efficient way to help cool them down. And unless they roll over, it's hardly noticeable. He shouldn't need boots - between and OES and newfie, he should have great cold weather feet! Chewie leaves SWEAT paw prints on frozen pavement in the winter! |
| Believe it or not, his belly and groin are already shaved lol. But I will definitely do the armpits as well! And I'm less worried about his feet being cold, and moreso about the snow dingleberries that will form on his hairy feet. He already gets mud dingleberries, and it's not even muddy outside! |
Newfie Mum wrote: Believe it or not, his belly and groin are already shaved lol. But I will definitely do the armpits as well! And I'm less worried about his feet being cold, and moreso about the snow dingleberries that will form on his hairy feet. He already gets mud dingleberries, and it's not even muddy outside! The armpits will help  Not saying he is going to be chilly, but less hot is a good goal!  Trimming up the pads (hair underneath, between all the web spaces) and also shaping them will help - especially with the mud. Let me dig and find a picture..... |
| This is a photo essay I did a couple years ago - there are a couple pictures that show foot trimming and shaping pretty well. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=28712 |
That's exactly what I need to do! Unfortunately, I highly doubt that he will hold still as well as Chewie.  Ah, well. |
Newfie Mum wrote: That's exactly what I need to do! Unfortunately, I highly doubt that he will hold still as well as Chewie. Ah, well.Practice, practice.  They are hairy dogs, and that means lots and lots of opportunity for training good behavior while grooming! |
| Just out of curiosity, how long is Chewie's coat in those pictures? I'm thinking that's where I should trim Nanook down, too. |
Newfie Mum wrote: Just out of curiosity, how long is Chewie's coat in those pictures? I'm thinking that's where I should trim Nanook down, too. The first few full body shots are "befores" - he looks about 2-4" inches (it's not all one length - I scissors cut him and shape it) The very last one is after he is done, including underside shaved all the way to nothing. I'd say he's 1 inch at the shortest parts and 2-3 inches at the longest parts. And when I trimmed him this fall, he ended up a bit shorter - about 1-2" all over. It's more practical, but shorter than I really like it. That was a month ago - I like it better the length it is now! This picture was right after the haircut:  |
| I just shaved Olivia down with a 3-3/4" blade last Sunday. That measn she has about 3/4" of hair all over. She'll grow about 1" more hair before the cold & snow start in our area (northeast Ohio) but even then she enjoys being out in the snow & cold. Doesn't seem to bother her at all. My dogs actually prefer the colder weather. |
ChSheepdogs wrote: My dogs actually prefer the colder weather. Mine too. I live in Colorado and I never worry about when I shave them. They love the snow and they don't ever seem cold. The only thing that slows them down is that their fur collects giant golfballs of snow. Someone told me I should spray their paws with Pam non-stick cooking spray but I haven't tried it.  |
Valerie wrote: It's like a sci-fi movie where the snow is some sort of disease/monster that slowly takes over the body  |
| Love that picture, Valerie! How long is the coat there? I was looking through my guards for the clippers, and the longest I have is half an inch. I'm sooooo scared that I'll clip him down that short and hate it... |
| Good question! Thanks Dawn for your photo essay. Howie is a 'hot' dog too. I would like to take his coat to a puppy cut. At 18 months he still has a puppy coat that is driving me nuts with mats. My question is, can I leave his topknot and go to a puppycut on the rest of him? I really don't want to struggle with the growing of the bangs again. Howie loves getting his ponytails in. Will he look silly short coat and a topknot? peg and howie |
pegspup wrote: Good question! Thanks Dawn for your photo essay. Howie is a 'hot' dog too. I would like to take his coat to a puppy cut. At 18 months he still has a puppy coat that is driving me nuts with mats. My question is, can I leave his topknot and go to a puppycut on the rest of him? I really don't want to struggle with the growing of the bangs again. Howie loves getting his ponytails in. Will he look silly short coat and a topknot? peg and howie I've done both (cut the headcoat the same as the body, and left it long). I found I really missed the hair! This is what I did with the last cut:  I trimmed the headcoat some, but left it long enough to still enjoy doing stuff. This is after the 1st rough cut - I did go back and even him out after, but never got another picture  And about 6-8 weeks later:  Howie will love it if you trim some off  Chewie is so happy and active now (he gets really too calm and stodgy when he's a hot boy), he even has more bounce in his step! And I feel for you with the coat issue - Chewie was a slow transitioner too. Trimming it back will make BOTH of you happy  |
| I don't think so, Peg. I'm leaving Nanook's head long, because I like his top knots. |
pegspup wrote: My question is, can I leave his topknot and go to a puppycut on the rest of him? I really don't want to struggle with the growing of the bangs again. Howie loves getting his ponytails in. Will he look silly short coat and a topknot? peg and howie A little, but who cares? I do this too. Trick is to take enough off the headcoat that it isn't THAT much longer than the body length, but long enough so that it can still be put up in a top knot. Kristine |
Newfie Mum wrote: Love that picture, Valerie! How long is the coat there? I was looking through my guards for the clippers, and the longest I have is half an inch. I'm sooooo scared that I'll clip him down that short and hate it... Ah, here's the good news: coat grows very quickly. If you don't like it, in a month, it'll probably be perfect. Here's the bad news, if you do like it, in a month it might be too long Don't be afraid to experiement. It will grow out more quickly than you think. Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: Ah, here's the good news: coat grows very quickly. If you don't like it, in a month, it'll probably be perfect. Here's the bad news, if you do like it, in a month it might be too long Don't be afraid to experiement. It will grow out more quickly than you think. Kristine I completely agree. At one point, I had shaved Henry and it looked like a home-done haircut.  Then a few weeks later, I shaved Maggie and it looked very nice. At that point, I looked at Henry and he was so cute and fuzzy that I was torn because I wanted to shave him so that he could swim without getting matted but his "groomer haircut" looked so darn cute I didn't want to ruin it. Then I remembered that I had shaved it myself and it wasn't even such a good job at first. It really does grow quickly and hide whatever unevenness you create. I sometimes trim around his face to even things out once it has grown. I am trying to figure out if there is a cute way to cut around the eyes for visibility but still keep it long on top. Anyone have pictures of this? |
| Thank you! I love the photos of Chewie with the 2 ponytails. I like the look..nice and clean and cute. I am very lucky to have a master dog groomer close to me...she use to be a groomer just for OES show dogs. She is great with Howie and has many sheepies for clients. She said next time that it would best to take Howie down to a puppy cut to get through this crazy stage. I bet when I tell her I want the top knot left in and puppy cut the rest, she will roll her eyes. We have an appointment in a week. I'll post a picture when Howie is done. got sheep wrote: Chewie is so happy and active now Great...Howie is a year and a half and just now starting to calm down...shorter coat and I get my wild pup back! Thanks again for the advice, peg and howie |
pegspup wrote: Thank you! I love the photos of Chewie with the 2 ponytails. I like the look..nice and clean and cute. I am very lucky to have a master dog groomer close to me...she use to be a groomer just for OES show dogs. She is great with Howie and has many sheepies for clients. She said next time that it would best to take Howie down to a puppy cut to get through this crazy stage. I bet when I tell her I want the top knot left in and puppy cut the rest, she will roll her eyes. We have an appointment in a week. I'll post a picture when Howie is done. got sheep wrote: Chewie is so happy and active now Great...Howie is a year and a half and just now starting to calm down...shorter coat and I get my wild pup back! Thanks again for the advice, peg and howie I did have that thought...sorry! I did remember the wild Howie puppy posts.... Chewie is 5 and a basically calm well behaved dog....so a bit of spunk and bounce isn't a bad thing for us! |
| So, I did it. I shaved his body, but I left his head and tail long. He looks RIDICULOUS. I must say, I'm not very good at it, but I hope to get better as time goes on. Also, I have to give A LOT of credit to Nanook. He was so incredibly well-behaved for the entire process. And, of course, here are some pics. His tiny, dinky, little body:  And again:  Hey, mom, what's that? What ya doing? What's in your hands?  Finally! A semi-decent picture:  So it's far from professional, and I'm a bit embarrassed showing these after seeing what you all can do, but he's much more comfortable, and that's all that matters to me. |
Congratulations! I think he looks adorable!  Glad he was a good boy for you too. I hope he got lots of treats. |
Valerie wrote: Congratulations! I think he looks adorable! Glad he was a good boy for you too. I hope he got lots of treats. I agree. And with him being a puppy, it's more important to make the trim be a good experience than it is to get the perfect haircut. There are a lot of haircuts in his future, so best to make it be a regular part of life, not a struggle or unpleasant. The feet can be trimmed up by hand (scissors) and neatened/rounded. Try one foot at a time, and best when he's tired out and quiet. I bet he's SO much cooler! |
got sheep wrote: I bet he's SO much cooler! Absolutely! He fell asleep on the carpet tonight, which he's never done before. I haven't seen him pant once tonight, either. So I'm totally okay with the haircut not being perfect. |
| Great job for your first time! Nanook looks sweet with the fluffy head. Good dog to be patient with you. I have never tried to clip/trim Howie...I'll leave it to the groomer for now  Now watch how fast Nanook's coat grows in...you'll be a trimming pro in no time! peg & howie |
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