Clip/shave undercoated dog

Question

Sandy   QUESTION: "I have a border collie/husky type dog. I have attached a pic, but that is summer, but thicker winter look. For 6 years now I have literally fought with her for weeks every summer to de-shed the undercoat. I have looked all on the net about info on clipping/shaving and the consensus is not to. I do not want
her to lose her coloring, or ruin her coat etc, but the problem is she is VERY VERY SENSITIVE and hates any type of grooming. She is a pound dog and whoever had her before must have been rough, etc, and she runs anytime she see the brush. I hate fighting with her. It takes me several hours each week for a
couple months to de-shed. We both dread it horribly. She and I are both in tears. My other two dogs love brushing and beg for it. The harder the better. Sandy cries the whole time. I hate putting her thru it. She has long feathers off her back legs that have been clipped and shaved off before due to mats. And
now all that grows in is long kinky coarse hair that is just wh
ite. I do not want her whole body to do that. I try to keep from matting, but it is a daily matter. She runs with me when I ride horses and she swims in the river and gets muddy chasing the beavers into their dens, etc. And it takes her
a while to dry. What would be best for her coat and for her sensitivity, and for me? Will clipping just once ruin her coat and color, etc? Thanks in any advise you can give for the best of all. We are both desperate!"

ANSWER: Hi Lindy,
Sandy is a beautiful girl -- I can see her blue eyes -- of course I'm partial to herding breeds.

From what you have shared: She has a great time running on your property, chasing beaver, getting muddy and romping with you when you ride; then the fun comes to a screeching halt when it's time to groom her. Not only does the fun end, you both hate every aspect of the grooming process.

Bare with me while I do a little simple addition . . . ahem:

1) If Lindy brushes Sandy (to remove her undercoat) several hours each week for two months per year and Lindy has owned Sandy for six years, how many arduously painstaking hours of frustration have the pair endured in six years?

Answer: (I'll assume you groom Miss Sandy just five hours a week for two months) The total is 20 hours. Double that for the two months you mention it takes to complete the job. Now times 40 hours by six years and we have a whopping 240 hours of fighting, crying and whimpering. That is, of course greater than 240 in dog hours!

Typically, double-coated breeds should not be clipped because it forever changes the texture of their coat. However, your situation is not typical. You have a dog hyper-sensitive to being groomed, yet she swims, gets muddy and has a thick undercoat.

The three options I recommend:

1)Take her to a professional groomer. They get the job done quickly and it will eliminate the stress when you fight with her. Groomers use high-powered dryers that will blow most of that undercoat out without having to use a brush. She may be sensitive to the noise but there are ways to get her used to the hand dryer. Some dogs can be crated while the groomer hand-drys the dog through the cage. Most groomers will use one motor of the dryer -- which is quieter -- until the dog gets used to it. Of course this has to be done in a well-ventilated crate, kennel or cage. I have used this type of dryer on Samoyeds, Akitas and other profusely-coated breeds. In fact, I learned how to completely remove the undercoat with a power dryer from a Samoyed show-breeder. The dryers cost around $400.

2) Take her to a groomer and have her clipped down to about 1&1/2" all over. You will save 240 hours in grooming time this year and hundreds more henceforth. If she is kept shorter all over, you will be less likely to see the straggly fur you see now. Will it change her fur texture? yes. Will you be the first double-coated-breed owner to throw your hands up in frustration and clip your dog? Not by a long shot. In an earlier answer to another question (last week) I addressed this same topic. I had a Pomeranian mix with a very thick coat that I kept shaved closely for most of his life. He had Cushing's Syndrome, which made him pant from easily overheating when his fur was long. I shaved him down short 2-3 times per year. In-between haircuts, I detected a slight change in texture but it disappeared when I clipped him -- as did most of his fur. It was by far the best option for him. You may start out with a haircut 1&1/2" long and decide next summer that 1" all over is a good length. Is preserving her fur color worth the aforementioned agony?

3) Take her to a groomer and tell the groomer to trim  -- with scissors -- all of the long feathers to match the length of the fur on her back. Scissors will not change fur texture.

Notice, all options include taking her to a groomer. If grooming her causes so much stress that you cry and dread it so much that it takes TWO months to complete the job, I think it's time to pass the torch, as it were. I will help people groom their dogs whenever I can, however, when I read your question, only one to two sentences describe the fun Sandy has with you. The rest describes a harrowing situation that you both dread and loathe!

Thank-you Lindy and good luck!
Becca





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for the indepth answer. I really hate to change her coat texture, and I don't want to change her coloring! I have never bathed her with any kind of soap/shampoo, etc. When she gets dirty I just let her dry and then brush her. All dirt and odor is gone. (including skunk odor!)She stays silky soft when dry and brushed. I would really hate to change that. She loves to rub her neck area with deer or cow poo, dead fish etc. I hate to stress her with grooming though. She has some type of seizure like episodes every so often and I do not know what causes them. I used to think heat, or stress (like when I can't take her with me places), abmoninal pain, etc but vet says don't know either. I want to make the best decision of both Sandy and I, So really my last question is to the best of your knowledge, how will the coat texture and color change with clipping say once every other year, etc? Thank you so much for your time and input.

Answer
Lindy,
Clipping a double-coated dog every other year versus each year, does not matter. Once you clip the coat, it will change the texture and the color will fade. It is difficult to know how much it will fade or change the texture. What one notices if you clip a double-coated dog, is that the fur will come back more thickly. That is why people who clip double-coated dogs -- even once -- often opt to keep them clipped because they do not want to deal with a thicker coat.

I would like to know what tools you use to groom her and maybe I can suggest something that will help speed the process.

If you decide not to make a change in how you groom her, I would suggest you exercise her vigorously before you brush her as it will help her relax.

If you can find a groomer to come to your home (a mobile groomer) to groom Sandy, I would suggest you do so. Mobile groomers use the same power dryer that I wrote about. Sandy may be less stressed than when you groom her because the person who grooms her will not be stressed out and frustrated. The groomer does not need to bathe her. She can simply use the dryer on her coat to blow out the undercoat. In fact, when I work on double-coated breeds, I blow out 95% of the undercoat BEFORE the bath. It is much more difficult to remove undercoat from a wet dog and the coat will be half as profuse for the bath if the undercoat is blown out first. Everything will be covered in dander and fur if you blow a dry coat with a power dryer but it is an amazingly efficient way to remove undercoat.

Lastly, dogs are highly intuitive -- much more than we give them credit for -- and Sandy is no different. When you stress, cry and get frustrated as you groom her, she picks up on your emotional state and oftentimes our dogs mirror us. What often starts out as a sensitivity to being brushed, can escalate into an emotional situation where dog and owner detest the entire process. Here is how that dynamic evolves:

The first time someone brushes a newly acquired dog, they may notice the dog is sensitive or dislikes it, so they stop. If the dog yelps, the owner will apologize and pet the dog. If the dog runs off, the owner may let the dog decide that they have had enough so they end the grooming session. The next time the owner gets the dog ready to be groomed, they may begin to apologize before they start to brush the dog. If the dog yelps or reacts negatively, the owner becomes sad and frustrated because the dog dislikes being brushed. Each consecutive grooming session is laden with ever-increasing negative emotion and each session is shortened to give dog and owner a "break". Most usually dog owners who describe the scenario as you did, inadvertently reward the dog for their behavior by being 'apologetic' in demeanor. I won't assume dogs understand the words "I'm sorry" but they certainly pick up on our emotional state. Since you split-up the grooming sessions over two months, I will assume you fit into this category. I imagine it is difficult to groom a hyper-sensitive dog that has a seizure disorder (and FYI, I have never seen a dog with a seizure disorder NOT have one under stress unless the cause was a brain tumor) and that's why I strongly suggest having someone else blow out her coat. It will remove you from the grooming process so 1) You will not be stressed-out 2) She will not pick up on your emotional state, thereby becoming more fearful. 3) A professional groomer can complete the job in one session and you can enjoy Sandy on the trail with your horse. I will caution you not to be present when she is being groomed because 99% of dogs fare better when their parents are not present; much like preschoolers who can't be pulled from their mother's side when dropped off in the morning but who soon forget about their distress when the mother leaves. Also, if you have a professional groom her, make sure you give her a dose of anti-seizure medication first (if she has a prescription).

Good-luck Lindy,
Becca