To shave or not to shave

[crickle_22]

I have heard both good and bad things when it comes to shaving chows... some say that the coat never grows back the same, some say that it causes the skin to be irritated and the chows become depressed afterwards.

However... My Koda had to get shaved a few weeks ago because we were using the wrong type of brush for his fur and it matted... The vet didn't shave RIGHT to the skin, but the fur was VERY short... and Koda LOVES IT!
I haven't had any problems with it. He is more spunky, he doesn't seem as hot and irritated and LOVES being rubbed. I think because he can really feel your hands on him now!

I know that they lose their BEAUTIFUL ROYAL look when they are shaved... but they are still very cute.. and it's been my experience that Koda has become more of a loving and playful dog without all the hair.. OH!! And not to mention... my floors are now spotless!!! NO more piles of fur all over! I wasn't planning on shaving him... but I think I might just keep it up now!

[Merlin]

have heard both good and bad things when it comes to shaving chows... some say that the coat never grows back the same, some say that it causes the skin to be irritated and the chows become depressed afterwards.

I have a 14 year old chow that Ive been shaving for probably the past 10 years. The only reason I shave him is because all Summer long he sits in the water ( I live along the St. Lawrence), and his coat, more or less never dries out, and eventually he developed a fungus, which became next to impossible to get rid of.

What did happen after shaving, was that he was very vulnerable to UV light and sunburn. Their skin is not used to or conditioned to handle direct sunlight, and removing the coat makes them quite vulnerable to this. The coat was meant to insulate not only against cold, but heat as well.

If it weren't for the water I wouldn't shave mine at all because of the skin cancer possibility - and he does wear a t-shirt all Summer long. If you do end up shaving your chow, please consider keeping him in a t-shirt to protect his skin ( which kind of defeats the purpose anyways if you ask me).

What is truly purposeful is to have the undercoat removed. If you remove that, your chow will have a much more enjoyable Summer.

Truth be known, after 10 years of shaving my chow, I've never known his coat to come back any differently though.

[BeckiHutton]

Sorry to sound so stupid, but how do you remove the undercoat? Is it just through general grooming or do you need an undercoat rake or any other tools?

[Merlin]

I have to tell you, that even with the right tools, removing an undercoat is a lot of work and be prepared for a sore arm, wrist, back!
I try to do it in stages over several days during shedding season.

Chows are double coated, having the harsh outer coat and then the very wooly and shorter, undercoat. It's the wooly undercoat that you want to remove.

( I'm not endorsing the website, just trying to show you the tools).
You'd need a Butter Tooth type comb because the teeth are very long and can go deep into the coat to grab the wool, and pull it out.
http://www.showdogstore.com/chris-chris ... rse-2.aspx
or similar


and
a good long toothed Rake, such as:
http://www.showdogstore.com/paw-brother ... sizes.aspx

because this also has teeth long enough to penetrate the coat and grab the wool and pull it out.

Most groomers also blow out a lot of the undercoat right after shampooing the dogs first, then comb out the remaining undercoat with the above tools, - the tufts of wool come out much easier that way. Trust me. It's a lot of work - but certainly well worth the effort! but once it's done, the lovely long harsh hairs are left to at least protect the skin, the coat looks lovely and all the insulating wool is gone until next Winter.

[BeckiHutton]

Cheers merkin I'll have to give that a try.