summer heat and shaving a chow?

[Pirate & Pandora]

Now that the summer heat is in full swing I limit my chowlings time outside to bathroom breaks and walk her only in the early morning and late evening. I know that chows don't do well in heat and today it broke triple digits. I was wondering if its a good or bad idea to shave my chowling to help her deal with the heat.

Through my research I have read that the chow coats insulate from cold and heat, and shaving them may actually worsen her ability to deal with the heat and even cause skin irritation and problems. But I have also read that it helps them stay cool and if you leave enough hair to protect from the sun its beneficial. Does anyone know which is true? Do their coats insulate them from the hot weather or is it making my chow hotter?

[Victory]

You should never shave a chow, (or any dog with a douple coat really), first the skin is very delicate and normally devoid of pigmentation, which means that if they lose the undercoat and then have only an inch or two of outer coat left they could burn very easily, and they could end up with skin cancer from it. I had one chow with very thick, heavy, long fur, one summer it was high 90s and triple digets out, so I actually trimmed him a bit. By a bit I mean I cut his ruff, tail and britches down to where they matched the length of the rest of his body, still about 6 inches long, but 6 inches all over, instead of the 10 inches the fur of his mane, tail and britches normally were, (he could have still participated in any show with no problems)

But he is the only one I've ever done that to and it was only that one time. All the others I brush, brush, comb and comb to get all the shedded undercoat out and keep them free of dirt and oil, (oily skin can happen when they aren't groomed well), which allows the cool air from fans and A/C to reach the skin where it is trapped by the long outer coat.

Walking them when the temperture is down, in the early mornings and late evenings and letting them have access to cool floors, plenty of water and just recognizing the signs that they may be over heating, is usually enough to keep them comfortable in the summer. Remember dogs don't sweat so exposing their skin doesn't help but can cause all kinds of other health issues.

[Chowmomma]

Yea what she said lol

[Cam Atis]

Dogs don't have sweat glands. Sweat cools us off when we are under the hot sun. Dogs have furs to protect them from the elements (wind, rain, snow, sun). Cold water is a welcome treat during the hot season

[Midare]

If your pups are good about chewing hard snacks, or if you have an ice grinder for snow cones, you could give them some ice to munch on. I give my boy ice cubes in his water dish on really hot days, he fishes them out and crunches them. He also plays with them like a cat, though, so mind the wet floor. Other hot weather snacks, in moderation, are cucumber and watermelon since they're mostly water. I've seen zoos freeze stuff in blocks of ice for the polar bears to lick/chew loose in the summer so "pup-sicles" might be an idea for yours... mine will turn up his nose to food that has been frozen sometimes, though, since it messes up the texture of things he normally likes. (Banana, apple, etc)

When kenneled I put an ossilating fan by the door to his crate, so he gets a little bit of breeze. If he doesn't want wind he'll just point his butt toward the door.