Is It OK to Lion Cut a Chow?

[MorganOfTheFey]

I've seen a few conflicting posts on here where some people will reference their chows having a "lion cut" to trim down the fur versus other people implying that's the same as shaving a chow and should never be done. I understand some groomers have shaved chows when asked for a lion cut as well.

Is there a difference? Can chows' fur be trimmed down without getting to the undercoat? Just from a common sense standpoint, it seems like "trim" and "shave" are two completely different cuts, but I could be wrong.