When I worked at a pet salon in Ohio, we often had requests from parents who asked us to shave their double-coated dogs. In particular, I remember a sheltie whose owner wanted us to shave his sheltie. Although my supervisor strongly cautioned against it, the client insisted.

One year later, the client returned to the shop. His sheltie’s coat had grown back unevenly. It was thick and wiry in some areas, and thin and wispy in others. The dog looked awful, but the owner demanded that we shave it again. Every shave further damaged the coat, until finally it was as thin as peach fuzz. I also had a sheltie, and despite her advanced age of 15, her coat remained plush and beautiful. Seeing this poor dog’s ruined coat broke my heart.

Double-coated dogs, such as golden retrievers, shelties, Australian shepherds, Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, and German shepherds, have undercoat — short, fluffy hair that grows close to the skin and insulates against the cold and heat. So despite a parent’s best intention, shaving a double coat does nothing to protect from the heat, and is actually doing the dog a disservice.

According to Kristi Baum, NDGAA-certified master groomer, the best way to keep a double-coated dog cool during the summer is to remove dead undercoat with a coat-king — a rake-like tool that pulls out undercoat. Regular baths and blowouts at your local pet salon are also effective methods of undercoat removal—and they help to minimize shedding as well.

“Clipper blades clip all hair indiscriminately,” Baum says. “They cut the insulating undercoat as well as the coarse hair that protects the skin from underbrush and direct sunlight.”

Here at the Urban Hound, we’ve had a handful of shaving requests during recent weeks. Many parents vacation on the Cape and in New Hampshire and Maine, where ticks are rampant. Understandably, parents want their dogs to be cool, and more importantly, they want to easily see and remove ticks.

“A safer alternative to shaving a dog is to give them a short summer cut,” says Baum. “We trim the feathers on the front legs, the skirt along the belly, the pants on the rear legs, and the tail. When longer hair is trimmed and brushed out, it’s easier to remove the undercoat.”

Another popular method is giving double-coated dogs a “puppy cut” with a snap-on comb, Baum says. A snap-on comb is a special clipper attachment that leaves the coat from one-half to one inch long. To obtain this look on a double-coated dog, however, it must be free of mats and tangles.

This summer, Kaori and I have given puppy cuts to five golden retrievers — including my own — and we’ve been pleased with the results. The coat is shorter and evenly cut, making it easier to spot ticks. Anyone who is interested in trying out a puppy cut on their double-coated dog should mention it when they book their next spa appointment.

– Master Groomer, Vicky Waltz