To Shave or Not to Shave your Dog...Good-bye Fluffiness!

Hello there!

So this weekend I did something a little spontaneous that I promised myself I would never do again: I SHAVED KYZER.

Maybe spontaneous isn’t the right word. I’m not sure if you automatically thought of me sitting in my room, bored out of my mind, thinking that the only entertaining thing I could do would be shave my dog. It was more so spontaneous because I’ve been having this inner conflict with myself if I should do it or not. 

I’ll give you some background: So last year around this time, my boyfriend’s mom advised us that we should shave Kyzer because not only would he not overheat in the summer, but it also would help with his shedding. As I’m sure you have noticed in the pictures and videos, Kyzer has really long, thick hair. Well, the poor guy was always panting and needing water, even if he was inside by a fan, so we thought it would be in his best interest. After our fluffy puppy turned into a gangly looking, young calf (he is white and gray with black spots as well as he was only 6 months so he had these long legs with a small torso…he LEGIT looked like a baby cow), AND made the mistake of searching Google AFTER it was already done to see if his hair would ever grow back or if we made a huge mistake, I was freaking out. I vowed I would never do this again.

Well, sure enough, a year passes and I start having the same thoughts again. Kyzer’s long hair is EVERYWHERE, he’s panting a lot…and because his hair did in fact grow back to how it once was, I thought that maybe I should reconsider. I wanted to shave him, but I didn’t want him to lose his fluffiness. But the overall love for my dog overcame how much I liked him fluffy. 

So my advice to you is this: Definitely Google BEFORE you do anything rash (like shave your dog) to make sure that you aren't making a huge mistake. We were lucky that Kyzer's hair did grow back, but some people on Google said their dog's never did.

Next, if you want to Groom your dog in any way, evaluate what’s better for you: spending money on a Groomer or doing it yourself. I personally do everything for Kyzer. I trim and file his nails, I bathe him, and I shave him. I do this because I would much rather spend $20 on a razor that can be used many times versus spending more than that on one trip. But, if you aren’t comfortable doing those types of tasks, please by all means go to a professional! 

But something to also consider about having a dog is ALL dogs need to be groomed one way or another. Non-hypoallergenic dogs shed like crazy, and the only way to tone that down is to brush them. All dogs eventually smell, (or in Kyzer’s case pee on themselves or get poop stuck in his hair) and will need a bath. Hypoallergenic dogs may not shed, but their hair does need to be cut or you will have a Rapunzel-looking dog. 

Grooming can be seen as an extra expense, but depending on the dog, it may be only an occasional occurrence (although some dogs require much higher maintenance). So before choosing a dog, looking at the level of maintenance  for grooming may seem unimportant and silly, but trust me, it is something you want to make sure you are prepared for.

~Kathryn and Kyzer