Question

[papbouv]

I was wondering if you should shave a Long Haired Dachshund in the summer??? most of our back yard has allot of sticker weeds in it husband does not believe in landscaping.we have different kinds of grass,wild strawberries,clover and who knows what else back there.Tonight I picked allot of stickers out of Patches coat some I had to cut out this dog was completely brushed out the night before since she sleeps with me.Looks like I will be brushing & combing her out each night before bed.The summer's here in Tulsa can get up to 110* plus we have high humidity that would be another reason to shave Patches if it would not change her coat texture she has a nice silky coat soft. Thanks for any replies about this subject.
Papbouv
Patches & Buddy

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

Laurie shaves her little Heino every summer. He is really cute! I don't know if it would change the texture of their hair or not? I briefly considered shaving Hallie down to better match her shaved patch and have everything grow back together but I couldn't bring myself to do it. She too will bring stuff home in it if we go somewhere messy or are out weeding like today (I told her she has so many weed seeds in her coat she was going to grow weeds out her ears) but her back yard (and where we usually walk) is pretty clean just a lot of flat lawn and a small garden. So she doesn't bring stuff home that much. How long is Patches hair right now? She might appreciate the shorter doo on the hot days. I shaved my himalayan cats once a year and it didn't change their hair texture when it grew back although it did change the color.

[Marcia from MI]

I live in MI and though we don't get summer heat like out West it does get really hot and humid here in July and August so I do get Eddie shaved.  It does help and he doesn't bring the slugs in anymore.  This winter has been really weird here - dirty and full of debris for some reason, so Eddie's coat is full of mats and knots which drive me crazy.  He doesn't like to be brushed out because its a girl thing according to him. 

His old groomer was great about letting me bring him in and getting rid of the mats and stickers for free, especially when it involved his ears getting pinned to the top of his head because of the burrs, but alas Miss Sherry moved and the new groomers just aren't personable enough.  We have found a new groomer who says she will shave him for me and take good care of him.  So once it warms up - if it ever does Eddie will be transformed into a baby Rottweiler.  I'll see if I can find a picture of him with his military cut.

[Doxherding Karen]

Here's my two cents worth - (spoken by someone with all smooth puppers!)

Since hoomans have "designed" dogs to be long-haired and then chosen to live in climates that get too hot for them, it is our responsibility to keep our puppers comfy.  If your pupper feels the heat or if your pupper hates being brushed, I say shave away!

My bigger worry is English bulldogs who have been bred with pushed-in snouts to the point where they are EXTEMELY prone to heatstroke (dogs perspire by panting).  AND they need C-Sections to deliver pups. 

I have a friend who had a Samoyed who was incensed at the thought of shaving her dog.  My response is that if a Samoyed were a naturally evolved breed, it wouldn't be living in the heat and humidity of Maryland.

My mom, G-d rest her soul, shaved one of her cats, but went for the "Lion King" look.  She's lucky that cat didn't gouge out Mom's eyes!

[Kari]

Growing up we had a Australian Shepherd/Cocker Spaniel mix and my dad would always shave him in the spring and summer. It gets to be well over 100 during the summers and it really helped to keep him cool. Just my  

[papbouv]

Thanks for all of the replies will talk to a groomer I always shaved my Bouvier's in summer but it did change the coat texture of the dog made the coat softer but Bouvier's are suppose to have a harsh coat. That is why I asked about the Long Haired Dachshund suppose to be soft coated just wanted to keep it soft. Thanks again for all of the respones.
Papbouv
Patches & Buddy

[Kathleen]

I shave my longhaired cats down in the summer, but I've been told by several show breeders that shaving a LH dachshund will ruin their coat.  I'm taking my two longhairs in on Sunday (along with the two cats), but the dogs will be stripped to reduce the coat without ruining it entirely. 

Magnolia Dachshunds has a guide with photos on how to groom a longhaired dachshund if you care to try it yourself :-)  I'm actually buying a Hauptner stripper (it's backordered, alas) and I'll groom my two with that going forward.  It takes out all the undercoat without giving them the fuzzies, like shaving can.

http://www.magnoliadachshunds.com/Grooming.html

This is the stripper I have on order.

http://www.cherrybrook.com/index.cfm/a/catalog.prodshow/vid/404082/catid/208/vname/Hauptner_Real_Knives

[TerriL]

We clip Buelah during the summer months and let it grow in the winter...which in Tampa is still pretty warm and mild.   She has allergy issues and her skin gets really dry.  I find that keeping the hair short in the summer really helps her and of course there is the added benefit of keeping her cool and comfortable. To be honest I have never noticed that her hair is any different when it grows  back...except perhaps thicker. 
Baby Bea has not grown into her full long coat yet so I most likely will not have to trim her until next year..... she still has the long haired puppy scruff-muffin look about her! 

[papbouv]

Thanks Kathleen sounds like grooming a Bouvier I already have two Mars stripping knifes and I have the thinning shears left over from the Bouvier's so I'm a head on that part of it thank you so much for the two web sites you posted. Since the Bouvier's were pets & not show dogs was easier to use the clippers on them.  Of course Bouviers are allot bigger than a Doxie Bouvier's are suppose to be hand stripped never clipper-ed.Guess I did not do enough research on the Dachshund breed to know you were to strip them also I thought maybe the Wire hairs but did not know about the Long Haired Dachshunds were to be stripped also. I may call the groomer I used with the Bouvier's to see what they say about clipping a Long Hair to see what they say about the coat texture changing more infformation so I can make a informed decision. Patches hates to be brushed even when I do it everyday since she is bringing all the stuff in the yard into the house + she sleeps in my bed too.She really would not like to be stripped if she does not liked to be brushed nor does she like her teeth brush everyday either. The worst part to try and keep mat free is her bottom half she puts her tail in between her legs shy I guess of course that is where mat's like to get. Since we are trading grooming information for anyone that is dealing with mats if you put Cowboy Magic on the mat & rub it in the mat is easier to remove and does not hurt the dog when trying to remove the mat. The Cowboy Magic is in the tube you can find it at CowboyMagic.com I used it on the Bouvier beards works great.
Papbouv
Patches & Buddy Yeah Buddy no hair or short hair anyway.

[Kevin]

Our Archie-Angel had thick fur that was so woolly one of my co-workers compared him to a sheep.  We would get him sheared in the summer so he could take the Virginia heat.  The first time we did this we got a big surprise, you see when we got Archie he was overweight due to a thyroid condition.  We began treatment and over the winter he lost girth at the same rate his hair grew.  After his shearing the groomer brought out this skinny doggie which we almost didn't recognize!  I bet you could have made 5 sweaters from the fur she removed.

[Roberta]

We get it warm -hot here, I atone time thought about trimming Amy, but after the shave no way as it has grown backa bit diffrent in texture. Of the four long hairs even the I HATE MY HAIR being done AKA Amy does not get to much matting.  Plus it is the rason I have them, to be long haired and the garbage they bring in just part of it. Some say the hair can insulate from the heat.
Roberta