i keep getting asked why i dont shave my dog for the summer and whats my grooming routine

the reasons why i dont shave my dog is cuz it has taken her 2'years' to grow most of her coat out to the way it is right now and even now it's still growing in on her tail; ears and mane(throat) areas. plus i live in washington state where it's cold and snowy for much longer than it's warm/summery. also depending on the dog,, its age,, its current health and its coat type shaving might damage the coat to the point it's never the same before the shave and shaving can make the dog susceptible to sunburn an insect bites. so unless there's medical reason(s) that require shaving or i move somewhere where she's panting heavily pretty much all the time - she wont be shaved

in the summer i brush her for 5minutes with a regular slicker brush every day to every other day; in the winter i brush her once every other week. usually each brushing removes 2-3handfuls of dead/loose hair in the beginning of summer then she slows way down on sheeding to the point it removes barely a handful for the rest of the summer. it's the same for the winter too; removes barely a handful. this really helps as i have yet to see anymore dog hair caked on my computer vents/fans since ive kept this routine.

i trim her one sanitary area as poop doesnt stick to her coat at all unless shes not feeling well(extremely rare)
her nails i trim once a week. i also trim the fuzz that grows between an around her paw pads once a month to allow better airflow an grip on slick surfaces and helps keep her paws from picking up sap.


fresh after a paw fuzzies trim(obviously i did all 4an not just one paw =P) without the trim her pads would be totally covered by feathery like hair like in the picture below:


her teeth she keeps clean on her own as im fortunate to have found chews she loves that does the job but i have also started brushing her teeth every day to be on the safe side since every tooth isnt being used while she chews to get cleaned



here's a couple of pictures of her not wanting her teefies to be brushed LOL she does tolerate her teeth being brush very well; it's just that i was one handed getting pictures and made it confusing and awkward for her until i got serious with the brushing

her ears i keep looking into to make sure but theyre so far always are clean

and that's it unless theres an actual reason to give her a bath for since shes a dog that doesnt get dirty easily or have odor to her - she usually gets a bath cuz of all the oils off peoples hands(mainly mine) making her head/ears look greasy if she doesnt have a bath in quite a long while

what she looks like when she does have a bath:






                                            

i used to bathe her in these mop bins(one bin was used to soap her up in and then i would transfer her to other bin to rinse her). she fit in them perfectly but a little 'too perfectly' as i had very little room to get my hand down into the water to scoop it back up and over her to finish wetting her down,, and i couldnt scrub her undercarriage all that well as she was almost fully submerged as it was


                                 



now i bathe her in this drink holder tub instead. it's a couple of sizes too big for her but it fits on the counter an isnt so tall that it gives me a backache an saves the sink from dog hairballs going down it LOL
i pour a quarter of her shampoo into a bottle with a flip top lid(i use a old rubbing alcohol bottle but a plastic tumbler with a popup nozzle would prolly work about the same) and fill the rest with warm water and shake it than squirt the diluted shampoo where i want it to go. it's so much easier an quicker than wetting her down and than applying her shampoo directly from the bottle. after i applied shower-tub traction stickers to the bottom of it she actually enjoys her bathtime :D


here's a close up of the sticker before i peeled it off with the sizing of it in case anyone wants to know





in an actual bathtub for once from when i bathed her at my brothers place





Pixies not a double coat but here are some links regarding what a double coat is an what shaving can do to a double coat:
info about what double coat is; video explanation
video of a dog with a damaged double coat from being shaved pictures of dogs with damaged double coat from being shaved
read the comment section an see how many people regret having their double coated dog/s shaved.

anywho maybe something to keep in mind before having your double coated dog shaved


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