Trimming a Pomeranian

kafkabeetle said:

Oh, this dog doesn't spend a whole lot of time outside in bad whether, so the "heat issue" is more the owner anthropomorphizing. This dog is owned by an elderly woman and is pretty much attached to her at the hip. I was afraid you'd say that about it still ruining the coat and making matts easier, though. I assume by "ruining a dog's coat" you just mean that if allowed to grow out again it wouldn't look the same as before she was shaved? It's too bad because it looks nicer than a normal pom coat IMO, but of course there are more important things than looks. Anyway, I was mostly just curious. Thanks for weighing in, guys.

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Exactly Kafkabeetle. She is a pet. She is cute, and she isnt going to die because her coat was trimmed. She isnt living in the desert as a wild dog, nor in the arctic as a wild dog. She is a pet in a home and whatever the owner likes for her haircut is all that matters. Will her coat ever be "right" again? Probably not, but who cares since the owner likes her like this, it doesnt matter. I shave and cut down doublecoated breeds like this just about every day. I explain the effects on the coat, and if the owners still want to do it, I do it and make em look darn cute. We arent dealing with wild dogs trying to survive. They are pets in temperature controlled environments. And if it was correct about double coats keeping them cool, we would see dogs bred for desert living looking like huskies and newfies. I dont buy into all that. When a dog pants and is hot all the time, then is shaved and stops panting and acts more comfortable at home, it works. Regardless of all the supposed science. I think that science refers to a bald dog, not one cut down with a 7 or longer. Sorry for the rant. Just so sick of this debate. They are pets.

kafkabeetle said:

I think that's probably the case, because I can't see how a dog like Katie (the one pictured above) would have any more trouble regulating her body temp than a dog with naturally short fur. But maybe I'm wrong. *shrug*

I guess I was also kind of wondering if keeping the shave longer could prevent "ruining the coat" but it sounds like that is not the case? Regardless of how short the fur is cut it will grow back funny (because the guard hairs aren't growing back as they should)?

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It seems to be more of an issue because of the guard hairs being cut, not the undercoat being cut. And the guard hairs are the longer, coarser hairs. Its a crapshoot really. I have shaved dogs down pretty short with a 7, over and over and their coats come back every time just fine, many with less undercoat and nice silky guard hairs. And I have taken dogs down to lengths longer than the pom in this thread, and after one time the coat is coming in all funky. It just depends. However, if you stop trimming the coat, and let it grow back, I have never seen one that didnt come back almost completely normal, after a year to a year and a half. Sometimes its a thyroid issue, sometimes nutrition, and sometimes its old dogs with ailing skin and coats. Young, healthy dogs almost always grow back fine, in my experience. Will it ever be a show coat after clipping? Very unlikely. But pom show coats are also packed with undercoat...that is not removed/brushed out. So a pet coat and a show coat are very different anyway. Without seeing a photo of this dog before it was ever clipped, its hard to say how much if any damage was done to the coat. Some dogs have yucky coats to begin with, especially mill bred/puppy store/byb dogs.