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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
   
Location: MD | You can call me Penny Post-a-lot today! The temps here have been moderate, but humidity has been kind of brutal!
I brush and groom my boy most everyday(brush at least) and bathe him regularly (once or twice a month) but I'm having lots of trouble keeping up with all of his booty hairs! I've heard some have troubles with the re-growth of aussie hair, and it not growing back right. How true is this, if I get a professional groomer is this less likely to happen? I'm not saying shave him bald, but clip him down for the summer season to help mow through the matting I keep running into. On top of the thick humid air, I feel like this might be an option for us this summer?
For reference, I love my dog dearly, he is just a tried and true farm dog and will roll in anything messy and sticky, i would have to brush him 4 times a day to keep the tangles from gathering up. And only a professional dog groomer is touching him, not myself. I only clip his toe hairs and do trimmings around his face and body. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
 
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | I have a Aussie too and she is a farm dog, she's so pretty, but once a year I will take her in and have her thick hair shaved off, its just to hot and humid for her to have all that super thick hair and she loves to swim in our tank/pond so I like to keep her shaved during the summer months, I dont have the time to be grooming and bathing her so I rather her be cooler with short hair.
Edited by Southtxponygirl 2015-06-09 10:41 AM
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 Expert
Posts: 1898
| Their is insulation. It works to keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 467
Location: A roping pen near you!! | I am a groomer and I have a mini Aussie. That being said I reccomend you shave his feathers front and back and shave his belly from between his front legs all the way to the rear. This will keep him cool and a lot less hair to deal with. And he will need his top coat to help keep him cool you can just thin it out. I do this to a lot of farm dogs, they still look like a Aussie and they are cooler. But I have also shaved some totally down short. What ever the client wants. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| We live in South Texas and my sister raises standard Aussies. Per our vet she has never shaved her Aussies bodies, but she has shaved their tummies. Our vet told us that their undercoat was insulation in the winter and air conditioner in the summer. She does keep a kiddie pool with cool water out for them and they have plenty of shade, too. Right now she has a litter and she keeps a fan on them in the heat of the day. I worked a grooming and boarding facility for several years and we did have a few customers that shaved their Aussies. The vet felt that with our prolific bug population, it was better for them to have their hair for added protection. My sister has all her dogs on Heartworm prevention and flea and tick protection too. |
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  That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| I shave mine. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1162
Location: White Mountains of AZ | Crowned Image - 2015-06-09 8:21 AM
You can call me Penny Post-a-lot today! The temps here have been moderate, but humidity has been kind of brutal!
I brush and groom my boy most everyday(brush at least) and bathe him regularly (once or twice a month) but I'm having lots of trouble keeping up with all of his booty hairs! I've heard some have troubles with the re-growth of aussie hair, and it not growing back right. How true is this, if I get a professional groomer is this less likely to happen? I'm not saying shave him bald, but clip him down for the summer season to help mow through the matting I keep running into. On top of the thick humid air, I feel like this might be an option for us this summer?
For reference, I love my dog dearly, he is just a tried and true farm dog and will roll in anything messy and sticky, i would have to brush him 4 times a day to keep the tangles from gathering up. And only a professional dog groomer is touching him, not myself. I only clip his toe hairs and do trimmings around his face and body.
Their hair acts as a cooler/heater for them. I would definetly not shave my Aussies. For that reason, and the fact that their fur will not come back the same. As long as you can maintain their coat, they should be just fine. My Aussies do the same thing with the rolling and swimming if I brush them out weekly or so, they do just fine! but this is my 2 cents :) |
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I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | GLP - 2015-06-09 11:32 AM
We live in South Texas and my sister raises standard Aussies. Per our vet she has never shaved her Aussies bodies, but she has shaved their tummies. Our vet told us that their undercoat was insulation in the winter and air conditioner in the summer. She does keep a kiddie pool with cool water out for them and they have plenty of shade, too. Right now she has a litter and she keeps a fan on them in the heat of the day. I worked a grooming and boarding facility for several years and we did have a few customers that shaved their Aussies. The vet felt that with our prolific bug population, it was better for them to have their hair for added protection. My sister has all her dogs on Heartworm prevention and flea and tick protection too.
as I live within 5 miles from the Shenandoah, our bugs are ridiculous! I never thought of that!
Will get him a Belly & Feathers clip. I'm sure that will give him some extra relief. He's so spoiled, I have an extra fan that I leave on the floor in the barn for him (and other doggy visitors)
Thanks for the info all, I for sure don't want to jeopardize the integrity of his natural coping mechanisms! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 628
Location: Missouri | I have a 14 year old Aussie and temps here are now in the 90s. I shaved her completely down. She runs around now and feels so much better. I use to be against it but I felt horrible on those 100 degree days when she couldn't cool off. I would go with the stomach shave and see if it works and go from there. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | By the time it starts getting cold her hair has grown back in, I feel here in South Texas its just to hot from these long/thicked hair dogs to be comfortable so we just shave her shes not a show dog and dont live in the house and I really think she is a lot happier after she gets home from the groomer. |
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I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | Southtxponygirl - 2015-06-09 11:51 AM
By the time it starts getting cold her hair has grown back in, I feel here in South Texas its just to hot from these long/thicked hair dogs to be comfortable so we just shave her shes not a show dog and dont live in the house and I really think she is a lot happier after she gets home from the groomer.
I have a feeling TX is a hair hotter then MD ;) He's also a house dog so I don't feel TOO bad for him since he is pretty darn well catered to. If I was in your spot I would probably be having him looking like a naked mole rat! lol! :) |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Crowned Image - 2015-06-09 11:03 AM Southtxponygirl - 2015-06-09 11:51 AM By the time it starts getting cold her hair has grown back in, I feel here in South Texas its just to hot from these long/thicked hair dogs to be comfortable so we just shave her shes not a show dog and dont live in the house and I really think she is a lot happier after she gets home from the groomer. I have a feeling TX is a hair hotter then MD ; ) He's also a house dog so I don't feel TOO bad for him since he is pretty darn well catered to. If I was in your spot I would probably be having him looking like a naked mole rat! lol! : )
LOL she does look like a naked mole rat, now that you said that  |
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I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | Southtxponygirl - 2015-06-09 12:08 PM
Crowned Image - 2015-06-09 11:03 AM Southtxponygirl - 2015-06-09 11:51 AM By the time it starts getting cold her hair has grown back in, I feel here in South Texas its just to hot from these long/thicked hair dogs to be comfortable so we just shave her shes not a show dog and dont live in the house and I really think she is a lot happier after she gets home from the groomer. I have a feeling TX is a hair hotter then MD ; ) He's also a house dog so I don't feel TOO bad for him since he is pretty darn well catered to. If I was in your spot I would probably be having him looking like a naked mole rat! lol! : )
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| We have an Alaskan Malamute and we shave him naked every summer. It's just way too hot not to. I've been told the same thing by people, that it keeps them cool in the summer, but in my opinion that's b.s. I tell them to go put a parka on and sit outside, see how cool they are! I think the only way it would keep him cool is if it stayed wet and he laid where the wind would hit him, but since he can't stay wet 24/7 that doesn't work. It acts like insulation, which holds things in, and since dogs aren't like homes or cars with air conditioning, the only thing being held in is heat! All I know is after his initial embarrassment of being naked he acts like he feels ten times better....
Edited by FlyingJT 2015-06-09 12:50 PM
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Porta Potty Pants
Posts: 2600
| We don't shave our aussie, but we cut her pretty short … she's much happier … of course she's primarily an inside dog and is afraid of cattle … so she might just be strange.
Edited by azsun 2015-06-09 11:51 AM
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Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | We have 4 aussies. We shaved one 2 years ago and I'll never do that again. She has a very thick coat and really nice and shiney. She is a tri. It took untill this year for her coat to be back to normal. It was just awful after shaving her, and yes, she was actually hotter that summer. We do clip their bellys though. Mostly because of all the junk twigs and sticker weeds and ocasional foxtail they pick up in their hair running all the property. |
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I keep my change in my pockets
Posts: 2985
Location: MN | I have a mini Aussie and she goes to professional groom and gets her leg feathers,belly and back end shave down all the time. The back end is not cut that short, I would say it is left 2"-3" long, otherwise her backend looks like long flowing mane. She goes every 2-3 months, depending on where she is at blowing out her under coat. |
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Location: NE Texas | Southtxponygirl - 2015-06-09 10:28 AM
I have a Aussie too and she is a farm dog, she's so pretty, but once a year I will take her in and have her thick hair shaved off, its just to hot and humid for her to have all that super thick hair and she loves to swim in our tank/pond so I like to keep her shaved during the summer months, I dont have the time to be grooming and bathing her so I rather her be cooler with short hair.
Ditto - my old Aussie gal got shaved on Saturday. She is inside and my vacuum thanks Petsmart and she is happier!! |
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Location: NE Texas | ThreeCorners - 2015-06-09 12:38 PM
We have 4 aussies. We shaved one 2 years ago and I'll never do that again. She has a very thick coat and really nice and shiney. She is a tri. It took untill this year for her coat to be back to normal. It was just awful after shaving her, and yes, she was actually hotter that summer. We do clip their bellys though. Mostly because of all the junk twigs and sticker weeds and ocasional foxtail they pick up in their hair running all the property.
I have the exact opposite experience. |
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Location: NE Texas | QH<3er - 2015-06-09 10:48 AM
Crowned Image - 2015-06-09 8:21 AM
You can call me Penny Post-a-lot today! The temps here have been moderate, but humidity has been kind of brutal!
I brush and groom my boy most everyday(brush at least) and bathe him regularly (once or twice a month) but I'm having lots of trouble keeping up with all of his booty hairs! I've heard some have troubles with the re-growth of aussie hair, and it not growing back right. How true is this, if I get a professional groomer is this less likely to happen? I'm not saying shave him bald, but clip him down for the summer season to help mow through the matting I keep running into. On top of the thick humid air, I feel like this might be an option for us this summer?
For reference, I love my dog dearly, he is just a tried and true farm dog and will roll in anything messy and sticky, i would have to brush him 4 times a day to keep the tangles from gathering up. And only a professional dog groomer is touching him, not myself. I only clip his toe hairs and do trimmings around his face and body.
Their hair acts as a cooler/heater for them. I would definetly not shave my Aussies. For that reason, and the fact that their fur will not come back the same. As long as you can maintain their coat, they should be just fine. My Aussies do the same thing with the rolling and swimming if I brush them out weekly or so, they do just fine! but this is my 2 cents : )
Someone needs to tell mine she is cooler with the hair. My old gal runs around like a pup once her hair is shaved with this texas heat. I'm a fan of shaving once a year....she looks great! Lemme see if I can get a pic to upload... |
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