Comment

Comment by Stephanie on June 8, 2010 at 7:27pm

Here's the blog post I referred to earlier, definitely interesting...

http://www.mycorgi.com/profiles/blogs/hot-dog

Comment by Sam Tsang on June 8, 2010 at 5:29pm

Angela, the top coat's purpose is to protect against harmful sun ray, the bottom coat (what's left in the picture now)'s purpose is to create an "air insulation" against the heat. When you take away the top coat, its like standing under the sun with a short hair cut, even without a full buzz cut, you will still get burn. Since the top coat is gone, the undercoat can no longer work as an insulation, remember she is low to the ground, heat is absorbed and reradiated by your driveway, sidewalk. Unless you walk her hours after dark, she is better off with her full double coat.

Dogs don't cool like humans do, they only cool via the tongue and paws. All it takes is 15 mins to cause sunburn. UV Rays are invincible, so as long as you walk her during the day even under a cloudy sky, UV can still do damage.

The only good time to shave a double coated dog is medical purpose only.

Comment by Angela DeMahy on June 8, 2010 at 3:56pm

Shes not fully shaved she still has the soft fur and still has some to brush. The vet didnt shave her all the way to her skin. You cannot even see her skin thru the fur and only time we are outside is for potty breaks and run time. We are in a shaded area so no full sun on her fuzz.

Comment by Chris West on June 8, 2010 at 1:21pm

There are a lot of good sites on the internet that can be googled about information like this. In the future, I would definitely recommend reading up on an issue before taking such drastic action. Good luck this summer and congratulations on the new house!! I thought these sites offered some good information:

http://www.houstonpembrokes.org/faq.html
Corgis are a double coated breed that shed twice a year, January through March and April through December. Today's indoor dog lives in an air-conditioned environment and the moderate to warm temperatures of the South prevent them from developing seasonal sheds. They shed year-round. The outer coat or guard hairs are short on the head, ears, and fronts of legs and longer hair provides a face-framing ruff and "fairy saddle" behind the shoulders. The undercoat is short and dense. Corgis should not be shaved. Their double coat provides insulation from temperature extremes, both hot and cold, and provides protection from burrs, thorns and insects. The fine, soft hair can be controlled with weekly brushings, use of a shedding blade or rake and investment in a high-powered vacuum cleaner.


http://www.squidoo.com/pembrokewelshcorgi
To Shave or Not to Shave? That Is the Question...this is followed by a lot of useful information as well

Comment by John Wolff on June 8, 2010 at 1:01pm

It may be a mistake to assume that dogs will be cooler with their fur shorn. WE feel cooler with our clothes off; this is partly convective cooling (direct contact with cool air), but in hot weather, our cooling is largely evaporative cooling, the evaporation of sweat. Remember that dogs do not sweat like we do, so absence of fur might cool them less than we'd expect.
They can't tell us whether they like it or not.

Comment by Nicola Porter on June 8, 2010 at 12:19pm

Hi Sam with all due respect I think it needs to be said. Now instead of dealing with shedding she will be dealing with sunburn, insect bites, dry skin, patchy fur etc. I would have thought it would have been easier to leave it be.

Comment by Sam Tsang on June 8, 2010 at 12:14pm

My fellow Floridians, since its already a done deal, lets focus on protection, time to buy some canine sunscreen and t-shirts to protect her from sun exposure. Also check her for insect bites, if the skin appeared to be dried, you'll need to moisturize it, dry skin can be very itchy. Last but not least, don't do this ever again! Double coat is not meant to be shaved.

Comment by Stephanie on June 8, 2010 at 11:27am

There's a couple of threads on shaving over in the discussion forum - common advice is not to shave because of their double coat, the coat warms them in the winter and cools them in the summer. There's a great blog post down the page a bit with a thermal camera image that reinforces this I think. I understand the shedding, but most say that their hair doesn't grow back the same. Hope all goes well.

Comment by Nicola Porter on June 8, 2010 at 11:23am

ooh no. Another shaved corgi. I have had corgis for 13 yrs and live in FL and have never felt the need to shave any corgi or any of my dogs in the past. Weird.