The weather is changing, and we’re headed into the hot spring and summer months. Many pet owners (and maybe their pets!) are already thinking about medical summer shave downs.
A medical shave down is a full body short haircut, where your pet’s coat or fur is trimmed to all one length with the face trimmed. When you bring your dog for a shave down, we also include:
- Bath
- Anal sac expression
- Ear cleaning
- Dremel or Nail Trim
- Bandana with with Adaptil® or Feliway® spray to take home
- Certificate of bravery
Shave downs are available on Tuesdays at our Gurney Street location.
What are the benefits of a shave down? The benefits of a medical shave down are very simple. The mats that could be pulling at your pets skin are shaved out in a very smooth process. De-matting can be very painful and can also damage the skin if mats are too close. Medical shave downs also allow us to detect skin irritations and sores.
Which dogs/cats need them the most? Medical shave downs are for dogs and cats with matted fur. Matted fur constantly pulls at a pet’s skin, but de-matting is a difficult and painful process. A complete shave-down is safer and less painful. A shave down may reveal hidden irritations, infections, sores, or parasites.
Dogs or cats that are severely matted may require sedation to minimize trauma to the skin, discomfort to the dog, cat, and potential injury to the groomer. (Sedation will be discussed during the scheduling of the appointment.)
Are there any drawbacks? Yes. Shaving your pet down could be robbing your dog or cat of their natural cooling system. It can lead to discomfort, overheating, and other serious dangers like sunburn and even skin cancer. We recommend keeping your pet indoors after a medical shave down.
Which dogs/cats should NOT get a medical shave down? Dogs such as Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies and any dog that seasonally sheds huge clumps of fur (part of its undercoat) should never be shaved. Shaving off a double coat can lead to a kind of alopecia in the hair follicles, depending on where in the cycle of rotation of the hair follicle the clip down occurs. This can lead to permanent loss of hair or change in the texture of the coat. Shaving a double coated dog does not help them to stay cooler but can damage hair and large organs that the layers help to protect.
For dogs with a double coat, we can do a deep conditioning treatment with exfoliation. A deep conditioning treatment helps add moisture back into a dog’s skin after a bath with shampoo and helps the coat look glossy. It also reduces static and helps with deshedding and de-tangling. The exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the surface of the skin, in order to improve its appearance: This is done with an medicated oatmeal, followed by a conditioner.
Before a medical shave down. We are a fear free facility, and that includes during grooming! If your pet needs pre-visit medication, please contact us. We can dispense these with a physical on file. Please give as prescribed to help with anxiety and for a better experience. Not all pets need medication, but if you have concerns, talk to us. Let us know of any concerns of matting sores or issues on the skin.
And after. After your fur baby has had a shave down, please keep your pet out of direct sunlight and out of high temperatures. We also recommend keeping up with regular grooming appointments. This can include regular hair cuts, baths, ear cleaning and anal sacs.
To make an appointment for your pet, give us a call.
