16/07/2026
The old teacher in me kicked in today and before I knew it, I was comparing dog coats to forests...😂🌲
Today I was grooming Hudson - a beautiful Golden Retriever and as I combed him, I watched handful after handful of loose undercoat come away. It made me smile and think of all the times I have been asked to shave a dog to keep them cool.
Because although they might seem like the same thing, they're actually very different...👇
🌲 Imagine a dense forest...
If you cut every tree down to half its height, you still have exactly the same number of trees packed into the same space.
But if you remove hundreds of trees altogether, suddenly air and light can move through the forest much more easily.
Your dog's coat works in a very similar way.
🪮 De-shedding removes loose, dead undercoat from the coat. That means there's genuinely less coat trapping heat and restricting airflow.
✂️ Shaving or clipping doesn't reduce the number of hairs growing from the skin, it simply makes those hairs shorter. On double-coated breeds, such as Golden Retrievers, those longer guard hairs also help shade the skin and protect the skin from the sun.
For these breeds, a thorough de-shed is often far more beneficial than shaving because it helps the coat work as nature intended.
🐶 What about other breeds?
Not every dog has the same type of coat.
Single-coated breeds, or breeds that are routinely clipped such as Cocker Spaniels, Springer Spaniels, Poodles, Cockapoos, Cavapoos, Shih Tzus and many other crossbreeds, often benefit from regular clipping as part of their coat maintenance.
But even for these dogs, clipping alone isn't the whole answer. Removing dead coat, tangles and compacted hair is just as important, as it allows better airflow, keeps the coat healthy and helps your dog stay comfortable.
💛 The takeaway?
Every breed has different grooming needs, but a healthy coat isn't about removing as much hair as possible, it's about removing the right hair.
Sometimes the best way to help your dog stay cool isn't taking all the hair off... it's removing the hair they don't need in the first place. 🐾
