Should dogs’ thick fur be cut to ward off summer suffering?

DEAR OLD TRAINER: We got Beau, our 3-year old Husky, when we lived in Jackson Hole. We now live in Kansas City and it is scorching in the summers. Some people tell us to have Beau shaved to help him endure the heat, and some tell us never cut a Husky’s coat because the thick coat protects him from the heat. Which is right?

A: Both are wrong.

First, no breed should be “shaved” in the summer. The only reason groomers do it is because it’s faster, so they make more money than by giving an even cut.

The idea you “never” cut a Husky’s coat arose from the strange world of dog shows. A sentence in their rules for judging Huskies reads, “Trimming the fur of the dog in any way is not condoned and should be severely penalized.”

That rule, like all dog show nonsense, has no application in the real world.

Huskies and other cold-weather breeds have a double coat, a thick, soft inner coat and an outer coat of short hair. A young dog like Beau sheds the inner coat with ease, but as dogs age they have difficulty getting rid of it.

The idea that somehow a double coat keeps a dog cooler in the summer is so absurd you wonder how it ever got started in the first place. A thick fur coat does the same thing for dogs it does for humans – warms them in winter, smothers them in summer.

Mr. Darwin’s dictum states, and simple logic confirms, that if a double coat kept dogs cooler in the summer they would not shed. And yet all canines, including wolves and wild dogs, shed their winter coat the minute spring arrives.

Once a dog begins to shed it’s easy to pull out large hunks of the inner coat by merely grabbing the fur and giving a gentle pull. Washing and brushing also help the shedding. If any inner coat is left, it is the owner’s job to remove it.

If Beau needs help to get rid of the undercoat, do it yourself. Dogs get stressed at a grooming shop with dogs barking all over the place and a stranger cutting on them. And most groomers have no idea how to groom a Husky.

MORE HOT WEATHER TIPS FOR DOG OWNERS

Dogs need cool water in the heat. Add ice cubes to ensure it stays cool.

Keep your dog inside during extreme heat. That includes night as well as the day. If you can’t do that, don’t get a dog.

Walk your dog when it is coolest and stay in the shade. Skip the walk if you can’t do it in the shade.

Never leave a dog in a parked car. Even if you leave the air conditioner on the dog will die in minutes if the motor stops running.

Make sure your dog has shade when outside. If you have no trees, use a tarp or sheet to create a shelter from the sun.

Never chain a dog outside in hot weather. Dogs die every summer because the chain becomes entangled and they cannot reach shade or water.

Take extra care with black dogs. The sun is much harder on them.

This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Should dogs’ thick fur be cut to ward off summer suffering?."