I also bring my dogs to the grooming salon for summer, not really for the fashion but because of the summer heat. We have an air conditioner for the dogs in our living room and I deem it fit to trim the coat of Tisoy our spitz and Barbie our pekingese. They have thick coats that nurture heat that's why they love to be in front of the air vent of the air conditioner or electric fan. With Pipoy, our pug who is hyperactive, his coat is not fit for trimming so I can save on that. And with the style of cut? I leave that to the groomer's discretion.

Well, although my family loves all of our pets to bits, we're just frugal when it comes to taking care of them. Most of our dogs are non-hairy mongrels, as I shared in my previous entries, so I guess there isn't any need to get them groomed specifically for the summer. We have one 10-year-old hairy dog and we only cut portions of hair that are difficult to untangle using scissors. To keep him hydrated during summer, we place a big jug of water in his cage. He's a regular water-drinker so you can be sure he consumes all the water.

We give the pup a few cuts throughout the year - one a few weeks ahead of winter, one when spring starts, another after summer and then one a few weeks ahead of the fall. We try to match his coat to what he will need for the seasons while keeping his ears from getting bothered by overgrowth. His hair stays a reasonable length on its own, though.

If my dog isn't panting then I pretty much leave him alone. It's like baths. I don't wash him until he needs it. He is not a human that needs to take daily baths, and I know people that do that, and they are stupid.

But if my dog is comfortable and his hair isnt out of control, I just leave him alone.

Absolutely. So, we just gave our cocker a little trim two days ago. Things aren't really "warm" right now, so it didn't make sense to give him a proper cut. Next, we will give him another trim around April end. And finally, he will get a nice cut in May, which is when things start getting warm.

Oh yes, our puli dogs (the one that looks like a mop) always had hard time keeping cool in the summer. When the local shepherd cut their fur off they looked like skinny sheep 🙂

But had a really nice time going into rivers and ponds.

Also if you have puli dogs, you should pay attention to the fur around the eyes, it is a really sensitive area!

Wow that'a a nice dog. Isn't that the one that Mark Zuckerberg has? I always wondered what breed the dog was, now I know. thanks 🙂

I had considered giving my sheltie a summer cut for many years, but between being loath to shave a show-quality dog and reading all sorts of articles that advised against it, I did not... until last year. She's older now, and her skin is so sensitive it's virtually impossible to brush her properly. I gave her a 'lion cut,' left her neck, legs, under-carriage and tail on. She did very well with it, and was much cooler (despite what a bunch of articles said).
This year I'm planning to do it a bit earlier to allow her hair time to grow a little bit before the sun and flies get really bad. She had a very mild bit of sunburn on her rump last year (only last a week or two).

I don't have a dog, but I am surrounded by 3 who I visit or visit me. Two of them get haircuts because one, Bear, a maltese, I believe, makes a trip from "his" new home to his old one with my house in between. The yorkie stays in the house so I don't know why he gets a cut. I can't help but grin wildly when I see that teddy bear form! His owners usually start in the spring and pay $80 every time their dogs need a trim. Whoa. haha. When I get my dogs, I plan on shaving them myself. More personal bonding that way. 🙂 And cheaper.

My American Cocker used to get a summer cut for warm weather. My mom and sister did the same with their Princess Cocker. Does your long haired breed get a summer cut when things began to warm up? Do you wait for summer? What breed is your long haired dog? Do you think summer cuts will become more of a necessity for survival with global warming?

Let's check warmer countries. If summer cuts are necessary there, then they may become necessary here in the future if global warming continues as it is. Otherwise, then they'll just be conveniences for our dogs.

I really just want to mention this to pet owners as a groomer:

Summer cuts are not always a good healthy thing!

A trim or thinning of thick fur is absolutely not harmful. But do NOT get your dogs cut very short for the summer. Their fur acts as an insulator. Longer hair protects them from sunburns and sunstroke. Not only does their fur keep them warm in the winter, but it also protects them from the heat of the summer!

I've never had dogs with thick furs so this has never been a problem for me. My best friend has two Shih Tzus and she always had their fur trimmed. For me, they look naked without their fur. I like them better with their hair long but I am not their owner so I really don't have much of a say in it.

We take our Mioritic Shepherd to the grooming salon every summer for a new summer look. Although it looks like a big scary dog before cutting it's fur, after it looks like a skinny sheep :p
But it loves the summer look, you can see that it is more active and plays a lot with our other dog.
We are thinking of cutting the fur on our mutt also this year because it sheds a lot of fur and we don't want the baby ingesting it.

My dogs summer cuts all year around. They get too matted easily, and it's warm enough here year around. They can't stand being brushed, but I'm still trying with them.