FYI: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Home

Australian Shepherd Grooming

by Elene
(Cleveland)

Can an Aussie's fur be cut? I've been reading that it won't grow back nicely if it is.

Comments for Australian Shepherd Grooming

Click here to add your own comments

Aussie Grooming
by: Anonymous

Hi... I work in a groom shop and yours is a good question.

Yes, you can cut an Aussies fur, but there is the chance that the coat will be permanently changed. It will grow back...but perhaps not like it was before it was cut. (Probably most, but not all, will come back pretty much the same.) You can minimize the change by brushing your dog thoroughly and regularly at least twice each week after it's cut. This keeps the undercoat from sort of "overwhelming" the longer guard hairs as they grow back in.

Personally, I'm a more a purist and prefer a natural coat on an animal. I often don't "get" people who buy, for instance, a golden retriever then send it to be sheared down every 2 months to look like a lab. (I do understand it when it's an issue of allergies in the family.) But that's just my own aesthetic sense...everyone is different and those who choose to do such things take good care of their pets and me in business. ;-)

Any other questions, I'm happy to respond.
Ranee

Poochie's
Boarding, Grooming, Gift Shoppe & Pet Boutique
North Huntingdon, PA

Dog Grooming...
by: Anonymous

I am a professional groomer, and MANY people have dogs with VERY nice coats 'shaved down' because they 'shed' (HELLO-thats what dogs do, especially a double coated breed). I do not agree with shaving down a dog that is not required to be clipped (breed standard), unless it is required due to a medical condition of the dog. I would NEVER shave down an Aussie. Yes, their hair will grow back, but often-times it does not ever come back in like it was originally. Also, for the folks that say their dogs 'get too hot' in summer, the double coat has insulating factors-actually cooling the dog. Often a shaved dog will overheat and can also suffer from sunburn.
Janine.

Shaving your Aussie
by: Anonymous

I'm guilty of ruining my little girls coat. She had the most beautiful silky black coat, and last summer I tried to help her out with the heat by trimming it... (Texas summers are hot!) anyway, her hair has yet to grow back to what it was. I will never shave her again! Poor girl, she's still beautiful... just not quite what she was. So, be careful!

Never again
by: Anonymous

We had an extremely hot summer last year (triple digits almost all summer) so I thought I'd help my Aussie out by shaving his beautiful red coat without doing any research first and it still has yet to grow back as pretty as it was before I cut it. I will never cut his hair again, he looked awful and I really don't think it made any difference in keeping him cool.

Crazy fur!
by: Teresa

We have a 10 month old and he has crazy looking fur still. Especially long behind his ears and I am wanting to trim it a little there because its been getting mats. I just want to take off the scraggly ends; is this ok?

It also looks like his grown up coat is slowly coming in from the neck down but he's got the crazy fuzzies on his back and tail area - is this normal? We love his awkward teenage look but I'm wondering how old were your pups when the real coat came in?

Aussie Shed - bottom line
by: Susan

Aussie's shed. Bottom line. You have to admire their beauty and accept it. I have a tri mini and no one is getting a pair of clippers near her. I bath her as necessary. Brush her daily. Maintain her claws. It is our bonding quiet time. Furminator makes a great line of shampoos and tools to minimize the shedding. All animals shed. Ah we shed as well. Patience and a little extra TLC and you and your aussie will be happy as can be.

Trouble with "Clingons"
by: Anonymous

Help! I have an eleven month old mini tri who has "clingons" all over his britches after having a brief bout of soft stools. These are now hardened clumps. Any suggestions?

Clingons
by: Anonymous

I do a sanitary trim when the hair grows out. I gently trim off the Clingons. No big deal. I have Aussies and one does not require the sanitary trim. They like to be clean and comfortable.

Never again
by: Anonymous

I made the mistake of shaving my beautiful red baby when the weather was in the triple digits. This was a number of years ago and her coat has never recovered. She used to have the shiniest red coat and now it's dull and mats easily. She's still my beautiful princess, but I would never again even consider shaving. I really wish someone would have told me about the benefits of the undercoat in the heat; none of my Aussie books said "don't do it!". And I'm really disappointed that more than one groomer shaved her without even suggesting that it was not the best idea.

Shedex
by: Anonymous

I have a 10 month old Aussie and I want to get him trimmed for the holidays. Someone suggested I get him a shedex treatment. Is this something that would ruin an Aussie's coat?

Grooming your Aussie!
by: Anonymous

I would not shave an Aussie their coats do not always return to what they were. Not only that some of them I have noticed their hair takes quite a long time to grow back to what it was. What I did was just used some thinning shears and after doing the undercoat rake and getting all the excess coat off, I simply used the stickler brush and brushed up my dogs coat the using the thinning shears cut away little by little any little fly away hairs. I did this once a month in between times I just gave her a good daily brushing!

Very Cute
by: Anonymous

This is a very nice and informative post.

Upset
by: Chris

I have a 10 month old mini Australian shepherd, when he was 7 months old my husband and I decided to take him in to have his nails trimmed and a bath. We explained to the groomer (3) three times what we wanted done that she was not to do anything else to my beautiful "Chase" , who at the time had long black and white hair that was in length 5 inches long and flowing and shined like glass. She says no problem, but when we arrived to pick him up after getting a call 45 minutes later he was ready, head been shaved. She had shaved him, leaving no hair in site. Long story short I was devastated, we don't go back to any groomers we take care of his grooming ourselves. But my question is, its been 3 months and its not really growing out right it just looks like fuzz. Will he ever have long flowing hair again.

Depends on the dog and where you live
by: Leslie

My Aussie is 4 years old. I shave him every spring. His coat is extremely thick and he loves water. His hair always grows back in beautifully. I worked in the veterinary field with dogs for years. The only time a dog was shaved and the coat didn't grow back, the dog had an underlying thyroid issue. So, if your dog sheds more than usual, has a dull coat, has gained weight despite measuring food, I would have a T3/T4 run before considering shaving the coat.

shave vs trim
by: Talldi

My black tri Max does not tolerate the heat well at all. Here in Michigan we go from very very cold in the winter, to very humid and hot in the summer.

What we do is send Max to be clipped in the late spring. A shorter than usual clip. He still has his double layered coat, but it is much shorter. I swear he loses 10lbs.

He is not overweight at all, we are very careful re: all of our dogs weights. He just can't do heat.

We haven't had any coat problems as described by others, thank goodness.

Wish I hadn't
by: Anonymous

I had an Aussie years ago with the most gorgeous long coat. My boyfriend decided to be helpful and shaved him. His coat never grew more than an inch back. Now I have a red tri girl and at about a year she got mats behind her ears. The groomer shaved them out and now, more than 2 years later, it still has not grown out. It is about 1/2 inch and then the fur around it is about 3 inches. I still think she's beautiful but she looks funny. You never know the result until you do it, so don't do it unless you are willing to live with the results for the rest of your dog's life.

Hair growing tips (bad grooming job)
by: Anonymous

Hello all, I recently had my sweet Aussie groomed and she looked great. Until about a month later I noticed that they had shaved her undercoat way too short on both sides of her stomach and basically brushed it over to where it wasn’t noticeable. Really couldn’t tell anything was wrong until the hair started growing out and the patches were evident. Since then I’ve tried to let the hair grow out naturally but their still hasn’t been any growth. She had this same cut before twice at a local pet store with no problems but this last time was a disaster. Any advice or tips on what to do would be great. I feel like the worst owner ever at this point.
Thank you all.

Can't find a groomer for my Australian Shepherd
by: John

Having real trouble getting dog groomed. Doesn't like to get his nails cut, takes three of us at the veterinarians to cut his nails. Doesn't like the blow dryer. Doesn't like to be combed out. Usually, we get him back all wet and some places don't want us to come back with him. I'm at a loss to what to do to groom him.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Australian Shepherd Q & A.

Have Dog Training Questions?

Check out these introductory dog training videos...

I want my dog to stop being aggressive.

I want some help training my new puppy.

I want my dog to stop barking at everything.

I want my dog to walk nicely and calmly on the leash.

I want my dog to listen and come every time I call!

Back to Home

⌃ TOP ⌃

All Content Copyright © 2006-2024 by Anton Hout,
Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com. All rights reserved.

Disclosure: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

As stated in our Privacy Policy, Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com
does not sell your personal information.