SHAVING bulldog in keep. (Only reply if you've exp or have knowledge in it.)

[CLIMATE]

is there a routine to doing this and regrow for show day?

Pros and cons?

Tips?

Thanks in advance.

[FrostyPaws]

Dogs are shaved for cosmetic reasons.

[EWO]

Not sure if it is the knowledge or experience you spoke of....but went to a show one night and a camp/combine brought three. All three were shaved up the spine, maybe a three inch strip. I had never seen it and just had to ask.

I was told it was done for two reasons. One it had a cooling effect on the dog. I couldn't see the logic in it that night and to this day can't see it being a viable means for a dog to stay cool or provide any extra cooling. Second, was a tingling/awakening effect when rubbed the against the grain. Like after a fresh hair cut and rubbing your hand against the grain. Maybe, but I sort of didn't see that one either.

Another guy told me it was more to make stupid people ask stupid questions. Maybe I fell for it. EWO

[S_B]

Three reasons, to cool the dog, to shed some weight and to give the opponent an unfamiliar feeling in their mouth when they take a hold. Generally they are shaved in the backend, legs, belly and sides with the backbone covered with hair. Or they could be like EWO mentioned, each dogman does it differently.

S_B

[Nut]

Can imagine its being done for cooling on rough coated dogs in hot weather.

Iv been taking a shaver to show once or twice, in case some one was going to whine about 20 gram overweight.

[FrostyPaws]

Like you EWO, I can't see the logic. The shaved dogs I saw, during the summer, still ran hot. How do you determine the level of cooling it actually does? It's simple in that you can't actually quantify how much it works. I've been around some people shaving a dog to make weight. It never happened. They were still over and still paid the FF.

It always goes back to cosmetic reasons, FOR ME. There is no benefit to shaving a dog.

Ch.Beetlejuice was shaving for his 3rd when he came from Canada to Chicago during the summer. He still ran hot as blue blazes.

[S_B]

You can shed an 1/8 to 1/2 lb by shaving depending on the coat density of the dog. If folks were still over it was because they didn't call their weight correctly. Same thing rings true with running hot.

It has nothing to do with cosmetics.

S_B

[gotap_d]

We shave damn near everything that we bring to the [ ]. We shave everything from the base of the head down. The only reason that is effective is to lose more weight. We have shaved everything from thick coated/long hair/55lb males to little 30lb gyps with thin coats and have never ever gotten 1/2lb off. The most we have gotten was 6oz and the majority of the time it is between 3-5oz.

[gotap_d]

Like you EWO, I can't see the logic. The shaved dogs I saw, during the summer, still ran hot. How do you determine the level of cooling it actually does? It's simple in that you can't actually quantify how much it works. I've been around some people shaving a dog to make weight. It never happened. They were still over and still paid the FF.

It always goes back to cosmetic reasons, FOR ME. There is no benefit to shaving a dog.

Ch.Beetlejuice was shaving for his 3rd when he came from Canada to Chicago during the summer. He still ran hot as blue blazes.

IMO there is a benifit. If my dog weighs 37 at weigh in after i took 5oz of hair off of him and your dog is 37 with a full coat. My dog should be a 5oz bigger dog as far as weight is concerned. That 5oz whether it is solid mass of fluid should be something extra that my dog can burn that your dog can't. This is just my belief on the matter.

[Officially Retired]

Running hot is a complex subject.

Fur is on a dog to keep it warm. Dogs cannot sweat. A dog with fur-on is going to be warmer than a dog with fur-off.

Still, that said, running hot has nothing to do with fur, lol.
Running hot is some combination of "actual temperature" ... as well as condition, blood chemistry, all capped-off with whether the dog is relaxed or stressed.

Temperature affects how long a dog can go;
Condition affects how long a dog can go;
Blood chemistry affects how long a dog can go;
How relaxed/poised vs. amped/nervous the dog is affects how long ago.

Of all these critical factors, whether or not a dog is "shaved" or not is of next-to-ZERO actual benefit IMO.

A shaved dog with shitty blood will still run hot;
A shaved dog in terrible shape will still run hot;
A shaved dog that burns-up all its energy (and/or is full of anxiety) will still run hot.

In the end, a relaxed, poised dog, in shape, and with good blood, will be long-winded with the hair God gave it.

Jack

PS: Can't think of a single all-time-great dog that needed to be matched, shaved