Give Your Dog a Cool Haircut

I always love getting my hair cut. Whether it's a completely new look, or just a trim, getting my hair cut is always a rejuvenating experience. If you do have or have had a dog, you know the pleasing feeling you may get when your dog comes home from the groomer's looking all sleek and sharp and, well, groomed. However, grooming gets to be kind of expensive, and so you sometimes might want to try your own hand at cutting your dog's hair. Here are a few ideas to help you give your dog the best haircut possible!

You do have a bit of creative license with your dog grooming, but your creative genius can't extend too far past a few parameters. Remember that a good, short haircut, can really help your dog deal with the heat of summer, and you can get away with shaving it to about an inch long. This shorter look will also help you see fleas and ticks easier. Before you go to town with the scissors and razor however, remember these few things.

• Just don't shave off all its hair since it's the dog's natural protection from sunburn. If you shave off all the hair, or even make a few designs by shaving off the hair, you could risk serious burns for your dog.
• Keep in mind that cutting a dog's coat makes it shorter. To cool a dog down however, you need to make the coat less dense. So, don't just cut the hair shorter, but use special combs (you can probably find these at either a beauty supply or even the pet store), to thin out the coat a bit. Even if you don't take any length off of your dog's coat, a less dense coat will make all the difference.
• Don't cut a dog's hair too short, because you don't want to tamper too much with your dog's ability to control its temperature adaptation. You want it to still be able to cool itself down and heat itself up, so seek some advice from professionals as to how short you should cut your dog's hair.
• If combing and brushing isn't sufficient to cool down your dog or thin out its coat, you can hand pluck the old dead coat out which will again thin the coat allowing cool air to stay trapped under the newer hairs, but preventing sun wind and rain getting to the skin.
• Keep in mind the nature of your dog's coat. You don't want excessive trims or cutting to ruin the nature of the fur. Cutting a dogs fur can damage the fur and increase the likelihood of it tangling and matting. Clipping with electric clippers will soften and ruin a long coat or a harsh heavy coat. Seek advice from a groomer on how best to treat your breed's fur.

So, now that you have a bit of know-how in the area of grooming, you can put your knowledge to use and really make your dog look good!