The weather is stuffy and hot in summer, and many pet owners worry that too thick hair will make their dogs suffer from heatstroke. In addition, dogs will lose their hair seasonally in summer, so they will choose to shave their dogs to keep them cool. At the same time, they don't have to clean up the dog hair flying around the house, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone. But does shaving dogs really make them feel cool? Today, Boqii Xiaobian talks about this issue. Let's take a look at it together.
< strong > Do dogs need to shave in summer < /strong>
First of all, I would like to emphasize that dogs only use their tongues, noses and paw pads to dissipate heat. Therefore, in summer, we can often see them sticking out their tongues to dissipate heat. When it is extremely hot, we can also feel that their little pads are wet and their noses are extremely wet, which is the manifestation of their heat dissipation and sweating.
Wu Xuanguang, a professor in the Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine of South China Agricultural University, further explained that dogs have almost no sweat glands, only the fleshy pillows at the nose and soles of the feet secrete sweat, so its heat dissipation mainly depends on mouth opening breathing, that is, "heat panting and heat dissipation". Cutting a dog's hair short and shaving it will not help it dissipate heat, let alone help it cool down.
In summer, dogs lose a lot of hair, which really makes us a little upset. Shaving dogs will be cooler in summer, which is just the wishful thinking of dog owners. Shaving will also have a negative impact on dogs. Jing said that besides keeping warm, the dog's hair has many other functions, such as protecting the skin from ultraviolet rays. The bottom fine hairs play a role of heat insulation and parasite isolation to a certain extent. If the dog's hair is shaved and the skin is directly exposed to the summer sun, it is easy to get sunburned and cause skin allergy. It is often said that dogs will have "inferiority complex" after being shaved, and they are reluctant to go out to play.
< h4 > Under what circumstances do you want to shave your dog < /h4 > When it comes to skin diseases, shaving is recommended for some systemic skin diseases. This is just to make it easier to apply medicine to the skin during treatment, increase the air flow of the skin, and make the skin diseases heal as soon as possible. Many owners shave their hair because they can't stand the loss of their fur when changing seasons. In fact, this is easy to solve. As long as they are combed twice a day in the morning and night, and the floating hairs that fall off from their bodies will be combed down, there will be much less hair at home. Parents should go back and have a try.
Through the article, I believe that everyone knows that shaving dogs in summer can not only make them cooler, but also make them suffer more crimes. Because the dog's hair can insulate the temperature to a certain extent, healthy hair is still very important to maintain their body temperature. Don't shave your dog because of the cooling.