With a bit of a late start this year, Winter is finally well and truly upon us. With a chill in the air and temps dropping to below 10 degrees overnight, we think about our fur babies and how they must be feeling the cold like we do. So with this comes ways to keep them warm, including keeping them inside at night, taking out the knitted doggie jumper, and of course, growing out their coat. While keeping their coat longer does mean less or no length clipped off, it does not translate to less or no grooming.
The confusion comes from a misinterpretation of the word “grooming”. Grooming does NOT necessarily mean shaving the coat. Grooming can be a tidy-up of the coat, while leaving the length long or even untouched.
Ultimately, a long-haired breed dog should be groomed once every 6 weeks. So what happens to a dog’s coat that has been left to grow long for 3-4 months over Winter without maintenance grooming (bathing, brushing, or knot removal)? Most of the time the coat will start to matt and then there is only one solution – shave the coat short under the matting. Then you are left with a shaved dog while the weather is still cold, which is what you have been trying to avoid by letting the coat grow over Winter!
A matted dog being shaved
You can get your dog groomed in Winter while still leaving the coat long. You have 2 options – a full groom with a longer length left on the coat, or a mini groom with no length taken off the coat. A dog only needs about 2cms of coat to still keep it warm through Winter. This can be achieved by requesting a number 3 length clip on your dog. You can even request a longer length than this, provided the coat is free of matting and knots. A mini groom, on the other hand, is a maintenance groom between full grooms to keep the coat knot-free, while still trimming hygiene areas such as the belly, feet and face. Mini-grooms start from as little as $35.
Daisy's Winter groom
So do you think your dog needs more or less grooms through Winter? Many dog owners will get this answer wrong, which is evident in the drop of grooming bookings with the drop of temperature. The answer is MORE often! This is because to maintain a longer length coat, your dog will need to be groomed more often to prevent knotting and matting. In Summer, you can get your dog shaved very short and this can last up to 3 months before needing to be shaved again. Whereas in Winter, if you leave the coat to grow without maintenance, it will start to mat and you won’t be able to maintain its length for the entire duration of the cold months.
So what is my professional opinion about dog grooming through Winter? Keep up with your dog’s usual grooming cycle through Winter, but ask for a longer length to be maintained, or alternate between mini grooms and full grooms. A dog’s coat can seem knot-free one day and within a week can become matted beyond repair. Keeping up with your dog’s grooming this Winter will prevent that shock you (and your dog) get when your groomer must shave your dog short before the weather starts to warm up!
Your trusted dog groomer,
Davina Dewar.