How to Shave a Dog

You may want to shave your dog for a number of reasons. Perhaps his long hair makes him uncomfortable on hot summer days or he is going through a period of heavy shedding and you want to alleviate the mess. Before you grab those clippers, here are a few things to consider.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Choose your tools carefully. Clippers made for human hair are not appropriate for a dog's dense coat. You need quality clippers and blades made specifically for animal grooming. Human hair clippers will pull the dog's fur and will overheat quickly.

2. Secure your dog. A raised table with a collar that you've attached to an overhead support to hold the dog's head up will keep him from trying to jump off. Give him room to move his head a little. Alternatively, you can have an assistant hold his collar up.

3. Start with your dog's face. Attach a #10 blade to your clippers and carefully shave long hair between the eyes and ears. Be extremely careful. If the dog is moving around, wait until he calms down. Stay at least 1 inch away from the eyes.

4. Raise the dog's legs. Next on the list is the underarm area. Pull the fur and skin taught and shave away from your hand in a smooth motion. Follow by shaving the under-tail area. This is especially helpful in longhaired breeds that tend to get feces stuck in their fur.

5. Change to a longer blade and proceed to shave the rest of the dog's body, starting behind the head, working down the neck and then down both sides. Reach underneath and shave the belly carefully, remembering to pull the skin taught and shave away from your hand.

6. Continuously check the heat of your clippers while you shave your dog. Thick fur can cause them to overheat quickly and they can burn. If they get warm, shut them off awhile and give both of you a break. Resume when they have cooled down.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk reassuringly to your dog through out the process and reward him when you're done. Take timeouts as needed. If the shave becomes traumatic for your dog, he will resist even more the next time it needs to be done.
• Don't shave a dog too closely in the summer. Dogs depend on their fur for protection from the sun. They can sunburn easily. Keep at least 1 inch on his coat for protection.