As a Siberian Husky owner I am going to strongly disagree with you statement that their fur doesn’t shed in the summer - it absolutely does. The rest of the year as well, but the undercoat “blows” and comes out in large handfuls in the summer.
It doesn’t get to 100 degrees here, but she manages just fine (as do her cousins) in the summer (70s or so) by skipping our midday walks, having access to shade and water, and going in the sea whenever possible.
well they don’t sweat from most of their bodies like humans, so there’s not going to be facilitated evaporative cooling by shaving him. Also, there’s something to be said for a light coat (at least most of his coat) reflecting sunlight off the skin as well as an insulating layer of fur a-la a camel. I honestly don’t know the numbers (or if anyone has studied it) for shaved vs non-shaved.
What I do for my idiot dogs (two labs and a thick undercoated German Shepherd) is to make sure they’ve got a kiddie pool and shade when it’s warm. We regularly get 100 deg plus weather in the summer, and my dogs do fine outside when they can’t be inside in the air conditioning. My labs will go in the kiddie pool to soak for a bit, and the shepherd will dip her feet then go sit in the shade.
I suppose I should have said “don’t shed enough”. Still, there’s a massive difference between 70s and 100s in terms of survivability. There’s barely a place on earth that doesn’t get to the high 70s on warm days in summer, but the 100s are reserved for truly hot climates. And thick-coated doggos are not made for climates like that.
I know they don’t sweat, but the fur keeps in heat, right?
I was told by a newfie owner that leaving the fur kept them cooler than trimming down (not shaving to expose skin) but I forget the reasoning.
The camel insulation concept. Keeps a layer of body temp air next to the body when the ambient air temp is hotter than normal dog body temp (~99.5-102.5 F). Don’t know how much that actually applies to dogs though…
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