Maintaining Double Coated Breeds

As we have already established these breeds have 2 layers of fur which work together to regulate the dogs’ body temperature in both warm and cool conditions. This is why you should never shave or clip the fur of a double coated dog. Doing so can lead to numerous health problems such as limiting the dogs ability to regulate their body temperature, Canine Alopecia (also known as “coat funk”) and in extreme cases, sunburn.

Example of Canine Alopecia 

Now we have established what not to do we can look at maintaining double coated breeds.

The first thing we always recommend for any dog is regular visits to your groomer,. Every dog is different but depending on breed, coat length and time of year we would usually like to see double coated dogs every 8 to 12 weeks.

As part of our grooming process we will:

1. Wash and condition your dog using specially formulated shampoos which facilitates the removal of loose fur. Enriched with moisturisers this shampoo helps to release shedding hair from the coat without irritating the skin.
2. In our fully equipped salon we wash the dogs using one of our 2 Hydrobaths. These are designed to ensure the shampoo and conditioner get right down to the skin leaving a squeaky clean coat.
3. Once washed and rinsed we dry the coat using high powered dryers or “blasters”. As well as drying, this part of the process will blow out any loose coat that has not been removed in the bath.
4. Now the dog is clean and dry we can start the process of “de-shedding.” Depending on breed we will use a variety of different tools to ensure we remove every last bit of fur that is ready to drop.

Above Left: De-shedding rake / Above Right: Zoom Groom

Although regular visits to your groomer is best practice in regard to maintaining double coated breeds you can help with general coat maintenance at home. Brushing your dog on a daily basis using a Zoom Groom or similar tool will help keep his coat in optimum condition between grooms.