Think Twice Before Shaving Your Labrador's Fur In The Summer

When it's hot and muggy outside, you might think that shaving your Labrador will help it stay cool, but you may want to avoid picking up that electric trimmer. Labradors naturally shed to prepare their coats for the appropriate season, and climate and location affect dog shedding, too, as dogs' bodies are in tune with nature. So, while it may create a mess in your house, it's best to let the shedding run its course.

Labradors shed as much as they do because they have a double coat consisting of an outer waterproof layer and an inner layer for extra warmth. Your pup having this inner layer may make you think it will overheat in the summer, but shaving your Labrador is a big no-no not only because of its natural shedding but also because it can come with negative health effects. For example, shaving your Labrador can lead to sunburn because its fur also acts as a layer of protection against the sun's harmful rays. If you take away this protection, sunburns can become especially nasty due to dogs spending so much time outdoors, but that's only the beginning of the potential complications that come with shaving your Labrador's fur.

As if protecting from sunburn weren't enough, a Labrador's undercoat also helps regulate its body temperature, which means that it helps in the summer, too. More specifically, the undercoat delivers cooler air to your dog's skin, lowering its body temperature. Without this, a dog can be susceptible to overheating. 

What's more, deciding to shave a dog can hinder its temperature regulation into the distant future. Dogs grow into their coats and naturally shed their warm-weather and cold-weather coats at appropriate times. Disrupting this process via shaving can affect what grows back. For instance, it can grow back in patches, and if the two-layer coat is shaved off entirely, there's a chance that the undercoat may not fully redevelop.

Because of these reasons, it's best to not shave your dog in the summer, but there are, thankfully, a few ways to simultaneously keep your Labrador cool and combat excessive shedding that leaves you wondering how to remove dog hair from everything you own. Sitting in the shade, keeping plenty of water available for your dog, and limiting time outside can help your Labrador feel more comfortable in the summer. In lieu of shaving, you can maintain your Labrador's coat by brushing it once or twice a day, including the use of a deshedding tool like the FURminator Ultimate Dog deShedding Bundle. These tools simply help pull off already-loose fur instead of completely shaving your pet.

For more puppy love, check out the advantages and disadvantages of owning a Labrador retriever.