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Let It Snow! Winter breed grooming

Thursday, January 12, 2012

by Eve Adamson

Do you have a snow dog? You know, the kind whose eyes light up as soon as the lawn turns from green to white, who can bound through snow drifts, and make snow angels?

Breeds who evolved in cold climates include the northern breeds (the spitz types such as Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds, and Chow Chows) and the mountain breeds (such as Saint Bernards, Bernese Mountain Dogs, and Great Pyrenees). They have thick double coats, which might be long or short, to insulate them from cold temperatures. And they love the snow like a retriever loves water or a setter loves birds-with wild, instinctual abandon.

But these winter breeds also have particular grooming needs. Let's take a look at how to keep these dogs in great condition, so they can get the most out of the snow they know and still look gorgeous for the people they love. 

The Double Coat

You know how you sometimes wear a polar fleece or a wool sweater under your parka when it's super cold outside? That layering effect is how a double coat works. "Humans have single hair follicles, but dogs have compound hair follicles," Patty Martin, owner of BowWow Wheels Mobile Pet Salon in Pelzer, South Carolina, explains. "One dog-hair follicle can form anywhere from 7 to 35 hairs. In that mix, you can have a certain percentage of outer guard hairs, and the rest of the hairs make up the soft, fuzzy undercoat."

The composition of a dog's coat depends on several things, including breed, genetics, temperature, and exposure to sunlight. Some dogs have relatively light undercoats that stay close to the body (think Siberian husky). Others have incredibly thick undercoats that stand out, creating a unique silhouette (think Pomeranian or Samoyed).

But all double coats serve a protective function. Savannah Shirkey, a professional groomer in San Antonio, Texas, explains: "The undercoat functions like the down in a down coat. It holds heat in the body. The guard hairs in the outer coat insulate the dog from the outside temperatures. They protect from cold. In the heat, they also act like a sunblock."

This sensible system requires some maintenance. Once or twice a year, the double coat will "blow," or shed the undercoat, to prepare for the coming season. In the fall, the summer coat falls out to make way for a thicker, heavier winter coat. In the spring, the heavier winter undercoat falls out in preparation for the dog's lighter spring wear. Even between heavy seasonal sheds, many dogs comtinue to shed. The problem is that all that undercoat doesn't necessarily make it past the protective outer coat on its own.

Undercoat Assist

Some winter breeds build up such thick undercoats or such exuberant outer coats that they look a little bit wild, shaggy, or scruffy. Some of these tendencies are certainly genetic-not every dog has the perfect exmple of his breed's coat. Grooming can step in where Mother Nature dropped the ball. 

You should never need to clip or shave the coat of a winter breed. This compromises coat texture and weather resistance. Instead, grooming a winter breed is all about the undercoat assist.

"A weekly brush-out with a slicker brush and an undercoat rake really helps to keep things under control at home," Aurora Demeritt, a groomer in Wichita Falls, Texas, says. Shed undercoat that gets caught can cause nasty mats that must be cut out of your dog's coat, and that doesn't look or feel good.

Of course, a groomer can help, but weekly at-home undercoat maintenance matters. "It is very difficult for a groomer to remove all the built-up undercoat in one grooming session if it has not been kept up with at all," Demeritt says. A long session of dematting and pulling out a too-heavy undercoat can be uncomfortable for your dog, but regular undercoat maintenance means he will have a much more enjoyable grooming session.

And those stray wild hairs in the outer coat? Some light trimming, particularly on the underside of the dog and especially around the face, ears, and feet can keep clinging snow and ice at bay. Most wild-hair situations can be tamed with a good unercoat rake, but there is nothing wrong with trimming away any particularly shaggy spots. Just be sure to keep the outer coat intact and longer than the undercoat.

Holy Ice Balls!

 Any winter dog worth his weight in show is going to spend some serious outdoor time romping, if you let him. Often, little ice balls will form between his paw pads, around his ears, on his face, under his tail, on his legs, and on his belly. These ice balls can stick to the skin, force paw pads apart, and generally feel uncomfortable. They can also lead to irritaion and chapping, especially if mixed with rock salt or de-icing chemicals that might be on sidewalks or streets where your dog has been walking.

The best way to keep ice balls off your dog's feet is to trim the fur between paw pads and toes with scissors, and trim any fur that hangs over your dog's foot. You can always call on the groomers at Paws and Claws to do a quick paw trim if you feel better having a professional do it. A slick of paw-pad balm or a little petroleum jelly on paw pads before heading out can also help save your dog's feet from ice balls and chapping. If ice becomes a big problem, consider canine snow boots.

When ice gets on your dog's coat in other areas, brush it off when you can or give your dog a gentle blow-drying, with the dryer on low, after he comes inside. Brush the ice out as it melts. This can also minimize a mess in the house from ice that gradually melts and falls off.

Bathing

For many of the Arctic breeds in particular, water spells trouble.They have a very good reason-get soaking wet in the Arctic and you're probably not going to make it very far. That bad reaction is a survival instinct.

One solution for bath-resistant breeds is to visit a professional groomer. They know what to expect from Huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds, and other water-averse winter dogs. They have walk-in tubs (no trying to lift that panicky sled dog into the bath), the water is a soothing warm temperature (unlike your garden hose), and they have a restraint system that holds the dog from both sides so he can't move around too much. Groomers move quickly and get these breeds washed and dried ASAP with minimal mess-that's what you pay them for.

Fortunately, most winter breeds don't need baths all that often. In fact, bathing a winter breed in the winter may be completely unnecessary. Bernie Rogers, Siberian Husky fancier and owner of Bernie's Grooming, in Frederick, Maryland, never bathes her racing Sibes during winter, which is racing season. "Once the winter coat on an adult Siberian has cycled in, it's hard to even pull a hair out of them and none of them are bathed until racing is over. Every piece of hair on them contributes to keeping them warm, and the oils they accumulate in their coats help keep them waterproof in the snow."

Once you've got the grooming down, your dog will be perfectly protected from the elements. So let him play. Build a snow dog. Lob snowballs out of a fort and dare your dog to fetch. Then, after a long day frolicking in the white stuff, you can both come inside, curl up by the fire, and snuggle. Because when your winter breed is well groomed and healthy, winter really can be the warmest and coziest of seasons.

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