No, you should not shave a German Shepherd unless it is for a health or medical reason, such as shaving a hot spot to treat it. Except for humid climates, their undercoat keeps them cool and shedding is best managed by brushing.
Most people asking if they can shave their German Shepherd are worried about their dog being too hot or unhappy with the extreme amount of hair the dogs leave around their house. So, let’s talk about how to fix these two legitimate concerns.
Is my German Shepherd too hot?
German Shepherd Dogs have two coats of hair. They have a thick undercoat, and they also have an outer coat. The undercoat help keeps them cool (read more about humidity below). It’s basically like insulation, like you have in the attic and walls of your house. Indeed, their coat can become too “hairy”, but properly grooming your shepherd will keep them happy and cool.
- Properly maintained, your dog’s coat protects them from the sun and keeps them cool.
- If their hair and undercoat is impacted, in doesn’t vent properly and also traps the sun’s heat, making your dog extremely hot. Proper grooming will fix this.
- Shaved, double coated dogs may be exposed to harmful sunlight and also not be able to cool properly.
I’m tired of cleaning up dog hair.
Well, they aren’t called “German Shedders” for nothing. Properly grooming your German Shepherd will minimize the amount of dog hair left blowing around your house like a tumbleweed.
Exceptions
If it is hot and humid in your area, you may need to shave your German Shepherd.
This totally contradicts what most people say about their double coat. Well, most people are an echo chamber.
Ask any veterinarian in Houston Texas about the hot, humid days of summer.
Additionally, some medical procedures require some shaving, such as treating hot spots.
What if I shave my German Shepherd anyways?
Well, that’s up to you. Just be sure they don’t get bit by mosquitoes or injured by the sun. Ans, beware that they’re going to look like this:
Image credit: My Furry Friends.
Please comment below if you’ve shaved your German Shepherd Dog.
We would like to hear from you. Please let the world know if it went well and if you’d do it again or not.
Will their hair grow back to be the original color or will their coat always look like that?
Yes within 3 months its all back to normal. I shave both my GS every year, and they love it!
We had to shave a bit of the hair on the shoulder area of our shepherd when he got some hotspots treated early this summer. Hair grows back slowly but loos like the coloring will stay consistent with the previous coat- and hopefully blend in and lengthen over time
Hey ! So my vet or his assistant shaved a part of my German shepherds back because of an allergy reaction and we are treating it right now , how long is my dog going to have her hair back from that spot ? I’m so scared 🙁
Couple months. May be a little bit coarser hair but fine.
We have a long haired German shepherd and his skirt around hind legs are like fairy floss. Very pretty but under all that there are a lot of matts. I have just spent the last hour trying my best to comb it all out, but it is no longer possible as I have a bad back and I Will be walking around like a? For the rest of the day or week if I try to continue. He was also getting very sick of it. He is my husband’s dog but grooming for him is just making his Facebook pretty. If nothing else I would like to shave that skirt right off and let it start again. Thoughts? Are there any kind of products where I can make it not so fairy flossy?
Sorry, not Facebook pretty, that was meant to be face look pretty☺️
My german sheperd had bilateral ACL surgery in May 2017 and the hair on her back legs has still not fully grown in. Her legs had very little hair growth the first 12 months and only after her diet was changed to a prescription brand to treat an intestinal issue did the hair begin to grow back.
She is still beautiful!
yes she loves it. We take protection against sun and mosquitoes.I see no reason not to other than it is a huge,huge job to shave LOL
My GS puppy had to shave her hair today regarding some pugs on her skin and i am so scary of how much would it take to grow back
I have 2 long haired German Shepard’s. One is longer r and thicker. .The shedding has become really bad on the long haired dog. Brush both of them. I do brush them but this summer seems to be worse. I am worried about them overheating.
Take them and use an shop vacuum on plow instead of the usual vacuum mode. It will help blow the hair out. Or a groomer can do a blow up on them which where they use air to plow all the under coating out that is lose.
I started shaving my senior German Shepherd a couple years ago. She’s a West German Show line so very thick undercoat. She had developed allergies so I took her off dog food and fed her protein and lentils. I have fed her protein and rice, but she does better with lentils. The protein is either chicken, pork roast, or beef, depending on my budget. That helped but she still had a stinky smell to her and it was all over. It smelled yeasty so I began bathing her weekly for a few months, and doing a diluted peroxide rinse to kill the bacteria. I also shaved her allowing more air to her skin. All my dogs only go outside for walks and potty breaks. I’m in Houston so it’s wicked hot with high humidity. All this seemed to help her skin condition and the smell went away. She also had sores on her body from itching and scratching so much and this also improved. I now give her a daily dose of fish oil which helps her coat to shine. She seems comfortable with her coat after shaving and of course I take care not to let her have so much sun exposure to damage her skin.
I have a senior dog as well with same issues. And we live in Houston. Definitely consider the shaving now. Thanks
I have an query
Actually I have a 4 years of GSD , his health is not well due to hair got shaved by trimmer . He has long nails so we went to the private god clinic for mail cutting , as well as he had ticks on his body due to long hair we were not be able to identify when we checked his skin there was fungal
Infection over his body and scratches or patches like ring worm were there , doctor advised us to get him shaved , actually my champ is very aggressive due to which doctors were not comfortably to share him cut his mail any do the medicated bath.
But they did the mail cutting , hair cutting and after that medictated bath they took 2 hours To get this complete procedure .
But after this all my GSD is not been able to stand , he fallen there only than got up and walked till car . Doctor told us he reacted like this as his hairs got shaved and nails got cut along with medicated bath.
Today is 4th day he didn’t get up can you please tell me why and what happened to my GSD, he is crying and not been able to sleep properly Plz advise as I am very tensed so does our family.
Why he is my getting up ?
Please take. Him to the vet. Could be a reaction to medicated bath.
We try and have our 5 year old GSD shaved twice a year and he loves it, he turns into a puppy again took him today though and they didn’t give him the usual shave just a trim and groom. The stories about not shaving GSD are absolutely untrue even our vet confirmed this! He has always grown his hair back no problem I think an owner should know whether their dog is happy being shaved and just go with it if they do!!!
Thank you!!