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Coats
Coats
Hair V.S. Fur
Some dogs have hair while others have fur. While scientifically these are the same there are practical differences and generally accepted definitions particularly for groomers and show dogs.
Some dogs have what is now commonly referred to as hair. This means that their hair is of an undetermined length (UDL), which is to say that it will continue to grow longer until it is either cut or breaks, just like human hair. Examples of UDL, or dogs with hair, are; Afghan Hounds, Cairn Terriers, Maltese, Irish Terriers, and Poodles.
Whereas dogs who have fur have coats of pre-determined length (PDL), which means that their hair will grow to a certain lenght and then stop. Some examples of PDL or dogs with fur coats are; Beagles, Boxers, Jack Russel Terriers, Labrador Retrievers, Rottweilers, and Weimaraners.
Dogs with fur can require grooming, especially if they get mats in their hair from mud, sap, or burs. However animals with fur coats do not require regular grooming. Whereas animals with hair coats do require regular grooming for all the same reasons people do. Hair can get in the way of eyes, and bodily functions (such as defecating, urinating, and having periods). Knots are uncomfortable to the one whose head they are on, and once they reach a certain degree of severity there is no option but to cut them out. Infections or irritations to the skin can occur when the hair is not clean enough, as well as pests (like lice, and flees). It is simply more time consuimg to keep long hair clean and knot free than short hair. For all these reasons animals with hair coats require regular grooming to be healthy and happy.
Hypoallergenic - Non-shedding
Hypoallergenic is a bit misleading, there are no 100% hypoallergenic dogs. What hypoallergenic means in relation to a dogs coat is that their coat is non-shedding. Most people who are allergic to dogs are allergic to the dander on their hair, and a non-shedding coat produces less dander.
Because their coats do not shed on their own they require maintenance from their people in order to live their best lives. We brush dogs hair, and cut it, for all the same reasons that people brush and cut their hair. Hair can get in the way of eyes, and bodily functions (such as defecating, urinating, and having periods). Knots are uncomfortable to the one whose head they are on, and once they reach a certain degree of severity there is no option but to cut them out. Infections or irritations to the skin can occur when the hair is not clean enough, as well as pests (like lice, and flees). It is simply more time consuming to keep long hair clean and knot free than short hair. For all these reasons animals with hair coats require regular grooming to be healthy and happy.
Double coats
Some breeds of dogs have double coats, which means that they have two different types of hair growing at the same time in their coats, a top coarser layer and a soft underlayer.
Dogs with double coats are particularly good at dealing with diverse weather as the undercoat is a natural sunscreen, heat retention, and cooling depending on what the dog needs. And the overcoat protects against wind, water, and dirt.
Double coated breeds shed a lot and require brushing while their undercoat is shedding. The top coat has a normal hair turnover rate, while the undercoat will shed rather abruptly twice a year. This means that the top coat will shed year round, and brushing can help to minimize the amount of shedding you find around your house. Also twice a year the dog will shed it's undercoat and require regular brushing. If the undercoat hairs are not brushed out they can easily tangle with the top coat and make unfixable mats that have to be cut out for the comfort and health of the dogs skin.
It is not a good idea to shave double coated dogs for several reasons. First of which is that you can upset the cycle on which the undercoat sheds, making it shed continuously, significantly more than is natural. If you are lucky this can right itself after two years of not shaving or trimming their hair, but often if this cycle is upset it will remain unbalanced for the remainder of the dogs life. Second the double coat system is good at keeping your dog thermo-regulated and shaving them will remove their ability to stay cool or warm. Third is that skin problems are common after shaving with double coated dogs. Dogs with double coats can be trimmed, to keep them cool in very hot environments or to remove frustrating hair in eyes or around their privates, but they should not be shaved.
References
https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/hypoallergenic-dogs/
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/care/grooming/does-your-dog-have-hair-or-fur/
https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/blogs/pet-obsessed/what-is-a-double-coat-on-a-dog
Nails
Nails
Trimming your dogs nails is in most cases, necessary to the health and happiness of your dog. Dogs nails need trimming for all the same reasons peoples nails need trimming; long nails break more often and are painful when they do, it's difficult to use your hand/paw effectively for some tasks if nails are getting in the way, and some dogs will have other problems similar to how some people struggle with ingrown toe/fingernails.
The difference is that some dogs get enough wear on their nails to file them down naturally. We, for example, play fetch regularly in a park with stone paths in it, these paths wear most of the nails down to a good length without our need to intervene.
Many people are scared of trimming their dogs nails because they worry that they will hurt them. Just with people if you trim a dogs nails too short you will hut them and cause them to bleed. Dogs nails have a living core with blood in it called a quick where the nail grows from, unlike people whose nails grow from closest to the finger to the exterior. If the quick is cut there is momentary pain for the dog followed by small amounts of pain for the first number of times they put weight on the nail, until the nail heals and grows back. Regularly trimmed nails have a differently shaped quick then nails left to grow wild, so where the quick is can change as shown below.
Dogs who have had their quick cut are often shy of their nails being cut for a time afterwards. This can be the lifetime of a dog in worst case scenarios, however this is fixable. Regular handling of your dogs feet will acclimatize them to the fact that not all nail touching is bad, giving rewards of praise or treats, and lettings them acclimatize to the smells and sounds of the device being used. And if the anxiety of the dog is particularly high a distracting treat, such as peanut butter, can help them through the process until they realize it is not as scary or bad as they previously thought, as well as touching with the device without actually trimming, and trimming very small amounts more frequently.
There are four types of devices used for nail trimming on dogs; grinders, and clippers which fall into three categories; guillotine, clipper, and scissors. They are depicted below. There is no better device than the others for all dogs, owners, and nail types, each has their own merits. We use a grinder because if the quick is touched it cauterizes as it goes and does not bleed, and because we have a large number of dogs when a litter is home and it is fastest for us.
Teeth
Teeth
This will be one of the thinnest and controversial sections you will find on this website by a fair margin, you have been warned.
There is a lot of research that says that dogs teeth require very similar maintenance to human teeth for very similar reasons. However if you look closely the people who pay for this research almost always stand to profit from it's findings and is therefore suspect. Additionally I and my family do not have much faith in the science of dentistry in general. As many others have, our experience is that one sibling did what they were told and brushed and flased regularly, while the other did not and the open who followed all of the rules also had the lions share of procedures done. We know that fillings, root canals, and similar procedures are very helpful and prevent larger problems from developing, our problem is with what they tell us to do for maintenance. Both Danielle and I have been told we have brilliant teeth and must flaws regularly after not having flawsed at all, which reinforces our skepticism that it is a necessary maintenance that makes an obvious difference to those who know teeth.
Similarly, I have known many people who brush their dogs teeth and take them for cleaning, and all of them have had to make the tough call of extremely expensive dentures for their dogs remaining life or putting them down, while the farm dogs I have known, other than needing a broken tooth pulled, have had functional teeth until they died.
As such we do not beleive that brushing teeth, or getting cvleanings is beneficial to the health or quality of life of the dog and do not do it. We believe that it is a money grab building from the sometimes useful procedures that do help a dog live a happy healthy life such as puling a badly broken tooth.
References
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