Hey Woofa’s,

A question I’m asked regularly as a Dog Groomer is – ‘Does your Business slow down in winter?’

When I give a confused look the response is – ‘You know because no-one gets their dogs groomed in winter’!

My reply is to go into a little bit of an explanation as to why this isn’t the case.

I’m going to say 98% of all dogs still do need to be groomed during winter.

Winter goes for 3 whole months for gosh sake!

Who isn’t at least bathing their dogs 1-2 times during that period?

And just because it’s winter doesn’t mean hair stops growing!

So my answer to the question – Does My Dog Need To Be Groomed In Winter?

Is a big fat YES, yes and yes!

WHY MY DOG NEEDS TO BE GROOMED IN WINTER?

SHORT HAIRED DOGS

Even if your dog is a short haired dog that’s inside most of the time and who only goes outside to pee/poop aka Billy!

He still gets a doggy smell eventually and requires a bath.

We may be able to stretch it out to 6 weeks or even 8 weeks at most, but he definitely gets a bath during winter.

We give him the sniff test if he smells and his blankets start to smell he gets a bath.

He gets a warm bath in the hydro bath and a warm blow dry so he’s not left wet.

Then he either sits in front of our heater or our log fire place, whichever is on at the time of bathing.

LONG HAIRED DOGS

98% of dogs do still need to be bathed during winter.

How often – ideally no more than once a month – so during winter that’s 3 baths.

HOWEVER, do what we do and do the sniff test!

If you can stretch it out do so regarding bathing.

HOWEVER, with long haired dogs you have to take into account what all that long hair is doing!

Are you regularly brushing your dog and keeping the knots out – all over your dog?

I’m finding most dogs are still shedding hair when they should be keeping it ready for winter.

This is because they are inside more with unnatural heating which is telling their coat it’s time to shed.

If you have a non-shedding dog, all good.  BUT you still need to keep their hair neat and tidy.

During winter I try to avoid the shave down aka a long haired dog shaved down like a short haired dog.

Basically because it’s colder and having their hair keeps them warmer.

The shave down is only done because the dog’s hair is matted and has a pelted coat (way too knotty to brush out).

So what I do during winter is maintain the long haired dog’s coat.

MAINTAINING THE COAT MEANS

1. Keeping your dog’s coat longer but neat and tidy;
2. Keeping the hair out of eyes;
3. Making the hair shorter around the mouth;
4. Maintaining a clean (shorter hair) around the bottom area;
5. Making sure the hair underneath the feet is short;
6. Hair around the toilet area is clean and short;
7. Making sure the feet on top are a bit shorter, blended in, tidy and manageable;
8. Allow the hair over the body to be longer and knot free;
9. Checking that all the nails are an appropriate length;
10. And to give the dog a freshen up.

So while some dogs get the shave down during summer to keep them cooler, in winter we maintain their hair at a longer length.

If you don’t want to do this, ask your trusted Dog Groomer to do it for you.

As long as you are keeping your dog brushed and knot free in between Grooming visits, then your dog doesn’t need a shave down during winter.

But yes your dog does still need to be groomed during winter.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

Winter generally goes for 3 months!  During this time your dog does need to be groomed at some stage.

Whether it’s a bath and blow dry to get rid of the doggy smell and to freshen them up!

Or a maintenance grooming keeping their hair longer but neat and tidy, they do need to be groomed during winter.

Would you not bath or brush your hair for the 3 months of winter???  I HOPE NOT!

IN THE COMMENTS BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW – HOW OFTEN YOU GET YOUR DOG GROOMED DURING WINTER?