Today Zoe was shaved to help her cope with the hot summer weather — and boy does she look different!
Now, if you haven’t followed the blog you might be thinking to yourself, “Different? She looks like a German Shepherd Dog to me!” And she does — but Zoe is actually a special type of German Shepherd Dog. Many don’t know that GSD’s come in short-hair and long-hair varieties.
Zoe is a long-haired German Shepherd Dog. GSD’s have two coats of fur — a coarse outer coat and a very fine inner coat that serves as insulation. (This fine coat sheds twice a year in copious amounts, but that is another story for another day!) In the summer Zoe tends to overheat very quickly because her black fur absorbs the sunlight and the insulation holds the heat in. Many days she lays on the air-conditioner register and won’t move!
So this year I decided to have her shaved to see if it helps her be more comfortable outside during the hot summer months. They did a fantastic job on her — she looks like a short-haired German Shepherd Dog! She looks about 20 lbs lighter, and the groomer told me she combed out an enormous amount of undercoat during the session.
I was also told that Zoe is the best-behaved German Shepherd Dog they have ever groomed. She was patient and loved the entire grooming experience. I’m very proud to have such a well-behaved dog as my companion!
Zoe's New Coat
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Looks like my dog now!
Sure does!
I cannot believe this post – she is gorgeous!!! I adore german shepherds, and we’re actually thinking of adopting? purchasing? (from a great breeder, of course if that’s the route) one this year. Sometime. We’ve been procrastinating since the responsibility is so huge.
And it’ll definitely have to be a regular haired one, since with three cats we can only handle so much fur….
Beatutiful girl! How old is she? How’d you end up with her?
I’ll shoot you an email with more detail in a sec — but German Shepherd Dogs simply rock! Zoe is a registered 6.5 year-old bundle of love I’ve had for just over 2 years now. She had been abandoned at our local vet and they gave her to me (shots and all) for nothing. I am the luckiest guy in the world to have her as my companion!
The responsibility is a lot less than I thought as far as the time it takes. German Shepherd Dogs are extremely loyal, and pretty much they are happy just being around you doing what you do. She is much less maintenance than many of the women I’ve dated. I hope none of them read this… LOL
My brother has a short-hair GSD and it sheds just as much, so be forewarned. GSD’s have this fine undercoat that just seems to end up everywhere. I use something called a Furminator to comb her and it keeps it under control if I do it regularly (which I don’t). In fact, often I get a pile of fur as big as her from one session!