The dog grooming business is booming right now due to so many people wanting their dog to have a designer coat cut after seeing photographs of their dog breed on social media looking cute after having its coat shaved.
That said though, depending on the breed of dog that you own, shaving your dog’s coat may actually be a mistake, especially if you live in a cold area.
We have seen a huge spike in the number of people reaching out to ask how long does it take for dog hair to grow back after having their dog shaved at a pet groomers and realizing that the colder months are setting in and that their dog’s hair is growing back much slower than expected.
With so many people asking about how long it will take for their dog’s hair to grow back as well as it being a pain to have to go out and buy a dog vest coat to keep your dog warm during the winter months, we have decided to publish this article on the subject.
Our hope is that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible as well as their dogs because some breeds can take over a year for their coat to fully grow back.
Depending on when you have your dog shaved, this can mean that your dog may have to go through at least one winter season, possible two before its coat fully grows back so you may have to purchase a dog vest coat to keep your dog warm.
How Long Does It Take For Dog Hair To Grow Back?
You will usually see new hair growth on most dog breeds within two weeks of a dog having its coat cut or shaved.
Some puppies can take as long as eighteen months for their coat to grow back with some adult dog breeds taking as long as a year depending on how much of their coat was removed and if they have an undercoat or not.
Dog breeds like huskies that have a thick undercoat and usually shed twice per year can also go through a stage where they look strange if you shave their outer coat due to their undercoat being able to grow back much quicker.
This results in their undercoat outgrowing their outercoat and causing tufts of random fur to show at different parts of your dog’s body.
Breeds like the Yorkshire terrier that has hair rather than fur also tend to take longer for their coat to grow back, especially if you want the dog’s coat to be long once grown out.
After shaving a dog breed that has hair rather than fur, it can often take between eight to twelve months for the coat to grow back due to the hair growing at a slower pace than fur with a growth rate of around a quarter of an inch per month at most.
How Can I Get My Dogs Hair To Grow Back Faster?
There are a number of things that you are able to do to help encourage faster growth of your dog’s coat after having it cut.
The more popular methods include adding an omega oil supplement to their diet to support healthy coat growth, regular grooming of your dog’s coat to remove dead hair and to spread the natural oils over the coat, and to wash your dog with an anti-fungal/anti-bacterial shampoo on a regular basis.
The easiest and cheapest method to encourage faster coat growth in most dog breeds is to add a decent omega oil suppliment to your dog’s diet.
This ensures that your dog has plenty of Omega 3, 6, and 9 oils in its diet to encourage the growth of a healthy coat and can help to speed up the growth of the coat if the dog is currently deficient in these oils with most dogs not getting anywhere near enough omega oils in their normal diet.
Grooming of the dog coat be it brushing the coat with a dog grooming brush, not a slicker brush or bathing the dog in a No products found. to reduce any growth hindering bacteria on your dog’s coat and skin.
Both of these are able to help promote healthy and rapid coat growth in dogs helping their coat crow at a much faster pace than it otherwise would.
Will My Dog’s Hair Grow Back After Being Shaved?
Your dog’s hair will grow back after being shaved but it can take up to a year for an adult dog’s coat to grow back and up to 18 months for a puppy coat to grow back depending on the breed.
This is why you have to be sure that your dog will be fine in your local temperatures for at least a year if you do plan to have their coat shaved.
One common mistake that we constantly see people making is taking advice from their local dog groomer on how long it will take for their dog’s coat to grow back. This falls into the category of “never as a harbor if you need a hair cut” due to the dog groomer being incentivized to get the sale.
A quick Google search for your specific dog breed and how long it will take for its coat to grow back should be enough to get the information that you require.
Keep in mind that breeds like a Labradoodle can take their hair from their labrador or poodle parent so it can be difficult to work out how long it will take for their coat to regrow.
Is It Ok To Shave A Dog?
It is usually ok to shave your dog as some breeds that have evolved to live in colder climates are often kept in warm areas and shaving their coat can help them deal with the heat.
Although we usually recommend against shaving a dogs coat simply for “dog fashion”, a huge number of dog owners do it without issue.
As we touched on earlier in the article though, you may have to purchase a dog vest coat for some breeds in colder areas as they can have issues with the cold if their coat has not fully grown back by winter.
These dog coats can range from $20 up to $100 depending on exactly what you need and the amount of padding you require as colder areas will require a thicker dog coat.
Although you can try the methods that we covered in the article earlier to help get your dog’s coat to grow back as quickly as possible, there is no guarantee that these will work.
On top of that, although they may work, there is no guarantee of how quickly they will help your dog’s coat grow back as it may only take the regrowth time down from twelve months to eleven months.
What Dog Breeds Should Not Be Shaved?
There is a general no shave rule in place for some double-coated breeds but it is not as simple as never shaving a double-coated dog breed as the area that the dog lives has to be factored in.
Some double-coated breeds will need their coat shaving in warmer climates or the dog will have problems with the heat but in colder areas, you usually shouldn’t shave a double-coated dog breed.
As we touched on earlier in the article, dog breeds that have hair instead of fur such as the Yorkshire terriers are often shaved but their coats tend to take much longer to grow back.
You really do need to factor this in when thinking of shaving a dog bred that has hair instead of fur, especially if you live in an area where it will get cold in winter.
You should also factor in the time of the year too.
For example, if winter is just around the corner and you live in an area that is known to be particularly cold then shaving your dog’s coat is probably a bad idea due to how long it will take for it to grow back.
Can Shaving A Dog Hurt Them?
Modern dog grooming equipment usually has protectors and guards around the blade to minimize the risk of your dog getting clipped when shaved.
In rare conditions, shaving your dog can cause damage to the dog’s coat though it with having problems growing back evenly or at a normal growth rate.
Although there are some ways that you can fix these issues if your dog’s coat is not growing back correctly, they go tend to be expensive and are not guaranteed to work.
If your dog groomer is not insured correctly then you may have to pay the bill for these problems with your dog’s coat to be corrected too.
Some dogs hate being at their dog groomers too and will show signs of stress and anxiety during and for a short period after being at the dog groomers.
Although it is unlikely that this will cause any long term mental health problems in your dog, it should be factored in as your dog may be a little different than its normal personality for a few days after being groomed with heightened aggression in some dogs.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over how long does it take for dog hair to grow back to an end. We hope that you have found our article helpful and that we have been able to offer some insights into how, why, and when you should and shouldn’t shave your dogs coat. As we have mentioned throughout the article, there are a number of different factors that you have to factor in when shaving your dogs coat as it can take as long as a year for your dogs coat to grow back fully.
