# Don’t shave your husky! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150 "2018-09-11T03:00:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/21 "2018-09-11T15:52:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It might well have been Photoshopped. I’m skeptical about the legitimacy of the photo. I’m curious, in history of the dope, has anyone ever posted a link to a photo and not have had its legitimacy called into question? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/22 "2018-09-11T16:14:33Z")
**Don’t shave your husky!** That’s what the young guys are calling it now, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/23 "2018-09-11T17:47:28Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I’m curious, in history of the dope, has anyone ever posted a link to a photo and not have had its legitimacy called into question? > > 🙂 The neck is WAY too skinny for a husky. The head obviously came from a larger neck than that. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/24 "2018-09-11T17:55:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [A gallery of hairless/featherless animals.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/beatrizserranomolina/hairless-cuties) The hairless rooster really bears a striking resemblance to dinosaurs. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/25 "2018-09-11T19:29:00Z")
[The image originated on Twitter](https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/viral-pic-of-shaved-husky-prompts-debate-on-twitter-1711257) and the account has been suspended. Make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/26 "2018-09-11T19:39:10Z")
I don’t shave my Husky. He does fine during the summer, for whatever reason. I did shave my now-deceased shetland sheepdog. Kind of dumb I guess but he\* was\* miserable in the summer and became a lot more active after a shave. He looked like a lion, [kind of like this](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2218/2537861382_8d53f865cb_b.jpg). His coat always came back looking good. I wouldn’t do that now obviously, since I became edumacated. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/27 "2018-09-11T19:43:55Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > So does ours. [Fluffy, matted Zen looking innocent, like it might just be possible to groom him](http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b305/Bookkeeper2/IMG_2941.jpg). So… [Shaved Zen](http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b305/Bookkeeper2/Zen%20shaved%202017-07-22s.jpg) That cat needs a serious diet! ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/28 "2018-09-11T20:55:11Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > That cat needs a serious diet! He is a large cat! He’s a rescue cat that the vet said is definitely part Maine Coon, and a bit overweight at 24 pounds, but a lot of that is just long, fluffy fur. ---
**Author:** ![Map\_Ylow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/map_ylow/32/85_2.png) [@Map\_Ylow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Map_Ylow)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/29 "2018-09-11T21:52:56Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > So does ours. [Fluffy, matted Zen looking innocent, like it might just be possible to groom him](http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b305/Bookkeeper2/IMG_2941.jpg). So… [Shaved Zen](http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b305/Bookkeeper2/Zen%20shaved%202017-07-22s.jpg) Good lord, he’s glorious. I have a Maine Coon who does not enjoy grooming. Nor does she enjoy when I pin her down and shave off all the mats. [Behold, she.](https://i.imgur.com/hc7giYX.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/30 "2018-09-11T22:49:38Z")
> [@Map\_Ylow](#): > > Good lord, he’s glorious. > > I have a Maine Coon who does not enjoy grooming. Nor does she enjoy when I pin her down and shave off all the mats. > > [Behold, she.](https://i.imgur.com/hc7giYX.jpg) She’s a cutie! Zen loves having his head brushed and combed. He mostly tolerates having his shoulders and upper back brushed. Anything past that point is a no! He tends to mat up as he sheds his winter coat, as his fur is gossamer fine. We have his torso shaved for the summer at the vet while he is sedated for his annual dental checkup. ---
**Author:** ![Map\_Ylow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/map_ylow/32/85_2.png) [@Map\_Ylow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Map_Ylow)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/31 "2018-09-11T23:03:00Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > Zen loves having his head brushed and combed. He mostly tolerates having his shoulders and upper back brushed. Anything past that point is a no! He tends to mat up as he sheds his winter coat, as his fur is gossamer fine. We have his torso shaved for the summer at the vet while he is sedated for his annual dental checkup. I have three who adore the brushies - especially my formerly feral kitten, he will literally drag the brush off the table if I’ve put it up before _he’s_ quite done enjoying the brushies - and then I have, well, She. (She did enjoy it once. Before I was able to get her spayed and she decided she needed to go into heat. Luckily I only had female cats at the time and they were spayed.) And now I will quit derailing the thread with my glorious beasts. Is there a cat picture thread? I would be quite glad to show them off there. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/32 "2018-09-11T23:11:35Z")
And don’t you eat that yellow snow… ---
**Author:** ![yo\_han\_go](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yo_han_go/32/130_2.png) [@yo\_han\_go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yo_han_go)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/33 "2018-09-11T23:17:52Z")
But, but … why … Some animal shouldn’t be shaved. Huskies are one of them. Also cats and bears. Beavers OTOH … ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/34 "2018-09-11T23:19:53Z")
Whoa, **Bookkeeper** , how did you get Photobucket to host photos? I thought they got out of that business a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/35 "2018-09-12T00:16:41Z")
I’m a bit skeptical that the photo isn’t manipulated. Is it possible that the body of that husky is really like a plucked chicken? Those dogs are muscular and vigorous. I’d expect to see more meat on them and a broader bone structure. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/36 "2018-09-12T02:34:46Z")
There’s a shadow on his neck, it looks perfectly normal to me. [Buncha shaved huskies.](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1141&bih=528&ei=bnmYW6esHaevggeQip2wCw&q=shaved+husky&oq=shaved+husky&gs_l=img.3..0l10.1559.6640..6994...0.0..0.96.844.12......2....1..gws-wiz-img.....0.ymSk8h5xHmQ) I’ve raised and groomed a LOT of huskies. We didn’t shave ours but some of the people who boarded with us did. The main problem for us was the flies would then start biting their skin. anyway, the undercoat blows every Spring and grows back in Autumn. The top coat would be kinda wiry feeling until it got long again,maybe six months or so, but nothing about shaving the dog will change the follicles or how the hair forms. Husky coloring is highly reflective in nature, so they may even look much darker until those hairs get long, lie flat, and start reflecting sunlight again. And now for my contribution: [He wanted to leave it long on top.](https://pics.esmemes.com/lindsay-martin-lindsaymartin15-my-mom-just-ruined-my-dog-and-23824395.png) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/37 "2018-09-12T02:41:46Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > There’s a shadow on his neck, it looks perfectly normal to me. [Buncha shaved huskies.](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1141&bih=528&ei=bnmYW6esHaevggeQip2wCw&q=shaved+husky&oq=shaved+husky&gs_l=img.3..0l10.1559.6640..6994...0.0..0.96.844.12......2....1..gws-wiz-img.....0.ymSk8h5xHmQ) The neck of the dog in the OP looks unnaturally skinny and the body of the dog looks wrong somehow, while the other photos of shaved dogs look natural and real. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/38 "2018-09-12T03:40:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Whoa, **Bookkeeper** , how did you get Photobucket to host photos? I thought they got out of that business a couple of years ago. I had a Photobucket account from years ago. I had uploaded the cat pictures last summer and the links still worked. Don’t ask me why. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2018, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/39 "2018-09-12T03:55:58Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The neck of the dog in the OP looks unnaturally skinny and the body of the dog looks wrong somehow, while the other photos of shaved dogs look natural and real. Maybe that’s why it got traction? Photos of normal looking dogs wouldn’t have pinged anyone’s couriosity. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150/40 "2018-09-12T20:49:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The neck of the dog in the OP looks unnaturally skinny and the body of the dog looks wrong somehow, while the other photos of shaved dogs look natural and real. S/he’s a perfectly normal husky. Not a sled dog by any means, but a suburban one. Raised in a home with little work to do they have more of a ballet body. And if you blow up the pic to full size you’ll see that’s a fairly thick neck, there’s just a shadow going down the sides. Look at the bitch at the[top right of this group](http://huskyfacts.blogspot.com/2012/11/husky-facts.html). She would look much the same if shaved. Also, this shows a fraction of what they will lose when they blow coat in the Spring. Thus the saying “All huskies live outside in April.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-t-shave-your-husky/821150.md?page=3)