The Naked Beagle

My Linus

September 2007: I was so thrilled to finally have a dog - my beautiful, Beagle boy, Linus!  Having a Beagle was everything I dreamed of and more :)  And then... I came to realize something... something about my beautiful Beagle... he shed.  A LOT!!!  He still sheds.  A LOT!!!  I had NO idea Beagles shed.so.much.  I was completely uneducated and under the (wrong) impression that short-haired dogs = non-shedding dogs.  Ha!  (Just in case you are wondering, short-haired dogs can and do shed.  A LOT.  It's just shorter ;)  

Linus has an extremely thick and lush, soft, white undercoat that causes his coat to be velvety soft.  It also causes him to shed excessivley.  Sabrina on the other hand has almost no undercoat,and while her coat is not as soft as Linus', it hangs on much better.

Note: I am receiving no compensation from Swiffer
 to mention their product, I wish.
Swiffer people: give me a call.

After going through more Swiffer dust pads and vacuum filters than I care to remember, I finally approached my groomer with the idea to have Linus shaved.  She owns Beagles as well and shaves them!  She never mentioned it to me as people do not typically shave Beagles, but it was something she was very familiar with and a pro at!

I give you, Linus Xavier Hart: The Naked Beagle.

Linus Hart - he doesn't have a middle name,
but if he did, it might have to be Xavier.

His middle-name is not really Xavier, I just thought it "sounded good" just now :)

When he is shaved, you can see just how much under coat the boy has.  He is almost snow white, except for the black stripe of fur down the middle of his back.  He looks just like a "reverse skunk"!  The first time we had it done, the groomer called me before I picked him up to warn me that "...your Beagle is white."  I had a small moment of panic when she called not really knowing what she meant or what to expect, but I LOVED it when I saw him.  He is just as soft with his buzz cut as he is with his long fur.

"Will anyone I know be seeing this picture???"

We have never shaved Sabrina because there has never been a need to.  Plus, I think she would be much too humiliated to be "naked".  She looks completely embarrassed just sitting beside Linus in this picture! 

A tiny fraction of the fur I remove from Linus
 via Furminator when he is not shaved.
(A great tool, btw.)  

If you are brushing and brushing your Beagle to no avail, I highly recommend a shave during the summer months.  He/she will be much cooler and your floors will thank you!