I actually dreamed about asking y'all this, last night.
One of our dogs is extremely long and thick haired (I'm pretty sure she's a mix between an Australian Shepard and a Great Pyrenees). I feel so bad for her in the summer - when it is really hot, they come inside, but we also do a lot outside in the summer and the dogs go with us. I keep her brushed and every single time it leads to mountains of white hair.
My question is: can we shave her? Not completely, but until her hair is short? I've been told (or read somewhere, or something) that their hair keeps them from getting sunburned (of course) and that it keeps them cool. I know there are a lot of people around here who do that, and there is a family a mile or so down the road that shaves their Border Collies every summer. Not only do I assume it would keep her a lot cooler when we're outside, but it would probably help with the white hair that covers everything within 50 yards of our house. What do you think?
Re: Another dog question...
That's kind of what I was thinking (about their coat protecting them). We brush her several times a week - I can't say every day, because sometimes we skip a day here and there. But, maybe if I took her to a real groomer occasionally? Would a groomer be able to do anything that we're not already doing?
I would take her to the groomer, they are able to cut the hair shorter and take out a lot of the undercoat that we can't. We have a beagle/chihuahua mix and she has really thick fur and sheds like crazy. We take her to the groomer once a month and she's able to thin out her fur as much as possible without shaving her and it really really helps.
You could also take her and just ask the groomer her opinion on shaving and see what she would recommend.
You need a Furminator: http://www.amazon.com/FURminator-Medium-Yellow-Deshedding-3-Inch/dp/B000FSFNVI.
A lady I know who breeds mini aussie's has them shaved in the summer to about an inch and a half long hair all over.
I do need one of those! I have a thing from WalMart that I think is kind of along the lines of that, but probably doesn't work NEAR as well.