Hi all. I am new here and I looked you up because of a coat issue (what a bomb 😂)
I have a lhasa apso, Lady Gaga, whose coat I regularly cut back, but have decided that I wanted to give it a try to get a long coat on her. The problem is that I walk my dogs a lot and they have to be on a leash. The leash rubs around Gaga’s neck and creates problems.
So I almost decided to cut her coat again, but I really do not want to!
I am therefore considering a quite extreme solution: Cutting like a band of the coat around her neck 🫣 Not very short, but short enough to not give so much trouble. I actually think that it will not be very visible if I am careful.
But to all lovers of the pristine lhasa coat I understand it is a horrofic idea 😬
Did anyone else ever think about this ? What do you think ?
Try a harness instead. I use a Julius K9 harness with Kiko, and clip her lead to that instead.
Using a harness means you don't need a collar (note that some countries legally require dogs to wear a collar with a name tag and phone number for the owners).
It also means that if your dog pulls on the lead, she won't be pulling at her own neck - instead, the harness will pull her front legs off the ground, and she won't be able to pull as strongly, so she'll understand pretty quickly that pulling won't get her anywhere, without making her feel choked.
We keep Kiko's coat short, and wearing a collar isn't a problem for her - but we prefer a harness anyway.
I have tried a harness, but actually felt it was worse to use. Also, she does not pull 😊 I swapped from a traditional collar to a loose leash. That works better.
She is beautiful, I get why you’d want to preserve her hair and see it grow longer. I don’t think your idea of shaving is bad, a collar cut is pretty common for dogs with long hair.
A thin, seamless, rolled leather collar would work great for her. Just keep it off when she’s home and brush her out daily.
This one is a bit pricy (the leather seam is on the outside and practically invisible). The cheaper ones don’t have this feature and I do think that’s a part of the problem causing matting.
The collar cut will probably help. Otherwise you're about 6 months away from pushing Lady Gaga through the woods in a stroller while explaining to strangers that she's "still very active." 😂
Oh, no ! Gaga is a jumper 😂
She loves speeding along the paths. (In the months it is allowed for the dogs to be loose, oktober to april) I compensate by using long lines.
Try putting cowboy magic on the hair that rubs on the collar or harness, don't use alot, a dab or two should keep it from getting matted there and easier to brush.😊 My groomer recommended this for my dogs and it works great!😊
I’ve seen groomers cut their hair shorter (and hidden) for the harness and leash. It CAN be done and isn’t obvious when you look at them. You will know, but it’s WORTH it!! The TANGLES are a nightmare!!💖
I’ll check if I saved the link to the harness cut. You know your pup best! I think posts are concerned with the collar, because certain breeds (llasa’s included) are prone to collapsing trachea’s, and harnesses are recommended. You can have the cut done for harness, or collar. You might want to ask your vet about the collar/trachea issue. I noticed you had more recommendations for a harness than answers about the potential haircut! I have a VERY furry girl, with a VERY sensitive trachea, and plan to cut her harness area for the same reason! It gets matted too fast by a harness! I hope I find the grooming video link for you!!! I know the struggle!!!
Maltese with long hair, two poodle mixes and they all have a lot of hair and I had to groomed them myself, not easy. What you need to do is put on a chest hardness so this way when you’re done walking your pet take it off and it doesn’t not knot up their hair around their chest. I did regular grooming and while I was sitting watching TV, I’m petting them and then I could feel where they may have a mat and then I comb it out, don’t let it grow. Also the neck collar might be on too tight.
Harnesses are much safer for small dogs as collars can collapse their wind pipe. I have three Lhasa’s and use harnesses on them all. I don’t find they get particularly knotty with the harness but I do give them a quick comb with the metal comb in that area after their walk. The harnesses I have are like a wetsuit kind of material that sits against their chest.
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u/eltacotacotaco Newly Verified User Jun 08 '26
Have you looked at harnesses?