Cold Weather Grooming & Fall Flair For Happy, Healthy Dogs

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What Are Your Favorite Autumn Hair Cuts?

Cozy trims meet real-life maintenance in a fall grooming guide that keeps pets comfortable, cute, and camera-ready. We break down why the lamb cut shines in sweater season, how friction and static from fabrics create mats, and the smart way to prep double-coated breeds for winter without sacrificing coat health. If you love the plush look but dread daily detangling, you’ll learn how to choose the right length, focus on high-friction zones, and keep your dog’s coat breathable and easy to manage.

We also dig into seasonal timing: when to schedule a tidy versus a full haircut, why costumes call for a slightly shorter cut now, and how roughly a quarter inch of monthly growth helps you plan photos and holidays. For double coats, we explain de-shedding that clears packed undercoat, preserves guard hairs, and supports true temperature regulation. No more myths—mats don’t keep dogs warm; healthy, clean coats do.

Between appointments, the small stuff matters. A 4–6 week routine for nail trims, paw pad tidies, and quick face and sanitary cleanups protects joints, improves traction on slick floors, and saves your couch from beards and debris. We share simple at-home tools—a slicker brush, metal comb, and light detangler—to fight static and prevent tangles under sweaters and raincoats. Whether you have a Yorkie, Shih Tzu, doodle, or a double-coated powerhouse, you’ll walk away with a clear plan to keep your dog comfortable and stylish all season.

Love practical tips and happy, healthy pets? Follow, share with a friend who dresses their dog for fall, and leave a quick review to tell us your favorite autumn haircut.

To learn more about Hound Therapy visit:
https://www.HoundTherapy.com
Hound Therapy
3509 E Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
469-367-0009

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
Welcome to Tale Talk Grooming Chronicles with Health
Therapy, the podcast where wetalk all things pet grooming,
daycare, academy, and more.
Hosted by Shannon and Tanya ofHealth Therapy, serving pet
owners across North Texas.
We're here to share expert tips,hilarious pet stories, and the
inside scoop on keeping yourfurry friends happy and healthy.

(00:27):
Our motto, humanity over vanity.
And don't worry, we don't fight.
Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
Who let the dogs go?
Who let the dogs go?
From cozy trims to pumpkin spiceinspired styles, Shannon and
Tanya share how fall groomingbrings out the flair in every
furry client.
Welcome back, everyone.
I'm Sophia Yvette, co-host andproducer back in the studio with

(00:54):
Shannon and Tanya, professionalgroomers at Hound Therapy.
Hi ladies, how's it going today?
It's good.
How are you?
It's going good, and I am soexcited to have you back on
today.
Now, let's kick things off.
Talk to us about how to havefall flare with Hound Therapy's
favorite autumn haircut.

SPEAKER_02 (01:16):
Um I mean, jumping right into it.
My favorite's the lamb cutbecause they're perfect for, you
know, sweater weather.
Like it's gonna get coolerhopefully soon.
Um and it's a real nice, it'sshort body, longer legs, so you
still got the kind of feel of along haircut, but you don't have
to do all the maintenance that along haircut requires when

(01:38):
you're wearing sweaters and allof that.
It literally covers all of thethe hairy parts.
So if you put a sweater on a dogand and especially if they've
got long hair, like a Yorkie ora poodle or a doodle or
something like that, it it willmap them up.
It's kind of like constantfriction.
Um, and then you you do thatplus the weather changing, and

(01:59):
then you get the staticelectricity and all of that.
So it just makes for a reallybad case scenario.
So in order to make those dogslook really cute, um, I think
the lamb is uh a good choice toofor the fall for um being able
to give you a longer look umwith less to take care of.
Without all the maintenance thatcomes along with a long haircut.

(02:20):
Yeah.
Uh the other thing to rememberis that we're still removing all
of that, you know, we've we'vestill got to remove dead hair.
A lot of people say, oh my gosh,let's stop right now um and let
my dog grow.
It's it's fall.
It's we're not we're not winter.
Uh so we're still okay.
Quite there yet, but yeah.
We we're still doing a lot ofour double-coated breeds and
they're still um really jumpingout as you can everybody can see

(02:44):
my lip.
We've gotten smacked by a coupleof big dogs in the face.
Um, it just they don't they comeonce or twice a year.
And uh it's it's this is one ofthe times they come.
It's the beginning of summer andusually the beginning of fall
because it's you know, they'regonna start shedding their coats
and you'll start you'll startseeing that big slough off at
the beginning of summer, but forfall, you start seeing it drag

(03:05):
off a little bit, but there's aton of dead hair packed behind
those double-coated breeds.
So we really need to make surethat we're pulling all of that
dead hair out um and andprepping them for their winter
coats because that winter coatthey're gonna start to pack on.
Um that's what they start losingcome spring, summertime.
Yeah.
The following year is all thatwinter coat that they've put on
all winter.

(03:26):
Plus, we have some really cuteHalloween costumes that, you
know, another another goodreason for uh, you know,
another, maybe not a summershortcut, but a shorter cut that
is gonna allow you to haveanother couple months of in bef
in between grooming.
Uh so if you normally do areally smooth coat and you're
like, oh, I don't want my dog tobe cold, you know, they grow a

(03:48):
quarter of an inch a month,roughly.
So you can pretty much you knowget another two or three months
out.
Maybe we don't go quite asshort.
We just clean it up and youknow, take a little bit off,
clean it uh so that it looks,you know, nice and neat and uh
do the nails and the pads, yeah,not scruffy and homeless, and
then um turn around and uh fromyou know, just kind of continue

(04:10):
to do that, but not not takingany off now.
Starting to let your dogs growout right now is a little too
soon.
So fall can be fall can betricky.
But the lamb cut is a greatalternative.
Yeah.
I do them all the time.
I love them.
It's a great alternative andit's fantastic for it looks
really cute on Yorkies, it'sreally in for those.
Um it's really, really cute onthe shihtzus too, whether it's

(04:31):
like a little poofy stove.
Yeah, but shih tzu's, uh Yorkis.
I would say, I mean, it's it'sit's any of those little
drop-coated dogs.
It's it's really cute on all ofthose.
Uh so if you haven't seen those,we even do some on through
schnauzers, we do them on umyeah, they're really cute.
On everything.
If you have a dog with hair, Imight try to do a lamb cut on

(04:52):
it.
So that's our that's our fallflair for for most of that.
And then and then just doingthat prep for the winter time.
Um, you know, we we we don'twant there it's kind of a myth
that, you know, and it our allour dogs don't get cold like we
do.
Their temperatures, their theircoat and their hair, it's built

(05:12):
to regulate their bodytemperature.
So a matted dog, a dog that hasmats that's retaining um extra
dead hair that that creates abarrier between the dog's skin
and the outer shell of the dog.
It it and it I call it a shellbecause it literally, if I take
it off, it's like a helmet thatsurrounds the dog.
That dog is unable to regulateits body temperature.

(05:34):
So whether it's hot or cold.
Yeah, it is so it's not good.
It's not good at all.
Where if you go ahead and andkeep that hair, uh, you know,
removing the dead hair, puttingletting letting them put on
their winter coat becausethey're going to be thicker in
the winter than they are in thesummer.
Uh, they're self-regulating.
Um, but most of the dogs that wedo in here, I mean, they're

(05:54):
inside dogs, they're not livingoutside.
Um, they're they're they're notgoing to be in extreme weather,
hopefully.
Hopefully, you bring your dogsin if it's cold.
Um, and if it for those, you canpretty much do what's going to
be the best for you to maintainyour dog.
And and that's still the numberone uh, you know, goal for us.
But everybody wants a littlelonger just because I think that

(06:17):
we look at them and if we thinkthey're cold.
Yeah, it makes me cold.
Like I I dress up my dog all thetime.
She's got a whole closet full ofsweaters and sweatshirts, and I
do she's got costumes, she goeschick-or-treating.
I mean my beach law also haslike a closet full of sweaters
because they literally have nohair.
So and but they're warm, they'realways warm.

(06:39):
And she doesn't care.
She'll wear it because shethinks she looks pretty.
But it's a level two.
But she she doesn't like she'sshe she doesn't like the rain,
so she'll wear a raincoat justbecause she didn't like to get
wet.
But she doesn't care.
And it doesn't help her regulateher body temperature more or
less.
It makes me feel better.

(06:59):
Yeah.
So for those of you who justwant to feel better by looking
at your dog, um it's you know,you don't have to take you, you
know, we don't have to groom allthe way out.
We can still give you an easymaintenance groom that that you
can, you know, keep up with it.
Or you can put a worm cut andslap a sweater.

(07:21):
Yeah.
It's a little trick.

SPEAKER_01 (07:25):
Well, fluffy cuts are always cute.
One other question for you twotoday.
Any tips for pet parents tomaintain those fall cuts between
appointments?

SPEAKER_02 (07:36):
Yeah, it's uh the for maintaining those is uh
let's bring them in because it'swe're going a little longer in
between than we do in thesummertime.
So we want to keep your nailsshort.
Uh they can grow back into thebed.
So um we we the pads get soppyand wet.
So we we recommend that you comein in about every four to six
weeks to keep those nails short,the paw pads down.

(07:58):
Even if we're just doing allsanitaries right in front of
your eyes, you know, it getsdrainy, and we still have a lot
of um uh in Texas anyway, westill have a lot of uh allergy
issues here for our pets, uh,even in the wintertime.
So for those animals that arehaving um and the long hair,
because it's shaggy is great andand a longer coat looks good,

(08:19):
but nobody wants dirt all overtheir couch and ibergers and uh
junk in their beards.
Soffee with tea all over yourcouch and the nails.
That's very healthy to keepthose nails done.
If they grow too long or get toothe the quicks actually grow
with the nails.
So the longer you leave thatnail, the less likely that we
are to continue to take it back.
So uh if you don't walk down andfile it uh you know on a natural

(08:42):
uh concrete barrier, or ifyou're not walking every day,
it's gonna be harder to do.
So go ahead and pop on in fornail trims and a quick face
cleanup and maybe a littlefanny.
A fanny trim.

SPEAKER_01 (08:56):
Well, thank you both for sharing those seasonal
favorites with us today, Shannonand Tanya.
We'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_02 (09:03):
See you later.

SPEAKER_00 (09:07):
That's a wrap for this episode of Tale Talk with
Hound Therapy.
Ready to book your pet's nextgroom daycare stay or grooming
academy tour?
Call us at 469-367-0009.
That's 469-367-0009 to schedulean appointment or visit us
online at www.houndtherapy.com,serving North Texas with expert

(09:33):
pet care.
Until next time, keep thosetails whacked.