Summer in Murrells Inlet is not subtle. By June, temperatures along the Grand Strand are regularly pushing into the upper 80s and 90s, humidity is climbing, and the pavement gets hot enough to cause real damage to dogs’ paw pads. Combine that with the lingering effects of spring shedding season and a coat that may still be thicker than it needs to be, and you have a dog who is carrying more heat than necessary.
The right grooming strategy makes a genuine difference in how comfortable your dog is all summer long. Here’s what Murrells Inlet pet owners need to know about summer dog grooming — what helps, what to avoid, and how professional grooming at A Dog’s Way Inn keeps dogs feeling their best through the hottest months of the year.
Understanding How Dogs Regulate Heat — And Why Grooming Matters
Dogs don’t sweat the way humans do. They release heat primarily through panting and through the paw pads, with a small amount of heat exchange occurring through the skin. This makes them significantly more vulnerable to overheating than humans in equivalent temperatures.
What many pet parents don’t realize is that coat condition directly affects heat regulation. A clean, well-groomed coat actually helps insulate against external heat while allowing better airflow close to the skin. A matted, dirty, or overly dense coat does the opposite — trapping heat against the skin and creating the same effect as wearing a wet wool sweater in August.
The goal of summer grooming is not to remove all insulation. It’s to optimize the coat so it works with your dog’s natural thermoregulation rather than against it.
Should You Shave Your Dog in Summer?
This is one of the most common summer grooming questions — and the answer depends entirely on your dog’s coat type.
Double-Coated Breeds: Do NOT Shave
Dogs with double coats — Huskies, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labs, Corgis, Australian Shepherds, and similar breeds — should almost never be shaved. This is one of the most persistent and damaging summer grooming myths.
The double coat works as a two-way thermal regulator. The undercoat insulates against cold in winter AND against heat in summer, while the topcoat provides a layer of sun protection for the skin. Shaving removes both layers, eliminating the protection without improving the dog’s ability to cool down.
Additionally, shaved double coats often grow back damaged — a condition called post-clipping alopecia — where the topcoat texture never fully returns to normal. It can take years to recover.
What to do instead: Regular deshedding treatments remove the dead undercoat that’s impeding airflow, leaving a thinner, better-ventilated coat that actually performs better in heat than a shaved one.
Single-Coated and Long-Haired Breeds: A Summer Trim Can Help
For breeds with single coats or continuously growing hair — Poodles, Doodles, Shih Tzus, Maltese, Yorkshire Terriers, Cocker Spaniels — a shorter summer cut is genuinely beneficial. These coats don’t have the same self-regulating double-layer system, and reducing length reduces heat retention directly.
Talk to our grooming team about the right length for your breed. The goal is comfort without compromising sun protection for pink-skinned or lightly pigmented dogs.
Mat Prevention: A Summer Urgency
Spring shedding season deposits enormous amounts of loose undercoat into the coat — and if that undercoat isn’t removed through regular professional grooming and at-home brushing, it compacts as summer humidity sets in.
Matting is a year-round concern, but summer accelerates it dramatically. Humidity, swimming, rolling in grass, and repeated wet-dry cycles from outdoor activity create ideal conditions for tangles to form and tighten quickly.
Why mats matter in summer:
- Mats trap moisture directly against the skin, which in high humidity creates prime conditions for bacterial and fungal infections
- Mats prevent airflow to the skin, trapping heat — the exact opposite of what a summer coat should do
- Mats pull on the skin constantly, causing discomfort that worsens with activity
- Severely matted coats hide hot spots, parasites, and skin irritation that worsen untreated beneath the surface
Prevention is far easier than treatment. A badly matted summer coat often requires shaving close to the skin to resolve — which causes the same problems outlined above, plus the added trauma of a lengthy, uncomfortable dematting process.
Keeping grooming appointments current throughout summer prevents this entirely.
Paw Care: The Most Overlooked Summer Grooming Priority
Pavement temperatures along the South Carolina coast on a hot summer day routinely exceed 140°F — hot enough to cause serious burns to paw pads in under a minute. The general rule: if the pavement is too hot to hold your palm on for five seconds, it’s too hot for your dog’s paws.
What Summer Paw Care Includes
Pad inspection: Our groomers check pad condition at every appointment. Cracked, dry, or burned pads are painful and can become infected. Addressing them early prevents serious damage.
Paw hair trimming: Hair that grows between the paw pads traps heat and can mat with debris, sand, and grass seeds — a particular concern for dogs active on Murrells Inlet’s sandy coastal terrain. Keeping this hair trimmed reduces heat retention and improves traction.
Pad conditioning: Dry, cracked pads benefit from dog-safe conditioning balms that keep the pad tissue supple and resilient against hot surfaces.
At-Home Summer Paw Tips
- Walk dogs in the early morning or evening when pavement has cooled
- Rinse paws after beach visits to remove salt, sand, and allergens
- Check between the toes regularly for grass seeds, which can embed in the skin painfully if missed
Ear Care: Heat and Humidity Create Infection Risk
South Carolina summers are not just hot — they’re humid, and that humidity affects dogs’ ears significantly. Dogs who swim, play in sprinklers, or are simply exposed to high-humidity outdoor environments accumulate moisture in the ear canal that creates ideal conditions for bacterial and yeast infections.
Signs of a summer ear infection include head shaking, ear scratching, odor, or dark discharge. If you notice these signs between grooming appointments, contact your veterinarian.
Regular ear cleaning at every grooming appointment — along with thorough drying after any water exposure — is the primary prevention strategy.
Bathing Frequency in Summer
Summer typically warrants more frequent bathing than other seasons for most dogs:
- More time outdoors means more exposure to pollen, environmental allergens, and outdoor debris
- Salt, sand, and sunscreen residue from beach visits should be rinsed promptly
- Humidity and outdoor activity increase the rate at which coats develop odor and skin buildup
General summer bathing recommendations:
| Coat Type | Summer Frequency |
| Short-coated breeds | Every 6–8 weeks professionally; rinse after beach visits |
| Medium-coated breeds | Every 6 weeks professionally; rinse after water exposure |
| Long-coated breeds | Every 4–6 weeks — more in heavy outdoor activity |
| Doodles | Every 4 weeks — humidity accelerates matting |
| Heavy shedders | Every 6 weeks with deshedding treatment |
| Allergy-prone dogs | Every 2–4 weeks to reduce allergen load on skin |
The Convenience of Summer Grooming Alongside Boarding and Daycare
One of the most practical advantages of A Dog’s Way Inn is the ability to combine services. Schedule a grooming appointment on a daycare day — your dog plays, gets groomed, and comes home clean, comfortable, and tired. Or add a grooming appointment to a boarding stay so they come home from their summer vacation looking their best.
No second trip. No second facility. One trusted team who knows your dog.
📍 761 Pendergrass Ave., Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 📞 (843) 357-4545 🌐 adogswayinn.com
Book your dog’s summer grooming appointment today — Murrells Inlet’s professional dog grooming team is ready for the season.
