Doggy Landscaping?

With the heat rising, it only makes sense that dog grooming is on the rise.  Though some types of dog coats help regulate body temperature, it is often much cooler and kinder for our canine counterparts to have their coats trimmed for the heat.  But in some countries, it's not necessarily the heat that's causing owners to groom their dog's fur.

There has been a new trend developing in Japan and Taiwan that has dog owners not only grooming their dog's fur, but getting it landscaping.  

That's right!  Have you ever seen the popular hedge-trimming style of cubes and other geometric shapes?  Well in both Japan and Taiwan, this same trend has been appearing not in shrubbery, but on dogs!  The trend first showed up at the Tokyo Dog Festival in 2012, and has exploded with popularity since.

Tain Yeh, a hairdresser for dogs in Taipei, Taiwan, says the landscaping started because owners were always trying to look for new, up-and-coming styling ideas.  The idea then surfaced to start landscaping dogs like landscaping yards.  

The "cube" shape is actually very popular in Japan and Taiwan.  In Japan, people shell out extra dollars just to get their watermelon shaped like cubes!

So now, dog owners are giving up their money to get their dogs cube-shaped, too!  This haircut, though, is only available for dogs who have lots of extra hair around their faces.  And unfortunately, the styling requires a lot of upkeep to keep the fur properly rigid and cube-like.  

While this is a fun trend, we wouldn't recommend it for your dog.  It's a little impractical and might be uncomfortable for them... socially.  But if you really want to try it, you'll have to shop around for a breeder experienced in international dog-styling.  This really hasn't hit America yet, and most likely won't.  It only takes a simple trim to keep your dog cool in the summer!  (Even if cubed dogs look pretty darn cute...)