Akbash grooming styles
The trims usually used on the Akbash. Open one for its trim chart and steps.
Styles and trims
De-shed
Loose undercoat raked and blown out, with the coat left at full length. This is what relieves a shedding double coat, not clipping.
Also called Blowout
Double coat tidy
A de-shed plus neat edges: feathering, hocks, feet and the hair behind the ears, tidied with scissors and thinning shears. The body coat stays at full length.
Also called Tidy trim
Coat and grooming
- Coat type
- Fur
- Coat layers
- Double coat
- Coat texture
- Rough
- Coat length
- Medium
- Shedding
- Seasonal shedding
A Akbash should not be shaved.
The undercoat keeps heat out as well as in, and the outer coat shields the skin from sun and insect bites. Clipping the whole coat off removes both. It often grows back patchy, soft or a different colour, and in some animals the guard hairs never return properly. Brush the undercoat out instead of cutting it off.
A Akbash drops its undercoat in heavy bursts.
The undercoat comes out in heavy bursts over a few weeks. An undercoat rake, or a bath followed by a proper blow-dry, clears it far faster than daily brushing. Clipping the coat down is not a shortcut for this.