I have two beautiful poms. Never, ever shave a POM. You will regret it for ever. The double coat will never recover from the shave. My oldest girl Floodles nearly died from a paralysis tick on two occasions. Vet shaved her....twice six months apart, now she looks like a mangy mutant. Her smile is still beautiful, and she will never change, her coat is very sparse. 2 years later. and the sun gets through creating black skin.