madsad

Hi folks,
Has anyone got their dogs coat clipped or are thinking of getting it clipped because of the heat?
I wouldn't of thought twice about getting a Golden Retrievers coat clipped back home,the thought sounds mental!! but yesterday we got our Retriever Harley's(10mths) coat clipped,he's a big dog & his coat is(was!) so thick & hairy,he was becoming more lethargic,lazy a 10min run around in the park & he was knackered.
If i let him out in the garden he cant settle & searches for cool spots,so now he's clipped I'm hoping this will help? has anyone noticed the difference in how their dog coped with the heat once their dog was clipped?

I must say Harley looks a bit strange bit like a Golden lab with a long nose!!

If anyones interested i have before & after pictures

Donna.

Bella Donna

We thought about having Mishka clipped (long haired GSD) but he seems to be adjusting on his own. He's shedding a lot of the under-belly soft, fluffy fur that would normally insulate him in the cold, but keeping his more coarse fur on his back, which I presume allows for cooling better than the fluffy stuff. We did ask our vet and he said not to bother, that he'd acclimatise and his coat would adjust accordingly.

It's hard to tell what's going on with him right now, Donna, because we used moving to Oz as a good opportunity to change him over to a raw diet, and his whole physiology is changing accordingly. His poos are a lot less smelly and don't attract the flies very much now he's raw fed, plus they crumble and *biodegrade* over a few hours if we're not able to pick them up immediately. His wee isn't scorching the grass the way it did back in the UK, either. But the change in diet is also affecting his skin and coat so it's hard to tell what is due to the change in climate, and what is the change in diet.

He's a bit of a sun worshipper though. Likes a sunny corner of the garden morning and late afternoon when it cools off. Loves the wind too. Rest of the day he spends in the hall where it's darker with polished tiled floors! He's got shade in the garden but doesn't use it very much.

Post your pics please? I'd love to see Harley.

BWs,

Sue

madsad

Hi Sue,
Did you ever manage to get to the bottom of why his food was staining the grass?

Here are Harleys pics!

Hels

Hi Donna,

When I lived in Brissy I used to get my cat clipped before summer. He was a Persian X and I would take him to the Vet in the lead up to summer and he would get sedated, flea bathed, combed through and then clipped just on his belly, under his arms and around his...hmm....bum!

It stops the knots caused by sweat etc and just allowed him to stay cool as cats expel their heat from their bellies. Also doing it this way he didnt look like a skinned rat

Hels

mumomonty

You're very sensible doing that. I know he looks different but you won't have to search him so hard for ticks either. Bless him.

madsad

Thats true,i was fighting a losing battle brushing him everyday took me ages searching for beasties!,im quite paranoid about fleas & ticks maybe more so because he sleeps in a kennel outside.

Donna.

Bella Donna

Aw, he's gorgeous. Looks lovely and slim, doesn't he? Maybe his new fur will grow back a little finer, perhaps? You can always hope. He'll have lovely new fluffy stuff for the winter. As the fur insulates, why doesn't it keep them cool in the summer as well?

I didn't manage to get to the bottom of the food stains. It's still puzzling me. Dh has asked the same question on a raw food list, and no-one responded at all. I guess it's one of those things that no-one has an answer for. I do hope it grows back okay - I was worried about his wee scorching the grass, but it's his food making a mess of it instead!! You don't mind so much in your own house, but when it's a rental you get a bit paranoid. I shall keep trying to find out - if I do, I'll let you know!

Sue

jad n rich

Ours all got clipped in sept when we had that warm week, it grows back fairly quick in another month we will probably need to get them done again.

Hows harleys snacking appetite you wrote about?

madsad

Lol! He still likes to have a nibble occasionally not as bad as he was though,hopefully he's begining to grow out of the flithy habit either that or he doesnt fancy the chilli pepper burning his nose/tongue
A couple of weeks ago i caught him with his head down the toilet bowl,one of the kids had forgot to flush

Donna.

Bella Donna

To the best of my knowledge, our dog has never had a tick. I often wonder if I would know one if I saw one. Are they easily identifiable, and what part of the dog do they usually attack?

And how do you deal with them if you get one? Someone once told me surgical spirit gets them off/out...?

Sue

madsad

I think you would definately know it was a tick if you saw it on your dog,theyre roundish black/brown things & the more they suck away at your dogs skin the bigger they get None of our dogs have ever had a tick & i dont know anyone else who's has.
I was told to remove a tick with tweezers? but you have to make sure you remove the whole tick as it can burrow its head into the animals skin sounds horrible :scared: !!

Donna.

Donna.

webgum

Our retriever Mungo arrived here at the end of the British winter, and then went through the cold winter everyone moaned about! As a result his fur was really thick. I was lulled into a false sense of "oh, he's not moulting much" when, bam, it started to warm up and he dropped fur like something with alopeica (sp). I've never seen anything like it, I could pull it out in clumps, all the beautiful fine downy stuff that keeps him warm. Now he's left with much more of the wirey stuff, but his leg and tail feathers are still long of course. I don't think I will clip him.... we'll see, but at the mo the main problem is burrs. He lies outside and comes in covered in them and they are a bugger to get out if you don't spot them straight away.

He's still a silly british sunbather, loves lying sprawled out on the front lawn, then overheats and spends the next two hours moving around on the cold tiles inside. Stupid mutt!

jad n rich

Most vets have leaflets with descriptions of the types, there are brown tics and bush tics, the one thats the problems is the paralasis tic, its a silvery grey colour and injects a poison it can take up to 2 days but the dog goes lame, vomits and will die if not treated. Season is summer mainly but anywere with long grass you need to check them. Tic collars are good, but you still check them daily. Treatment at vets can be expensive if advanced. You get tweezers, pull the head out, usually the skin is red and rounded like a small crater around the tic. You must get the head, if you dont see vet.

PLANTS

Hi all

I have a 16 months old Spoodle and I had her clipped right back just befoe last summer and it was amazing the difference in her, like having a spring lamb jumping around, plus its so much easier to see any fleas and ticks which are usually around the neck and ears area, but not always. I had her clipped again a couple of weeks ago but not too short this time as we are taking her back to UK and dont want her to freeze to death poor lamb!

Hadn't thought about getting my cat clipped back though underneath but as my cat is an indoors I don't need to worry about her so much.

So yes I have seen a difference in getting my dog clipped back for summer.

Plants

S J Jackson

My dog Jess is a native Aussie - cross border collie/kelpie. Wanted a short haired dog to make sure she does not get too hot in summer. We`re on Sunshine Coast and Jess has found her own way to keep cool in summer!!!