Gun Dog Forum

Wondering if any of you shorten your dogs coats for the summer. My Pudelpointers loves the water but when the weather warms up she wants to just relax in a water tub or pond when not doing some activity. Wondering if trimming her coat would make her more comfortable

I do with my spaniel. She has a black coat too so she tends to get hot.

Pheasanttracker wrote:Wondering if any of you shorten your dogs coats for the summer. My Pudelpointers loves the water but when the weather warms up she wants to just relax in a water tub or pond when not doing some activity. Wondering if trimming her coat would make her more comfortable

More comfortable?...yes, it can.
So, yes, trim I do.
Just depends upon need...hair varies, even on setters.

I thought I remember someone telling me that if you cut a PP's hair it will grow in softer. Not sure how true that is-but might want to check into it.

planning on getting my Britt's coat trimmed this week. Starting to warm up (finally) and she's wearing a heavy fur coat!

I only trim feathers when they get long - year round. Shaving defeats the purpose of a dog's coat which keeps them warm in winter and cool in summer. It is not the same as human hair.

Noh, my dogs have very short hair maybe that why they call them shorthairs? We had springers as kids and we trimed them down using a shaver for animals.

Thanks for the input. I am hesitant to trim but I took her for a 3 mile run yesterday and she could not wait to jump in the lake on the return. Must have stayed in the 30 minutes swimming around with some geese. I think I will see how she does with a trim but will first check to see if it will make her coat overly soft when it grows in for the fall.

Thanks

Pheasanttracker wrote:Thanks for the input. I am hesitant to trim but I took her for a 3 mile run yesterday and she could not wait to jump in the lake on the return. Must have stayed in the 30 minutes swimming around with some geese. I think I will see how she does with a trim but will first check to see if it will make her coat overly soft when it grows in for the fall.

Thanks

The trimmed coat will appear softer since you have cut off all of the longer and courser guard hair. The hair does not get softer. This is why the proper care is to strip it and not cut it. So you can repair the damage if you start stripping it again. But as long as you continue to trim it it will appear soft and fuzzy.

I trim feathers /tail feathers etc short in the Spring. Setters live in the house so have to be bathed outside after every run. Trimming makes life easier.

I put the clippers to my GWP's every summer.

It is astonishing that with all the good and easily acquired information on this topic that people still clip guard coated and wire haired dogs in the summer.

http://www.aspca.org/blog/heat-wave-sho ... e-your-pet

Just get a rubber curry comb and gently get the molting undercoat off, leave the rest. PLEASE!!!!

^^what he said,