Clipping dogs

Luci07

Luci07

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Just thinking having seen someone out cycling today with what can only described as a two tone golden retriever!. My friend has a lovely working cocker and he is kept clipped...so please forgive me for sounding idiotic - could you clip a GR or am I being a heathen?!!
 
Luci07 said:
Just thinking having seen someone out cycling today with what can only described as a two tone golden retriever!. My friend has a lovely working cocker and he is kept clipped...so please forgive me for sounding idiotic - could you clip a GR or am I being a heathen?!!
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Of course you CAN, but I wouldn't personally adivse it. Clipping of doubled coated coats can wreck it (it tends to grow back a bit spongy, thick and takes ages for the top coat to come in correctly. Once clipped, the loss of the top coat means that the undercoat is exposed to soak up the wet where with it in place, it's got a better chance of staying "weather proof"
 
You should see my Border Collie! Fairly long coated she gets so dirty and clitted on her belly and legs she rattles so I clip her twice a year, spring and autumn. Only this year I didn't do the October clip so did it beginning of this month after she had been in the sea and had dried off. I was staying with family so she didn't go straight out in the mud.

It doesn't seem to bother her at all. I did feel guilty giving her such a late trace clip but, she still goes swimming in the lake and wallows in the mud but she no longer rattles when she trots along!
 
People DO clip their double coated dogs all the time. I've even been known to do it upon request, but it's usually only after a fairly good convo with the owner as to exactly WHY they want it done, and explaining what'll happen once it's done. If after all that, they still want/need it done (often it's for medical reasons, in which case I'm whole heartedly agreeing to do it - just for cosmetic reasons or for reasons of being house proud - I'm a bit more reluctant).

The thing is this - a dirty double doated retriever will brush off easier and quicker than will a shaved down one. Once that under coat is saturated, the dirt/mud hangs on much more. But if it's on the outer coat, which is shiny and slippery (as compared to a textured soft undecoat) which is dirty, the hair will flick off a bit easier.
 
Ronnie my mums Golden gets clipped in the summer. He has neuropathy and it also seems to have affected his coat and its now wiry and he hardly moults so he can't control his heat in the summer. Even after 2 hrs of hard work trimming it is very difficult to get him comfortable. So the clippers come out in the summer bless him. We also have to be careful as heat stress could set of his epilepsy. I can keep him neat in the winter just with scissors and his coat doesn't look any different than before we chipped him last year for the first time. He looks like an over grown puppy when he's done :D Does of the downside of people sawing how nice our TWO labradors are :)
 
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