Keeping dog cool/Clipping question ?

arggggg :( sorry not used to new forum

i have a GSD cross border collie and he is really suffering in this heat :(
should i clip him ? even just his belly off , he has a coat like a semi long haired GS complete with under coat etc so really furry
he's been to groomers to get as much under coat out as poss and he's still too hot , i bought a fan and he's frightened of it :( he hates being wet so can't hose him down as it just distresses him more

i think i read on here that it might make him worse because they trap air in the long coat to help cool them and clipping this type might make it worse ?
 
Not really much help but I came home on Sunday to find my OH had clipped our JRT with the horse clippers!! She looks hideous but I guess she is cooler. No one recognises her now, he had the lot off, tail, face legs etc. her ears look huge.
I would clip yours but maybe not as short as ours. :0
 
I only clip my Finnish Lapphunds for medical reasons, their coats definitely helps to isolate against both warmth and cold temperatures, due to the "layer" of trapped air. If I would consider clipping them to make them cooler, I would definitely choose the belly clip, that way there is less risk for that I would have to smear them in sunblock, since their skin aren't used to being exposed to sun. But that is just my opinion, and different dogs might react differently.
 
thanks :)
he's now sporting a "low trace clip" :o
it doesn't look too bad even if i do say so myself , it thought i'd read that it helps isolate them against the heat i hope he cools down a bit now :( he's 10 and i am a bit worried its not going to cool down any time soon
 
jrp204 said:
Not really much help but I came home on Sunday to find my OH had clipped our JRT with the horse clippers!! She looks hideous but I guess she is cooler. No one recognises her now, he had the lot off, tail, face legs etc. her ears look huge.
I would clip yours but maybe not as short as ours. :0
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If I had an OH and if I had came home to three shaved Finnish Lapphunds, I would probably both cry and be absolutely furious.

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angelish said:
thanks :)
he's now sporting a "low trace clip" :o
it doesn't look too bad even if i do say so myself , it thought i'd read that it helps isolate them against the heat i hope he cools down a bit now :( he's 10 and i am a bit worried its not going to cool down any time soon
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When some dogs with a double coat gets older, their coat may lose some of their isolation capacity for some reason. I think that it maybe has something to do with that their bodies doesn't produce hair of the same hair quality anymore, but I don't know. I've just remembered something, that I did several years ago. My then oldest bitch seemed to be more affected by that the weather was getting warmer, so I decided to try and give her a hair mask to see if it could make her coat get back some of its vigour. So I poured olive oil all over her coat, massaged it in, waited for between 5 to 10 minutes, gave her a shower, and when she had dried, her coat looked a lot more tiptop and it also began to isolate better again, even though she still preferred cooler temperatures. However, I can of course not guarantee that an olive oil hair mask works on any other dog.

I hope that your "low trace clip" makes your dog more comfortable with the warm weather.
 
thank you :)
he seems a little happier ,he's stopped panting now
i have some olive oil so i will attempt to get him in the bath tomorrow , it has to be worth a try
his hair has changed in the past year or so, its gone grey underneith and it never used to be like that

its so hot :( i wish it would cool down a little bit
 
angelish said:
haha :D my (very hairy ) cat is no where to be seen since i clipped the dog

here he is looking less than impressed with his new hair cut
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Aw, I agree, he certainly doesn't look impressed, but I think it looks like you did a good job :).

Cats can be very clever, what else can I say.

angelish said:
thank you :)
he seems a little happier ,he's stopped panting now
i have some olive oil so i will attempt to get him in the bath tomorrow , it has to be worth a try
his hair has changed in the past year or so, its gone grey underneith and it never used to be like that

its so hot :( i wish it would cool down a little bit
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Glad that he already seems to be more comfortable, and I hope that you try the olive oil and that it helps.

I don't know how to say this, so I will just blurt it out and hope that I'm not going to make you too upset by saying the following. I also want to suggest taking your dog to the veterinarian for a blood test. When the old bitch that got the olive oil treatment got older, she also developed a grayish under wool, especially on the belly, and it hadn't been like that before. I'm not sure that I remember this correctly, but I think that I later found out that it can be (doesn't have to, but can be) the sign of that the liver isn't functioning at its best anymore or the sign of lack of B vitamins somehow related to that the liver probably isn't working at its best, please note that my bitch lived for some years after that her under wool became grayish, so even if it is a sign of a medical problem, it doesn't have to be anything acute, but if it is a sign of that the liver isn't working at its best, then a blood test would reveal that. If it is like with my bitch, a changed diet to a food that contains less meat can help the liver to continue to function.

I'm feeling so hesitant about if I should post this or not, I don't really want, so to say, shout wolf, and then there might not be any wolf, but had the situation been reversed, I would have wanted you to tell me.
 
angelish said:
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When I clicked the link, a tab opened with Photobucket and your photo. And when I came back to HHO and removed the parts saying URL, the photo shows up, so you probably need need to change the link code that you copy on Photobucket. Either so that you only get an IMG code link (without it saying URL anywhere) or a http etc photobucket.com etc link, and then press the Insert Image button here on HHO, paste the link and okay it.
 
My Springers are always clipped throughout the summer. This helps them keep nice and cool.

Always bath them after they have been clipped as the oil from the clippers will stop them from sweating and not help the cooling.
 
The clip you have done OP is probably fine, but generally it is best not to clip double coated breeds as you are correct in thinking the coat does insulate against cold and heat. There is quite a good article here.
http://woof.doggyloot.com/truths-and-myths-about-shaving-dogs-with-double-coats/

Paulineh, dogs don't sweat through their skin like us, they have sweat glands in their paws but their main way of cooling down is by panting. However as you say probably a good idea to bath iafter clippin to remove oil and loose hair.
 
FinnishLapphund said:
Aw, I agree, he certainly doesn't look impressed, but I think it looks like you did a good job :).

Cats can be very clever, what else can I say.



Glad that he already seems to be more comfortable, and I hope that you try the olive oil and that it helps.

I don't know how to say this, so I will just blurt it out and hope that I'm not going to make you too upset by saying the following. I also want to suggest taking your dog to the veterinarian for a blood test. When the old bitch that got the olive oil treatment got older, she also developed a grayish under wool, especially on the belly, and it hadn't been like that before. I'm not sure that I remember this correctly, but I think that I later found out that it can be (doesn't have to, but can be) the sign of that the liver isn't functioning at its best anymore or the sign of lack of B vitamins somehow related to that the liver probably isn't working at its best, please note that my bitch lived for some years after that her under wool became grayish, so even if it is a sign of a medical problem, it doesn't have to be anything acute, but if it is a sign of that the liver isn't working at its best, then a blood test would reveal that. If it is like with my bitch, a changed diet to a food that contains less meat can help the liver to continue to function.

I'm feeling so hesitant about if I should post this or not, I don't really want, so to say, shout wolf, and then there might not be any wolf, but had the situation been reversed, I would have wanted you to tell me.
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i don't mind at all , he means the world to me and you may have just given me an extra year or two with him if there is something wrong so thank you for taking the risk of saying something :)
although the grey isn't on his belly (he's always been lighter there ) its on his black parts , ie the top of his shoulders where you would seperate the hair to put front line on , iv'e taken a photo and will post it in a min for interest (i think its interesting anyway :o ) he is due his vacc's soon so ill take him a little early and ask about blood tests thanks also for the posting pic tips will have a go :)
 
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this is the top of his shoulders and his hair is like that all the way along his back to his quarters

hope you don't mind me asking (showing my ignorance :o ) what is a finnish lapphund ? would love to see a photo as iv'e never heard of one
 
angelish said:
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this is the top of his shoulders and his hair is like that all the way along his back to his quarters

hope you don't mind me asking (showing my ignorance :o ) what is a finnish lapphund ? would love to see a photo as iv'e never heard of one
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Sorry for the late reply, I have been out in the summerhouse all day to prepare for moving out there. As far as I can tell from the photo, I wouldn't worry to much by that, it more looks like natural graying hairs, not like what my Nessie had. If you had separated her hairs, the way you've done on your dog, the gray colour on her under wool, would have made it look like my Nessie needed a bath :(, even though she was clean, whereas your dog looks clean, just graying out. So in your shoes, I wouldn't be in a hurry, but being who I am (rather going once too much, taking one test too much, rather than the other way around), I would probably still ask for a blood test to check up so that everything is working the way it should, when you vaccinate.


;) You've never seen a Finnish Lapphund :eek: ! They can have almost any colour, but black with light markings is the most usual colour, male dogs should have much more hair than bitches, so if you knew the breed, you would be able to guess that mine are all bitches, only by seeing their photos:

Jonna
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Beata
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Blomma
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;) Jonna's furry paw
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Glad that you took my "warning"/suggestion the way it was intended, it can be difficult to know how people will react on the internet. :)
 
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I love that picture of Jonna's paw Finny. If you are getting ready to go to the summer house I suppose you will disappear from here for a while, make sure its not so long this time.:)
 
aww there gorgeous :D and not at all as i'd imagined they would look like !
love the furry feet :)

that sounds hopeful that mine isn't a liver problem but i will ask the vet what she thinks , its better to be safe than sorry and he is worth it , he seems a little cooler today with his trace clip and iv'e bought another less noisy fan that he seems to be getting used too so hopefully that will work till this heat wave comes to an end

thanks again for all the help and suggestions everyone :)
 
MurphysMinder said:
I love that picture of Jonna's paw Finny. If you are getting ready to go to the summer house I suppose you will disappear from here for a while, make sure its not so long this time.:)
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Glad you like the paw :) , and oh, :o you remembered that my old internet didn't work in my summerhouse. But when I bought my new computer, after two years without, I also bought a new internet thingy, and with reservation for that I've only tried it once (which was successful) and that the area is known for not always having the best mobile signals, I hope that my new mobile internet will indeed be mobile.
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angelish said:
aww there gorgeous :D and not at all as i'd imagined they would look like !
love the furry feet :)

that sounds hopeful that mine isn't a liver problem but i will ask the vet what she thinks , its better to be safe than sorry and he is worth it , he seems a little cooler today with his trace clip and iv'e bought another less noisy fan that he seems to be getting used too so hopefully that will work till this heat wave comes to an end

thanks again for all the help and suggestions everyone :)
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Glad you liked them. :)

Also glad that the trace clip seems to have helped him, and that he seems to accept the new less noisy fan.

:)
 
FinnishLapphund said:
Glad you like the paw :) , and oh, :o you remembered that my old internet didn't work in my summerhouse. But when I bought my new computer, after two years without, I also bought a new internet thingy, and with reservation for that I've only tried it once (which was successful) and that the area is known for not always having the best mobile signals, I hope that my new mobile internet will indeed be mobile.
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Pointless extra reply perhaps, but I only want to add that it wasn't today that I tried if my new internet thingy worked in my summerhouse. I left the laptop at home today, because I knew that I would be too busy with fixing a few things in the garden, and packing up stuff indoors, like e.g. books, food, gnaw bones, Elizabethan collars to both the bitches and cats in case they would need one, glanced through my first aid box to see what I might need refills of etc.

I've never been a scout, but when it comes to the thought of my pets injuring themselves, I'm all for the motto Be prepared.

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