Best Cut to keep them cool in summer

[cbaker023]

Hi,

I'm planning on taking marty to the groomers this week, it'll be his 2nd groom and as he is sold black ( apart from a little white blaze on his chest) he is deffo feeling the heat as its about 23/24 degrees at the moment.

Just wondered if anyone had any advice/pictures that i could take to the groomers to make sure he's as cool as possible without looking too much like a sheared black sheep.

Last time i asked her to do as much of it with scissors and not clippers as wasnt sure what it would do to his coat and if it would mean going to the groomers a lot more etc. But i am prepared to take him as often as he needs it and if clippers get the best/coolest result i'm happy to go down that route.
xx

[Oliver21508]

We clip Ollie right down, he has a no 1 all over (except tail and ears) and it's much kinder to them when it's this hot. He loves having it this short, and has a real big spring in his step.

[Jane S]

We clip Ollie right down, he has a no 1 all over (except tail and ears) and it's much kinder to them when it's this hot. He loves having it this short, and has a real big spring in his step.

I'm sure you didn't mean to imply that anyone who doesn't clip their dog as short as Ollie is not being "kind"

As dogs sweat through their feet, it's important that hair on the feet is kept short during the summer months (makes it easier to spot grass seeds too) but an all-over short clip is not essential to keep a Cocker cool - I actually find slightly longer hair provides some protection from the sun. It comes down to personal choice though - if you want your dog short all over, that's fine but it's not the only option. Keeping the top coat relatively short (using clippers or thinners) but leaving a inch or two of feathering on the legs and under the tummy would be just as effective at keeping a dog cool and would arguably look nicer too (if you wanted to avoid the "shorn sheep" look as some owners do )

[vikki.k]

We clip short using a number one also. This is Baja's second summer like this and it seems to work for us, we don't mind him looking like a mini Doberman so when we got Baja done at the groomers a few weeks ago we asked for Mole to be cut shorter too, although Mole freaked with the noise of the clippers so he just got a scissor cut.

We found he still had too much hair though so we got a set of clippers and got him used to the clippers day by day and have just spent the afternoon clipping him too, so he now has a cool short coat ready for his holiday next week.

It's all down to personal preference I guess, but for us it seems to keep them cool and they dry off quicker which is prefect for when we are on holiday next week at the beach.

[bracken]

Rosie has a full coat   I keep her in the shade and walk her early morning and late evening,she is black but I couldn't shave her short I spend hours on her coat  
Her top coat is clipped to take off long feathers as she is spayed and feet neat and I use thinning scissors on tops of her legs, but i keep her skirt long

[spanielcrazy]

On very thick coats I will sometimes "tunnel" the belly: run a short blade up the very center of the belly and chest. Doesn't show except when the dog lays on its back, the feathering on the sides is still there and hides it, and they can lay their tummies against something cool  

[Saffaroo]

Shelley is a solid black with white blaze - we are into serious heat here  and keeping her feet trimmed short seems to benefit her more than body being shorn which I don't do as the sun makes it so uncomfortable - keep some tummy and leg feathers as well for the same reason but she doesn't have a particularly heavy coat so there is plenty of tum to plonk down on the stone floor   I leave some weight on the outer ears - not too much and very close on inside flap.  Her tail is docked.  By the way Shelley is not a show dog.  Most of all we walk before sun up and after sun down whenever possible.  Hope that helps.

[supergirl]

I've been debating what to do as have been trying to grow Misha's coat after a disasterous cut at the groomers last August.  Its just showing some real growth (and starting to lay flat (yay!)) despite being spayed in Feb.  Useful to know about the feet (re JaneS post above) so I think we will carry on letting the coat grow and see where it takes us - they're both due at the groomers next week so will ask for a bit more off the feet.  Roly on the other hand has a lovely coat but quite short so I'm not too worried about him overheating.

[elaine.e]

On very thick coats I will sometimes "tunnel" the belly: run a short blade up the very center of the belly and chest. Doesn't show except when the dog lays on its back, the feathering on the sides is still there and hides it, and they can lay their tummies against something cool  

I do that too and call it William's air conditioning strip  . It also helps in winter as they don't get quite so dirty and they dry off a bit quicker.

[Oliver21508]

Even with Ollie's shortish coat now (see the pictures from today), he's still getting too hot, so we have to clip him really short for him to be in any comfort. My personal opinion, would be that I wouldn't be happy with MY dog in full show coat, but that's just my opinion.

[supergirl]

On very thick coats I will sometimes "tunnel" the belly: run a short blade up the very center of the belly and chest. Doesn't show except when the dog lays on its back, the feathering on the sides is still there and hides it, and they can lay their tummies against something cool  

I do that too and call it William's air conditioning strip  . It also helps in winter as they don't get quite so dirty and they dry off a bit quicker.

Roly has this done as his umm, aim isn't always the best

[speedyjaney]

We have Jessie clipped but leave a bit of feathering on her tummy, legs and ears.

I agree with JaneS tho - she seems to feel the heat more when she is clipped shorter than when we used the coat king and thinners on her but her coat just got too thick to manage that way.....i think the longer hair proects the skin from the sun better than short clipped hair

She also has the air con strip (shaved undercarriage we call it!) which she uses when she lies on the tiled floor lol

Now she is ill she seems to be getting hot with the steroids she is on so we are trying to find new ways to keep her cool - ice cubes are todays favourite!

Janey

[Beth]

Even with Ollie's shortish coat now (see the pictures from today), he's still getting too hot, so we have to clip him really short for him to be in any comfort. My personal opinion, would be that I wouldn't be happy with MY dog in full show coat, but that's just my opinion.

Funny, only a few months ago you were saying that he was going to be a show dog were you planning to only show him in the winter and clip him the rest of the time?

Jarvis is clipped (sheared ) short, but even then he really suffers with the heat, i just walk at cooler times of the day and try to make sure we walk somewhere with lots of water to cool off. TBH i don't think the coat length makes that much difference on wet walks, as a longer coat will hold water so cool them down more that way, whereas the short clip means he dries really quickly then wants to go swimming again.

[Oliver21508]

Even with Ollie's shortish coat now (see the pictures from today), he's still getting too hot, so we have to clip him really short for him to be in any comfort. My personal opinion, would be that I wouldn't be happy with MY dog in full show coat, but that's just my opinion.

Funny, only a few months ago you were saying that he was going to be a show dog were you planning to only show him in the winter and clip him the rest of the time?

We decided we didn't want to show him for this exact reason, that he gets too hot in it. And cos he got really dirty.

[Brimbeck(Dyllan)]

My two are in full show coat. I believe the coat insulates them from the heat. Thereby keeping them cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. It also protect them from the UV rays.
Under the paws cut very close to help them keep cool.

I keep then out of the full sun and walk them early morning and late evening.
A full coat takes time a good deal of care but I like them.