Too hot

Caroline_a

I've got all doors shut and heat on... dog finally given up, too hot, he's lying outside in the cold! Bless, I guess when you've got a big fur coat central heating is hard....

Tropez

We had a shetland sheepdog a long time ago - he was not a happy bunny when the central heating was on either.

I have an odd one at the moment; my most recent whippet seems to love the snow! She's scratching at the door to go out every 15 mins to run around in the cold... the other two are quite sensible and have no desire to go out without their jackets on, but this one is barmy and thinks the snow is fantastic!

Raggs_2

Living in the middle east, with a cross breed dog designed to either be on top of an italian mountain or swimming in an english lake (retriever x maremma (we believe)), he does suffer a lot in the heat.

Especially since summer just won't quit at the moment and it's still mid to high 20's.

Best thing we've done for him is shave him. Read lots of information on it, but in the end you always read the same thing. People who have never shaved, convinced it ruins the look of the fur (he's my pet, he's not for show, he may look ridiculous with a pom on his tail, and a very fluffy head, but I care about his well being and he doesn't know he looks daft). People who are sure that having this thick coat keeps them cool (go put a thick jumper on during summer, see how that helps you). And people who have actually done it, and see the amazing difference it makes to their dogs happiness.

Louis jumps around like a puppy again after being shaved, suddenly he's able to be active for more than 3 seconds before needing to lie down in the shade, he no longer spends every moment panting.

The only issue was cost and convenience. He's not little, and dog groomers would happily take the equivalent of 35-50 quid to do it, and he needs it 3-5 times over the summer. And when we borrowed dog clippers from friends, it took a couple of hours, due to his long thick fur. Thankfully, my OH works in a dairy farm, so we tried using cow clippers. Took 10 minutes. We bought our own (300 quid...), and can now shave him whenever needed, also offer to do friends for 3 or 4 quid a time, it doesn't look as pretty as a professional, but for 15 minutes and 10% of the price, most of them are happy .

Not suggesting that this is a solution for you lucky !!!!!!s in the cold UK though. Can't wait to finally get back (the dog's going to be over the moon too).

Lirin

I have the ideal situation at the moment.

Lab gets cold, so she lies on top of us on the sofa. Collie gets too warm, so he lies across the door acting as a draught excluder....

Penny_Watcher

My Idiot Dog (Black Lab X English Setter) spent a happy 15 minutes yesterday evening running round the field with his head pushed into the 6" of fresh snow. He looked a bit like a mini snow plough. Twit .

amibovvered

What I always find incredible is how they will lie so close to the fire their toes are toasting then minutes later leap around in the snow, perfectly happy! Whereas humans - reminds me of what your mum/gran always said 'take your coat off when you come indoors or you won't feel the benefit!' :rotfl:

Lirin

The draught excluder (not the smartest, though terribly good-looking) was outside last night, and kept head-butting the bins.

Wondered what he was up to, so went and had a look. Nose close to the ground, backing up, then Charge! followed by a 'yip' and shaking his head....

Silly fool was attempting to chase his shadow on the snow.

Caroline_a

Raggs wrote: »

Best thing we've done for him is shave him. Read lots of information on it, but in the end you always read the same thing. People who have never shaved, convinced it ruins the look of the fur (he's my pet, he's not for show, he may look ridiculous with a pom on his tail, and a very fluffy head, but I care about his well being and he doesn't know he looks daft). People who are sure that having this thick coat keeps them cool (go put a thick jumper on during summer, see how that helps you). And people who have actually done it, and see the amazing difference it makes to their dogs happiness.

I'm not quite sure what a long-haired German Shep weighing in at 50kg would look like bald... :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I think I'll leave him cool down in his own way.

Raggs_2

Caroline_a wrote: »

I'm not quite sure what a long-haired German Shep weighing in at 50kg would look like bald... :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I think I'll leave him cool down in his own way.

The big GS that was round here never got shaved, so I couldn't say, but we've got another one around that may end up being so in the summer, and for some daft reason people insist on bringing huskies here (I guess it could have been a rescue).

My boy is almost 40kg, though he looks bigger (big skull, thick legs, long body, but skinny). The shave brings his hair down to a few millimetres in length, but because he's white he just looks a bit like a lab, nothing too shocking. There's an akita here that gets shaved, doesn't look too ridiculous, but I suppose I'm used to it, fluffy heads, shaved bodys, and fluff on the end of the tail (stops it being whippy, which means less painful for us, and less likely that the dog will damage it too).