To trim or not?

[kehorner]

I've gotten mixed advice about whether to give Bear a haircut for the summer. Some say yes, because his coat is so thick and black and absorbs the heat. Others say no, because the coat acts as an insulator against the heat.

He's definitely been a lot hotter already, and it's only April. He's been panting a lot more, and I worry about him getting too hot. I've been trying to avoid walking him in the middle of the day, but he goes where I go, and sometimes that means going out in the heat. He's definitely not a fan of getting in the car when it's been sitting in the sun.

I've been making sure that he gets enough water, but I still worry about him getting too hot.

Any advice?

[Traci]

Tough question, and from what I can tell from his pics, he doesn't have all that much fur, nor does it look too thick. Is his fur wiry or silky?

If you want to consider getting a "trim", check out your favorite breeder in your area, and ask him/her what type of "cuts" would do well for Bear in particular. You know that clipper settings can be set where it only trims short lengths, so this might allow for feeling cooler, as opposed to cutting too much and having very little fur!

[kehorner]

His outer coat is wiry, but he's got a softer undercoat. Even though he looks like a black dog, his undercoat is all brown, so when I brush him that's all I get off! His coat is fairly long. His outer coat is maybe 2-3 inches on his back. And it is fairly dense. I had a lot of trouble the first time I did his flea medication because I didn't have any help and couldn't get his hair parted to get down to the skin. It went better the second time with my roommate there to hold his head and distract him.

If I trim him, I won't do it myself. I know a girl who works as a groomer at petco, and she will come and do home visits whenever I want. She came a while ago and gave him a bath and trimmed his face and toenails, just to show me how to do it myself. It's a good deal for both of us, because I paid her more than she would have made working at petco, but it cost me less than if I took him there. The only downside is the cleanup...

[mamabear]

We had a Newfoundland dog and everyone would complain in our neighborhood that he was so hot due to his panting. Panting is how they cool off, it doesn't necessarily mean overheating right away.

You can trim him up but from what you said I can assume that the brownish color that is coming off of him when you brush him is undercoat. That is necessary to keep him cool as well. If you trim him make sure they dont take that part off.

We use to start the car and let us in a few minutes before putting any animal in it. The few minutes that it took to cool it off was far better than the 2 hours it took to cool down a dog that got into a very hot vehicle.

Putting water on their paws cools them down as well. The pads of their feet and their tongue is how they can cool off so soaking the paws helps keep their body temp good. I fyou dont want wet paws in the home then just use a washcloth and wipe the pads with it that will also help.

It might help to only walk the dog during the morning hours and the evening hours so the heat doesn't get to him. We use to do that as well.

Good luck hon.