Thinning coat

[Ashlea]

My Pap, Lilly, has a more Toy Pom type coat. It is very thick and fluffy. She has no undercoat though.

My question is, in summer she gets really hot. Is there some way of stripping or thinning a single coated breed so that she is cooler in summer. I will take her to have it done professionally but I do NOT want them to shave her or cut her fur. I am nervous that they will.

What do I have to ask for spesifically? Thank you.

 

[SummerRiot]

Honestly, I dont think she'd need a "thinner" coat. If she is a single coated dog, I wouldn't worry too much, just keep the pads of her feet cool if it gets too hot out and she has plenty of water.

What you could ask them to do is trim up her fur slightly so it wasn't as long?

 

[RD]

You can have her belly trimmed slightly (just so the fur isn't thick and long) which will help with cooling her off.

Ripley has a shorter, thinner coat than most Paps but I still use a shedding blade on him during the summer (very gently since I don't want to scratch his skin) It gets SO much hair out. I guess with the single coat, they don't get as much of a chance to really shed as double coated dogs do, since they blow coat so often. Anyway, the shedding blade really helps to get rid of a lot of hair without making it look like he's been trimmed.

Another really useful thing is a "cool coat" . . . I have them for both boys. It's a regular coat with pockets for special crystals to go in. You soak the coat in water for a few hours and the crystals swell up. The very slow evaporation of the water in the crystals keeps the pockets nice and cool, but not too cold to be up against the dog's body. I don't know how my dogs survived AZ summers without those things.

 

[Ashlea]

Thanks for that. She has a bald belly as it is now. So that should be fine. She sheds like crazy! I think Rips coat is a little longer than Lills, she has a fluffy coat that stands up all Charlies Angels like! LOL!

She has seriously fluffy feet so I will trim her feet to help her out. I think I will invest in a shedding blade for her. She really hates to be groomed though! I was thinking about doing a rubber glove strip on her. I know she would hate that but she is already battleing and it is only spring. She really does get hot.

RD, I have a little "bib" thing that is filled with gel that you put in the fridge and put around their neck to keep her cool. She loves that!