Summer Cut?

[Tabitha]

Well, it looks like it's gonna be another hot west TX summer and my fluffy babies HATE it! I was thinking about getting them a 'puppy cut', but I'm not sure yet. My dad surprised me when I was little coming home from school to a shaved sheltie, NEVER AGAIN! Is there any hair cuts I can get for them so that they still have their fur, just a lot cooler? Last year I was constantly brushing out there fur and soaking them to the skin to try to keep them cool, and this year is probably going to be just as bad if not worse! Any tips?
Tabs

 

[BarbV]

No, there is no puppy cut for a sheltie. If you shave them down, you stand the risk of sunburn. Their coat protects them.

Their undercoat works as an insulator. That doesn't mean that they won't get hot though. They will. Lots of water is necessary.

You can buy cooling beds for them. Just google.

 

[Tabitha]

When I say 'puppy cut' I mean a trim. I want a cut that leaves the hair long but still takes off a lot of hair and it makes a full grown sheltie look a little like a pup. I agree you should never have a sheltie shaved. It takes way to long for it to grow back, you risk permanently damaging it, and I don't thing it looks good at all! The smooth-hair collies look good but its unnatural for a sheltie! But I don't know if trimming it will damage it, too. I don't plan to cut it so short that they can get sunburned, I know that risk first hand. I just want them cooler.

 

[Mally's Mom]

Well, it looks like it's gonna be another hot west TX summer and my fluffy babies HATE it! I was thinking about getting them a 'puppy cut', but I'm not sure yet. My dad surprised me when I was little coming home from school to a shaved sheltie, NEVER AGAIN! Is there any hair cuts I can get for them so that they still have their fur, just a lot cooler? Last year I was constantly brushing out there fur and soaking them to the skin to try to keep them cool, and this year is probably going to be just as bad if not worse! Any tips?
Tabs

Last summer, Chris (a forum member) had one of her sheltie's given a summer cut. It looked very nice, and was comfortable for the sheltie.

Possibly, you can pm Chris about the cut, or she can post the picture again.

 

[mbfrench]

I was going to suggest the same,PM Chris,and she can if possible post the picture & explaination as to why the cut was done.

I'm sure it does get hot there,but I am in SC,and it does get hot here as well. These dogs are not out enough to even get over heated,and if they are outside they have plenty of shade & fresh water a gadzillion times a day.

Constant brushing,get that undercoat out...all of it. The outer coat will be lighter,and let the air circulate the skin to keep them cool.
Of course,one must always be in tune to thier dogs,if they show signs of over heating,bring them in promptly.
No exersise in the heat of the day. These guys are out the longest times early morning,and well after the sun goes in for the day.

Our double merle (blind & deaf also)..has not one bit of pigment on her.Even her ears are pink inside,her nose is pink.And the rest is pure white. She is one we watch closely. As she would burn.

 

[k9kreationz]

Just curious. Is the dog outside all day? Or no a/c and it's just hot as heck inside too? Is there a breeze when it's hot? Hot breeze, cool? Humid? Dry?
I don't know west TX very well, obviously, lol. Just that's it's closer to me than east TX.

I ask because I think there are a lot of things you can do to alleviate the heat. When I do agility, we're outside under a pop-up tent. Sometimes there's a cool breeze which helps. Other times, it's 110 with a hot breeze, and doesn't do a dang thing.

If the dog is just warm inside, you could easily just purchase a cooling mat and trim the tummy fur a bit. I know my friend does that with her Eskie and that helps a lot for her dog. I think a cooling mat/vest works better for heat and no humidity.

In humidity, it doesn't do a darn thing, since it works off of the evaporation of the water within the mat. Yeah. High humidity means no evaporation. Bleah. So that part just sucks.

When I was doing agility in summer, I'd make sure to keep Koji's undercoat as sparse as possible, always pulling it out before a trial (which you may have to do daily or every few days). I never did trim his tummy fur, but thought about it. I typically just wet his feet and tummy.

Remember, if it's humid and you wet a dog with a double coat down, usually it makes them overheat because they can't "dry off" and it just cooks them. Well, that's what many people told me when I started agility and if it was humid, most people said to keep an eye on him if I wet them down when it's humid.

Good luck. Obviously it never gets that hot here constantly, lol. And then I run the a/c for the dogs. Spoiled, aren't they?

 

[Tabitha]

Last summer, Chris (a forum member) had one of her sheltie's given a summer cut. It looked very nice, and was comfortable for the sheltie.

Possibly, you can pm Chris about the cut, or she can post the picture again.

Thanks for the tip! I'll do that right away!

Just curious. Is the dog outside all day? Or no a/c and it's just hot as heck inside too? Is there a breeze when it's hot? Hot breeze, cool? Humid? Dry?
I don't know west TX very well, obviously, lol. Just that's it's closer to me than east TX.

I ask because I think there are a lot of things you can do to alleviate the heat. When I do agility, we're outside under a pop-up tent. Sometimes there's a cool breeze which helps. Other times, it's 110 with a hot breeze, and doesn't do a dang thing.

If the dog is just warm inside, you could easily just purchase a cooling mat and trim the tummy fur a bit. I know my friend does that with her Eskie and that helps a lot for her dog. I think a cooling mat/vest works better for heat and no humidity.

In humidity, it doesn't do a darn thing, since it works off of the evaporation of the water within the mat. Yeah. High humidity means no evaporation. Bleah. So that part just sucks.

When I was doing agility in summer, I'd make sure to keep Koji's undercoat as sparse as possible, always pulling it out before a trial (which you may have to do daily or every few days). I never did trim his tummy fur, but thought about it. I typically just wet his feet and tummy.

Remember, if it's humid and you wet a dog with a double coat down, usually it makes them overheat because they can't "dry off" and it just cooks them. Well, that's what many people told me when I started agility and if it was humid, most people said to keep an eye on him if I wet them down when it's humid.

Good luck. Obviously it never gets that hot here constantly, lol. And then I run the a/c for the dogs. Spoiled, aren't they?

'Is the dog outside all day?' Not ALL day but there happiest outdoors.


'Or no a/c and it's just hot as heck inside too?' A/C's fine and there's a portable one outside in the dog house/shed.


'Is there a breeze when it's hot?' This is the TX plains it's almost ALWAYS windy!


'Hot breeze, cool?' It depends, but usually fairly cool.


'Humid?' Only when its been raining and we are currently in a 3 to 4 year drought.


'Dry?' Like I said before DROUGHT! Ugh it driving every one CRAZY how dry it is. I don't have a lawn, I HAVE DIRT!

 

[k9kreationz]

I'm dying over the dirt comment. LOL.

And OMG, the dog house has a/c? Awesome!
Okay, it's dry, I get it. Maybe try a cooling pad that he can lie on? I know when I put it down, Koji gets all nice and comfy on it and just stretches out. Put a fan on him and he's in heaven (of course, I'm usually sweating and dying, but he's nice and cool - the things we do for our babies). But since it's windy (yeah yeah, you realize I live in CA right? I know nothing about TX), the breeze will help keep too.

Just a thought, if you didn't want to cut the hair.

 

[Caro]

My dogs competed in dog sports outdoors in darn hot summers. I don't shave them or cut their coats and I can tell you my dogs were no hotter than the other dogs. What is critical is to get the undercoat out so the fur can lift and air can circulate under the fur. Cutting the coat just makes it shorter - it doesn't remove the undercoat. Best bet is to find a groomer that can strip out the undercoat.

 

[Mignarda]

The key thing is to keep the air moving. There's a heat gradient between the skin and the air; if the dog's body temperature is 98 and the air is 90, that's an eight degree difference, and the heat will transfer from the dog's surface to the air. The only problem is that gradually an equilibrium will be reached between skin and air temperature, and in order to maintain the gradient you've got to move the air. If it's really windy where you live the dogs should be good outside as long as they've got shade and water.

Of course keeping them inside with the AC going is probably the better option!