i have 2 double coated breeds.

1 does suffer with the heat no matter how much of the undercoat is removed.

2nd dog which is a long/double coated Beardie x now is clipped.

i dont consider this cruel and i dont consider myself to be lazy in the grooming department.
When she ploughs through the mud and jumps into every puddle, jumps in most ponds (if she gets away with it). you cannot rub these dogs dry as it matts the coat. squeezing the coat is better but it takes hours for them to dry off.
she matted in all the normal places just by movement.

so off it came for her benefit. no more pulling and tugging trying to remove matts. no more cutting them out and making her look thread bare. and she can see! bonus!

she is happier and has more energy as she doesnt have a heavy coat to contend with.

these long/double coated dogs are wonderful with a full coat BUT it does have it drawbacks as i stated above.

Yes, the two longcoated beardies I have in my village are both clipped and they look very smart. Can I ask what sort of clip do you call that then, coz I think that's the one I would like for Georgie? I will of course be leaving it to grow long again for the winter, but I've decided for the summer he's going to feel a lot more comfortable.

As a groomer of many years I find that I just cannot happily clip for instance a Bearded Collie,they have their double coat fot a reason,.1.They were bred as a working dog in a part of this country,which has never been considered tropical! 2.The coat is there not only to keep them warm,but to protect the skin when running through rough terrain. OK they get wet and muddy,but it dries and the mud falls off or you brush it out. The thought of clipping a border collie amazes me,think how dull the coat would become,all you need to do is groom out the undercoat,as I said before,there is a reason why dogs have the density and length of coat that they do.I myself have 4 Borzoi and they are famous (amongst Borzoi people) for the fact that they have tremendous moults! I could never put a clipper any where near one of them,when the coat comes back,it is like silk,if it was clipped it would grow back thick and course.

thats fine IF they are a working dog. she is a pet, which means she's not hearding nor is she rummaging through gorse or bramble.a huge difference.

most dogs that are clipped are pets, whether anyone thinks its right or wrong, its the owners choice. if it makes the dog more comfortable removing a thick,heavy coat then why not.
it still stays the same dog!

this is Bonnie's haircut, dont know what its called except a 9mm clip.

Awww, what a lovely piccy of her new hairdo!!! Now I got it wrong (not unusual for me!) when I said two bearded's I meant to say two old english sheepdogs in my village are clipped. Same clip though as your beautiful Bonnie, and the same clip that my dog ended up with when he had a belly scan once, nice and close, but not close enough to reveal the skin,so that's what I'm going to ask for a 9mm, so thanks for that! I also know of a woman who has 3 big leo's and one of them is permanently clipped out, she said because he gets too hot, and although he looks very strange compared to the others, if it makes him more comfy well!

It does get very hot down here on the South Coast when it's mid-summer, we usually go up into the 30's which to me, is equivalent to being in Spain, so I'd call that hot,and apparently, we're in for a heat wave this summer and although we have a big air con unit (just for the dogs!) it won't help him on his early morning walk when it's usually sticky and claggy even at 6.00 am. in the summer months down South.

Thanks H.

she is rather special and a lot happier without the long coat.

i have toyed with the idea of clipping Hector but he does find the coolest spot in the house or he kept wet to cool him off, which is hard as he has a waterproof coat and he soaks the house. eekk!
so thats why he still has his coat.

a friend of ours used to clip his BC, what a difference it made to him, he had more energy, was cooler and because of this he wasnt as grumpy in the summer. he looked fab too.

WOuld rather see a clipped pet than a matted one any day and I think its very patronising when some people make the assumption that they know best. In dogs there is far too much of that going on by those who are full of double standards and hypocricy.

If you want to clip off a dog that is your choice , providing that it cannot cause harm to how that particualr or individual dog lives its life.......

kingbilly
WOuld rather see a clipped pet than a matted one any day and I think its very patronising when some people make the assumption that they know best. In dogs there is far too much of that going on by those who are full of double standards and hypocricy.

If you want to clip off a dog that is your choice , providing that it cannot cause harm to how that particualr or individual dog lives its life.......

I agree......

As a groomer all I do if asked to shave a double coated breed is make the owners aware of the risk in doing so and then if they still want it doing, I will do so, not because I am a lazy groomer, purely as someone has said its down to the owners preference, after telling them the cons of shaving off the coat, they can make an informed choice and if they still wanting it done I will do it, I don't like doing it, would much prefer to do all I can to save a coat and make the dog comfortable but when it comes to having a miserable matted dog that owners do not take time out to groom the coat or a happy short coated dog, I'd rather do the latter to keep the dog happy,

I have clipped Charlie in the past, he is BC and ESS and since being neutered parts of his coat started to become very woolly and unmanageable (this was before I ever clipped him) namely his tail like a bog brush and his 'knickers' and legs, his main body is still lovely and silky his tummy feathers are nice but round his ruff starts to get a bit heavy and his ears are like cotton wool. These areas NEED attention, you could brush him through on a morning and his ears and tail/bottom can matt on one walk...