I'll certainly let you know next week when he's done!

Why do people say they are too hot in the summer? By removing all the protective coat, you are exposing his skin to the sun, making it a lot worse, thats why people cover up in the sun, they burn otherwise. I know a Vet friend of mine despairs when she sees these chopped off dogs, and people also think wetting dogs in the heat of the sun actually cools them down! when in acual fact the water just bakes on the hot skin surface. Immersing dogs in water will cool them but not just putting a wet towel or a drop of water on an already hot surface.

I agree with you about neutering, its a big downfall in males and some females, but "thinning" although better, is quite difficult, as when you cut into a layer, it leaves holes in the coat. I hope you find the best solution, but my advice would be to leave as was intended.

we use the same one for dillan - they're good in there, dills coat is like wool if left to grow and he gets so uncomfortable - I would imagine the same as charlie, will be sure to get a pic for you xxx

As the whole cutting/trimming thing is true this dog is however part ESS which is a dog that is normally trimmed. To me it seems different in this situation....What about giving him the ESS trim??

If you can't decide, I would let the groomer tell you what she thinks should be done.

Because for some dogs that is the case

And for some dogs they are just plain uncomfortable with lots of coat, including a white one of mine who really suffers in hot weather - until his coat is clipped off all over - and yes, extreme care taken to not let him be out in the sun at the hottest time of day and yes making use of sunscreen for dogs

My vets have always preferred to give advice of how to make sure clipped dogs are kept safe from sun and heat exposure, its more productive than just despairing

Wet Coats are brilliant, the ones I have for Defa and Fluke are double layer fleece, which when soaked keep nice and damp and cool underneath regardless of the water evaporating off the top outer layer.
They do need to be regularly checked for topping up of course. In the hottest weather the ones I use tend to need a top up, [ fresh soak ], every three to four hours, [ that`s when at a Show so out and about all day ].
I agree with you on a soaked towel not being ideal because of evaporation, they are single layer and usually too loosely woven to be of any real benefit even if doubled over, thats why a double fleece wet coat is much better. If using a towel or t-shirt, they have to be pretty constantly soaked or will backfire by water evaporating too quickly as you rightly point out.

People often forget as well that when soaking a dog to keep them cool, whether paddling pool or river etc, they must`nt be allowed to then run around in the sun as they will dry too fast and temp will increase.
A soaked dog should be taken to somewhere shaded with a good breeze, [ or use a magazine or whatever as a fan ], or a cold air fan used to ensure they don`t dry out too fast - putting a soaked dog straight in the car without using a fan will make the dogs temp shoot right up for instance, just the cool fan of the vehicle itself is`nt enough, they would need something like a powerful crate suspended fan or better still , [ if at home ], a hair drier on cold air setting.

Ah but if sooo affected by neuter then the coat presumably isn`t as nature intended so may need intervention to thin it back to more natural state

Well his coat certainly isn't as nature intended unless nature indended him to be part mutton. He was never trimmed before he was neutered, he had a lovely coat and when I had him done I was aware it may change but I wasn't sure to the degree on how it would change. I still felt it the best choice however as I planned on keeping intact bitches so felt it was best he was done to preserve sanity really before I brought in the girls. My vet was the one who actually suggested clipping him in the first place and I did so myself for the first time a few years ago.

Cheers H, will look forward to that!

I was thinking of a similar trim to ESS although he doesn't have a lot of ESS features so i'm not sure he'd suit it. He's more ESS in personality tbh and more BC looks wise as you can see.

Thanx Hali, Kicks has already sang their praises here so I feel pretty confident they'll do him justice!

Thanks Patch, even though I obviously take care when Charlie is excercised in summer it's evident that he is far to warm, even indoors. I agree with Dawn to an extent as before he was neutered he was fine. He had a thinner, (and much straighter!) coat and never needed clipping, only his feet to keep them tidy. Now however, as you can probably see from the pictures, it is very thick and very wooly and wiry at the back, very difficult to manage when it gets longer, even when groomed on a daily basis. It's no longer as nature intended anyway and if I could retrieve his furry plums for him I would, learnt the hard way but what can ya do?

I'll have to get a more recent pic of him, it does look tame in those pictures compared to now, they were taken last summer - he never had a cut last year and he still struggled even though we didn't have a particularly warm summer, hence why i'm getting him done this time. I feel for those of you with Mals and the likes, they must really suffer in the heat.

How about a 'setter' trim but with shorter thinned out feathering?
Clip over the back on a 4f or 5f if you want shorter. Tidy the feet by trimming the excess hair off the pads and from between the toes and trim up to the hocks on the rear legs and up to the pad on the front legs then thin to blend in around where you have clipped.
Thin the featherings and trim shorter.
Does that make sense.
Becky

Hi Becky yes it did, never thought of a setter trim, think I might go with that as I could maintain that easily enough myself and it's not too much off. Cheers.