Re: [PyrNet-L] Question About Grooming

["Tracy Bassett" <espinay@dynamite.com.au>]

<<Poor Gordon looked terrible from the heat when I picked him up. This is
not going to be a show dog by any means so I am wondering if you who live in
the tropical areas of the world shave your dogs?.....Any advice would be
appreciated>>Robb

Hi Robb, Just think of a Pyr's coat as an insulator - from the heat as well
as the cold!  As long as the coat is well brushed out (so it isn't all
matted close to the skin) the coat can in fact, to my mind, help to keep the
dog cool (remember that they pretty much lose their undercoat in summer -
you need to brush all this out - bags and bags of it!!! :-/).  The coat can
also protect the dog from sunburn, which is important.  There are a few
things that you can do to help keep the dog comfortable in hotter weather
though - make sure they have a cool shady place to lie in (all day), leave
out plenty of water (also in a shady place), give them large blocks of ice
to chew on if they wish, give ice cubes as treats, keep foliage in the area
damp/moist in the hottest part of the day (natural air conditioning!) - fine
mist water sprays are good for this, give your dog a wading pool :-) etc
etc.  The best way to cool a dog down is to wet its belly and feet rather
than its back.  I know some people have shaved just the belly area to help
with cooling.  I wouldn't go 'the whole hog' and shave the lot off though.

Cheers! :-)

Tracy Bassett
Canberra, Australia
espinay@dynamite.com.au
visit my webpage at http://members.dynamite.com.au/espinay/index.htm