Dogs and heat. To clip or not to clip.

[mcburniefarm]

We have always close clipped our various (shep, husky, collie, etc) dogs chest and bellies in the summer. Leaving enough ruff to keep a nice look, from the top and side they look the same, just naked underneath. Happy dogs splayed out on the garage floor on hot days. Just an option for those not looking to clip the whole dog? FWIW, my past rough Collie got full clipped two smoker summers in a row and her guard hairs did come back and her coat looked fine and elegant by winter. She was then HBC so I don't know if a third year would have altered the coat growth or guard hairs.

[sweet_ceana]

we avoid the hottest part of the day in the summer

Amen to that! We are in the process of setting up solar powered lights in our back yard so the pups can still get some exercise during the upcoming months. When we lived in the apartment the dogs were required to get into the shower and get soaked before we could go out in the evening to play and everyone, dogs and people, would take a large portion of drinking water. We also learned when the sprinklers would come on in the dog park and would go and play at those times.

 

As far as coats go, Ceana's coat in AZ is much thinner than the coat she had when we lived in Colorado. Poke's coat is very thin as well. You can see in my signature that when we went home this winter both dogs had sweaters. They just did not have enough fur for -2 degrees. From what I have seen my dogs have been able to adapt pretty well on their own.

[BNM1980]

How hot do you think is too hot for a rough coat border collie?

 

Blake, who has a very thick coat, has yet to experience a South Korean summer. It gets up and beyond 30ºC (86ºF) here in the middle of summer.