Dogs should not be walked in the heat full stop.  dogs only have sweat glands in their pads and the only other way of releiveing heat is by panting.

I ahve a thick coated breed who cope pretty well with heat, but become lazy and take things easy.,  they are walked befor it heats up or in the evening in the summer.

I would suspect that the chow ws probably not slim, adn he may well have felt better for the loss of the weight of his coat.  Think how light your head feels when you have it cut, but also how your neck burns if you have had longer hair and then get it short, adn also how much more your head feels the heat, and you then need a hat.

I think most people whio get coated dogs VASTLY underestimate the amount of thorough grooming the dog will need :(  they brush the top coat and think the whole dog has been done, they then get the dog clipped as it 'gets hot'  If more people were honest with themselves about the grooming they do then their dogs wouldn't need clipping. 
I had to groom a sheltie a while back and it took me 3 days to get all of the dead coat out - 4 carrier bags full!! from a sheltie!!  This was a dog I had tried to persuade the owner not to have as he wasn't physically capable of the level of grooming which a sheltie requires or the exercise :rolleyes:  a shorter coated dog would have been much easier for him and kinder to the dog but he loved the 'look' of the breed :rolleyes:

As far as heat is concerned, I used to own an Afghan Cross (Black) and groomed him daily, with a thorough grooming for 2-3 hours every week.  In summer I reduced his undercoat to almost nothing.  One summer, back in the 90's, there were temperatures of high 80/90's and we were on holiday with him he was the only one of us who didn't flake out in the heat and he was about 10 at the time.  I put it down to having no undercoat and not encouraging him to run about (none of us felt like moving much)

Hi Dill,

two very good points about some people often under estimating the amount of coat care with certain breeds and also exercise in the heat.  We've had a few really hot days in a row locally (strange but true!) and yet the amount of dogs being run around like crazy chasing balls in the park or playing with kids etc is unbelievable (our house overlooks the park hence why I see them ;) )   I've tried mentioning this to owners before but they never seem to get the message that their dogs would be far better to miss their mid-day run altogether and just go out early morning or evenings :(  They seem to think their dogs will suffer for missing out on ONE outing :rolleyes:   Killing them with kindness sometimes ....

regards, Teri

I have found that most owners only groom the dog's top coat and don't get through to the skin.  They usually are using the "magic" brush recommended by most pet shops, with knob pins on one side and bristles on the other, and they're about as much use as a chocolate teapot!!  I always give new clients a free grooming lesson, time always well spent as it saves me time on all future appointments as well as keeping the dog more comfortable.  Once all this is demonstrated to the owner, I've had very few not co-operate, for the sake of the dogs that they love so much.  For those who insist on not grooming, and it really does only take a little time once you know how, then I offer them the phone number of the sheep shearer down the road! :)

Val a Chocolate Teapot has more use honestly, you can eat it :-D :-D ;-)

The one that makes me laugh is the people that turn up and the dog has been bathed the night before BUT has 2 hundred knots underneath claiming it was caused by the field trek at the previous weekend :-))

I give 2 warnings and they dont come back ;-) I think it is cruel on the dog.

****I have found that most owners only groom the dog's top coat and don't get through to the skin.  They usually are using the "magic" brush recommended by most pet shops, with knob pins on one side and bristles on the other, and they're about as much use as a chocolate teapot!!****

Gosh, I've never taken a dog to a grooming parlour.  Maybe I should to make sure I'm doing it right?

I groom mine every two days, sometimes daily.  They get all exited when they see the comb.  I use a comb not a brush, is this okay?

Combs are the most use, followed by some kind of brush to pick up the loose hair that sticks to the top of the coat.

With my double coated but not long coated breed I use a steel comb, a SOFT slicker brush and a bristle brush.

The correct tools vary from breed to breed. For my smooth-coated gang I use a rubber Zoom-Groom and a bristle brush.

Thanks guys; you know it's something I never thought about before or questioned myself if I was doing it right.  I have GSD's and they have a plush coat.  It's very, very thick although they did have their spring moult.  I mainly use a steel comb and run my hands over the top coat at the end to take any dead hair off.  I do have a bristle brush but hardly ever use it.  You know when you've done something a certain way for a long time, I just wondered if there was a better way.

Spender, a shedding comb would make your life a lot easier during the moult, it has teeth of two sizes alternating with each other and for some reason it makes it really easy to take out the dead coat.   You could also use a rubber brush when bathing the dog, this also helps to shift the dead stuff :) and used damp it will help to take out those stray dead hairs :)

That's super, Dill, I'll be off shopping at the weekend. :-)

Occassionally with the steel comb, it's hard to get to the undercoat because it is so thick.  And I honestly think if I left it any longer than two days, it would start to matt.  It's not a long coat and not short either if you know what i mean.  Thanks for the good advice, that makes a lot of sence.  :-)

Sounds similar to an Elkhound coat.  Thick double but close lying :D  when you get out all that under coat you wonder how on earht you got so much out when they aren't long coated.

When they do best longcoat and best shortcoat at Companion/Exemption shows I never know which mine should go into????

I have a cupboard full of brushes,combs,lotions and potions,i'm addicted to doggy grooming products.However i really only use a comb and a slicker on any snags. I wanted to ask about the slickers,at shows i often see owners use the slicker brushes on their dogs faces and pretty much everywhere else with out much care.If i use the slicker than by the time i've finished all 4 dogs my hand is red raw as i put it inbetween the fur and their skin,so it doesnt touch their skin,it was the softest one available but it is still obviously sharp.When useing slickers are you meant to protect the dogs skin or just use it as you would a normal brush? I think my dogs would hit the roof if i dragged it accross their skin...ouch!

If i didnt explain properly please let me know and i'll try again.

:D You do have to be a bit careful with a slicker but don't forget if it takes, say, 300 strokes to cover the body of your dog each patch of skin would have only had 1 - 3 strokes whereas with your method you poor little hand got all 300 of them, no wonder it was sore!
I prefer to use my spratts no. somethingorother :o, known as the spaniel comb and just finish off the feathers, that aren't lying against skin, with the slicker.

The slickers I use are really soft.  I can drag them accross the back of my hand no problem, and won't use anything harsher.  I use them on all areas of the coat.

I have Rough Collies with a not dissimilar double coat to a Shepherd.  For dogs not in the ring (when I'm trying to keep as much coat as possible!) I use the Universal Slicker de luxe, which will remove any coat ready to come out, quickly and easily.  With practice you can only groom the coat and not skin, either your own or the dogs!! ;)
This is the same brush that I would use on most dogs in the parlour too.  It's very efficient and in over 16 years, I've never had a dog object - used correctly it's like a good massage.
If they are moulting a bath and a blaster will get it all out, nearly in one go.  That's the one time that it may be worth sending your dog to a parlour where they have all the equipment??  Otherwise it's a comb job!! :)

Thanks Val. Mine go swimming every week in a hydrotherapy pool; get a rinse afterwards and a blast.  I usually give them a shampoo normally twice a year, in spring and again in late summer depending on how dirty they get.  They have a nice shiny coat but I still think it's very thick this year for the start of summer though.  It appears to be thicker than previous years.  I wonder if there is some dead undercoat that I'm not getting out?

I might just take them to a grooming parlor.  That's given me an idea.  My guess is they'd love it and I'd love to get some advice from a professional who can have a look at their coat and tell me what they think. :-)

Spender, I've sent you a PM.