Tibetan Spaniel Clipping?

[frankfurts]

Hi guys i posted this in the Tibetan spaniel forum but figured it would probably be more appropriate here,

My tibetan spaniel is about 10 months old and i was also considering taking him to be clipped as he has been shedding like crazy since the beginning of summer even with regular brushing (biggest furballs i've ever seen haha) We have had a few days now around the high 30's low 40's and i'm a bit concerned for him being too hot. Also he loves swimming at the beach and i figured it would be easier to keep him clean and dry if he is clipped. I'm not talking about a full on buzz cut i still want to keep his fluffy tail and his little "shorts" at the back haha, just a little trim up. So if anyone could give me advice on past experience i would be very grateful. My main concern is to help keep his back end tidy and also make it easier to see if he has anything unusual going on with his skin I've attached a pic of something along the lines of what i was thinking.

If i don't get him clipped how would i go about at least giving him a trim up, So far I've just been doing regular brushing as far as his fur goes and a wash when he gets dirty. Thanks for any advice you guys can offer me.

Cheers

[Guest DBT]

if this is how you'd like your dog to look, i would ask the groomer to clip your dog all over the body & legs with a 4, 5, or 7 blade , blend the head , trim puppy ears , and trim the tail to a medium length.

[Jed]

Once he is clipped, he will need to be regularly groomed, or clipped every 4 -6 weeks. Did the breeder explain to you how to groom, and are you using the correct tools?

May I ask why you bought a Tibbie if you didn't want to groom?

[frankfurts]

Well thats the thing i'm not 100% sure and i have been told if it's clipped it may not grow back the same. For comparison here is a picture of what he currently looks like. His name is Koda by the way.

[oakway]

Sorry, what is there to groom on a Tibbie in the summer.

Yes they do drop coat, but cutting it off will not stop it shedding.

If it is shedding, a good grooming and then a bath will help bring out the coat and groom again after drying should make a big difference.

[frankfurts]

Sorry guys just been doing some reading, didn't know the double coat helps keep him cool as well as warm, think i'll just take him in for a tidy up and continue with the brushing to get rid of the dead hair. My main reason for wanting to do this was to keep him cool but if it isn't going to help then i'm not going to do it. Thanks for the help.

Edited February 8, 2011 by frankfurts

[becks]

Clipping will ruin the coat and be something that will have to be continued with as it will just become wooly and more likely to get matted.

You can ask the groomer to give him a bath and tidy ie trim the feet, tidy up the feathering but not to trim the body coat.

[frankfurts]

Thank you becks thats exactly what i'm going to do, i'll book him in for tomorrow

[frufru]

Book him for a bath and blowdry and good brush out - ask them to tidy up over his feet if you want. Be warned - if you use the word "trim" and don't explain what you want you could end up with a naked dog.

[ESCS]

We have a tibbie in Brisbane where it's often hot and humid. You do feel for them in this climate but our breeder told us not to be tempted to clip him as his coat is meant to keep him insulated. We have the area around his bottom clipped ( hygiene reasons), fur around his paws trimmed and nails clipped every 3 to 4 weeks but that's about it. Grooming him daily has helped to keep the shedding under control. I use a blunted slicker brush first and them a bristle brush. It also helped to give him a hydrobath (instead of a bath in the laundry tub) from time to time. It seems to get a lot more loose hair out and he definitely looks cleaner. Our tibbie does feel the heat so we have to keep him cool in other ways ( A/C on hot days, walking him early in the morning etc). Nothing to do with grooming but they're great dogs, aren't they?