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bluewater · 19-12-2005, 14:25

Hi all,

We have a 5-year-old Samoyed and are planning to sail the Inside Passage and spend a good deal of time in Alaska. The dog will be happy there with her long white fur. But I wonder about when we head south. Do any of you have winter dogs with heavy coats? If so, do you have any tips to share. We would, of course, plan to clip her short, but any other advice for keeping dogs cool would be helpful!

rob d · 26-08-2006, 00:50

No but I have an Austrailian Shepard and I can guarentee that there is dog hair everywhere inside the boat.
I think most dogs adapt pretty well as long as they have shade go get under and plenty of clean water to drink.
I would be more worried about having all of the dogs shots up to date and all his/her paperwork in order.
And check the pet rules for each country that you plan to stop at. There have some horror stories on that subject posted on different boards and in some of the boat magazines.

Daddy's Dream · 26-08-2006, 01:16

We have a cocker spanial and in the summer we sweep up enough dog fur every day to weave a new dog. Okay, it's not that bad, but you get the point).

Once every summer we take her and have her shaved, ears skirt and all. Right now she looks like a minerature Lab.

Good luck,
Bill

Pura Vida · 26-08-2006, 02:20

I had a Siberian Husky years ago. Surprisingly in the summer dog was quite happy. But inthe mild winters she would put on a heavy coat that was far to thick for the above freezing tempretures.

Entlie · 26-08-2006, 02:54

We used to have a Rottweiler who would lay down and let me vaccuum her. Not so with our boat beast, Toby, a 60 pound hair factory.
http://www.stateham.com/toby/

Check out the Furminator.
http://www.furminator.com/
It is a surgical steel comb that removes the undercoat. It takes a couple of hours (spread out in short stints) and you will get bags of hair. Be sure to read the directions, only comb in the direction of the hair, etc.
Then a bath (we use a shed control shampoo - there are a number of brands @ the pet store). Makes a huge improvement.

We bought our Furminator on ebay for about $30. Now it is available in various sizes - ours is probably a medium.

Some groomers will furminate your dog for about $50-$75. It usually lasts several months.

Toby will not tolerate a "slicker" type brushing, but he loves the Furminator, and the activity is liberally laced with treats.

Of course in a cold climate, your dog probably needs this undercoat.

Entlie

seafox · 16-10-2006, 02:51

Richhh · 16-10-2006, 19:55

Be sure to make lots of drinking water available for your dog.
Until he/she acclimatizes to the hotter ambient tenperatures, a dog will need lots of water to drink. Dogs regulate their temperatures by 'air-cooling' / panting and if they are allowed to dehydrate they will soon get into real trouble. No need to clip, etc, just be sure the dog has LOTS of water. If the dog does become overheated/dehydrated simply spray the dog with a hose (but dont scare the dog or intiitate it with the hose).

Most 'northern' dogs dont have foot webs and wont swim as readily as breeds that were developed in more warmer climates.... Swimming will rapidly cool down a dog but a 'northern dog' may have to be 'taught' to enter the water. Such dogs usuallly need to be 'gentled' into the water - make a 'game' out of it and 'go in' first yourself so the dog will/may follow. ;-)

16-10-2006, 21:07

Reading this thread, am I glad that we have a Portuguese Water Dog!

He doesn't shed, so there are no bilge clogging piles of hair, he needs to be cut anyway, so keeping the hair short in the hot weather isn't an issue, he loves to swim, so in the real heat there is always a way to cool him off, and he can take a dog watch if needed....

hellosailor · 17-10-2006, 09:21

Check with your vet. I'm told that clipping a typical dog short in hot weather is the WRONG thing to do. Dogs do not sweat to keep cool, so when you clip off the insulating hair--they just overheat more from every bit of sunlight that gets through to the skin. Better to keep it long, and just brush out the heavy undercoat to keep it from shedding all over.

You vet can also tell you about diet changes that may minimize some of the shedding.

Dogs are also good about finding warm/cold places to lie down on, since they can't work thermostats.<G> If you can find a way to make someplace cooler where the dog can lie to cool down...they'll find a way to use it when they need it. On hot summer nights, mine used to climb into the bathtub, because the hard porcelain over steel still was cooler than anyplace else to lie.

17-10-2006, 10:33

Dogs, like people, do survive the hot weather. Access to water, shade and limited exercise is the key. Just like people. Also like people their tolerance is variable. In the past I had a chow and a sheltie. Both long hair, heavily insulated. The chow hated the hot weather, and would get irritable when the thermometer rose. The sheltie never seemed to mind.

There is a danger of very short cuts that hellossailor did not mention, and that is sunburn! Dogs don't have natural protection against sunburn. If you cut them too short they can suffer.

seafox · 18-10-2006, 00:26

I put an umbrellor in the fishing rod holder for my guy and he lies under it. Also throw the odd cup of water over him to cool him off. He looks at me like I am an idiot but I am sure it cools him.