I heard their coat "insulates them" but wouldn't this still be cooler for the dog? I don't remember where I found this pic..... but kept it thinking i would shave antar like this in summer and grow him out in winter.
Helene and vet told us not a good idea... I know puppy will adapt to heat, but was wondering if anyone has tried this.
he gets so hot outside even with fan on him. I have to limit him to about 30min. He lets me know when he wants to go in.
I'm going to work on getting a couple of sprinklers and see if I can get him to play in them during the summer just to get him outside.
Concerned how he's going to handle schutzhund training when he gets older
when it's so hot out... maybe have to limit it to the winter months
and only short sessions in summer.
Jeff

the double coat is an insulator in both heat and cold - if you shave him you expose him to more heat. There are cool coats (DeAnne has a cool vest made for police dogs) - and other ways to keep him cool in the summer - adaptation is something he needs to do - he will be fine once he acclimates. ALL his littermates are definite a/c dogs right now - they come in - but this is also typical brt behavior - they want to be out when you are. A childs wading pool is a great way for him to play more outside - so is a water trough like for horses (not the full size ones - more the horse waterers for stalls)- they hook to a hose and fill when they are empty - pups love to play in the water.

Thanks Helene
i never thought about a childs swimming pool - that's a great idea!

hope he likes the beach this weekend.

Yeah we bought him a cool bed already
loves it in his cage.. I only have it about an 1-1/2 deep, thinking about making it a bit deeper.

We shaved our male like that for the summer and it was a big mistake. It really didn't seem to help with the heat and all he does now is scratch all day long. He doesn't seem to have a rash, and there are no ticks or fleas. I think the new hair growing back in bothers him.

That is my Maksim.. we gave him that cut to see if he would be cooler and what he looked like under all that hair.. He turned out just as cute without the hair but it really did NOT make a difference on the heat factor!! We had to cut all his hair off, again, in spring b/c I made the mistake of using this "undercoat detangler" that really messed his hair all up... I guess I cut wayyyy too much of the undercoat that I could not keep to top coat untangled.. and he ended up looking like he has some kind of disease..lol His hair is now almost long enough to where it needs to be but I WILL NEVER CUT HIS HAIR AGAIN!!!! EVER!!!
hope this changes your mind;)