Mean old raccoon came back.
- Thread starter jackiomy
- Start date
LOL, I've never been a small dog person. I clip her in the summer. I try to leave her alone in the winter. If I brush her out nice and fluffy I don't think her fur insulates her as well. I bet the undercoat would be good for yarn, though.
Actually, I respectfully disagree with you about the coat. As a groomer, I get the question a lot about whether it's best to leave the coat or clip in the summer and how much brushing is needed.
Here's my spiel.
The coat insulates against the cold AND the heat. It has to be properly cared for in order for it to protect the dog optimally.
The dog grows a winter coat. This is triggered by day length as well as temperature. This coat is undercoat. It is dull looking, of fine texture and often has a crimped pattern to each individual hair shaft. (in contrast to the outer coat which is straight, tihcker per strand and glossy). The crimp pattern to the undercoat serves to trap air which holds heat from the body. It works much like thermal underwear with the woven waffle pattern which traps air to be warmed by the body. When the coat is brushed and fairly fluffy, it has far more heating and insulating properties than when it's flat or matted down. Think of down coats or sleeping bags - they are great when dry and fluffy but fairly useless when wet and matted together. Think also of white tailed deer. Their hair shafts are hollow, again allowing the holding of body heat in the air space created by this hollow hair shaft.
In the spring, the undercoat is released by the skin and the shedding begins. This happens because the insulating effect of the coat is not needed during the hot summer months. This coat needs to be combed/brushed out as we've bred these dogs with such long hair that it isn't able to shed out naturally.
When properly groomed through the shedding process, the remaining coat is predominately outer coat - the long glossy hairs. These hairs are fairly water resistant, allowing rain to roll off the coat and not get the dog wet down to his skin. They also protect from heat. The best way to understand this is to remember ever sitting at a campfire, woodstove or fireplace and having the heat be too hot on your arms. If you roll down your shirt sleeve, that thin covering of fabric is all you need to block the heat and you don't have to move back away from the heat source. Your dog's outer coat does the exact same thing. When you shave it off, you have removed the light protective layer that the outer coat provides - allowing the heat of the sun to reach the skin directly and removing that light protection his natural coat provides. Make sense?
I fully understand how much work it is to maintain one of these beasts. Not many have the space or the tools to do the job in an effective manner and having them professionally groomed is really exensive (and finding true quality groomers is near impossible in my experience), so I totally understand why someone would want to shave one.
OH yeah, as for yarn, it a wonderful fiber and a lot warmer than wool.
Here's my spiel.
The coat insulates against the cold AND the heat. It has to be properly cared for in order for it to protect the dog optimally.
The dog grows a winter coat. This is triggered by day length as well as temperature. This coat is undercoat. It is dull looking, of fine texture and often has a crimped pattern to each individual hair shaft. (in contrast to the outer coat which is straight, tihcker per strand and glossy). The crimp pattern to the undercoat serves to trap air which holds heat from the body. It works much like thermal underwear with the woven waffle pattern which traps air to be warmed by the body. When the coat is brushed and fairly fluffy, it has far more heating and insulating properties than when it's flat or matted down. Think of down coats or sleeping bags - they are great when dry and fluffy but fairly useless when wet and matted together. Think also of white tailed deer. Their hair shafts are hollow, again allowing the holding of body heat in the air space created by this hollow hair shaft.
In the spring, the undercoat is released by the skin and the shedding begins. This happens because the insulating effect of the coat is not needed during the hot summer months. This coat needs to be combed/brushed out as we've bred these dogs with such long hair that it isn't able to shed out naturally.
When properly groomed through the shedding process, the remaining coat is predominately outer coat - the long glossy hairs. These hairs are fairly water resistant, allowing rain to roll off the coat and not get the dog wet down to his skin. They also protect from heat. The best way to understand this is to remember ever sitting at a campfire, woodstove or fireplace and having the heat be too hot on your arms. If you roll down your shirt sleeve, that thin covering of fabric is all you need to block the heat and you don't have to move back away from the heat source. Your dog's outer coat does the exact same thing. When you shave it off, you have removed the light protective layer that the outer coat provides - allowing the heat of the sun to reach the skin directly and removing that light protection his natural coat provides. Make sense?
I fully understand how much work it is to maintain one of these beasts. Not many have the space or the tools to do the job in an effective manner and having them professionally groomed is really exensive (and finding true quality groomers is near impossible in my experience), so I totally understand why someone would want to shave one.
OH yeah, as for yarn, it a wonderful fiber and a lot warmer than wool.
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borrow that motion-controlled/auto-targeting sprinkler system idea from that guy. but I'd take it more personally and go out and get a case of mountain dew and a giant super-soaker or harmless airsoft gun and do a stake out all night. thinking about that now makes me realize that it would be fun even if the raccoon didn't show!
