I have been reading about this.. obviously i dont want to clip my puppy but i was looking up different brushes etc then got onto more maintenance as he gets older and hairier!

Who has had experience with clipping double coated dogs.. Does it grow back nice?, would you suggest it..
Im all for brushing Kobi's hair i dont want him to be scraggly but when he is fully grown, plus the heat in brisbane is ridiculous in summer!!

So options who does it.. and who swears by not clipping them

*pics always welcome!!*

The double coat keeps them cool in summer as well as warm in winter. It traps the cool air. Ivan doesn't get clipped and he does just fine. He'll lie in the full sun sometimes and then go into the shade when he's too hot. He does better than our black brindle Staffy does in the heat!

I know before we got him he was fully shaved as he had a heap of paralysis ticks. I don't know what his coat was like beforehand though to be able to tell you if it feels any more coarse now.

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Hmm, I used to do grooming for a living, and was forever disgusted at the reasons ppl get some dog breeds clipped.

There are genuine reasons for clipping a BC, like skin issues that are being medicated for, or ticks etc, wounds...

But there are also many who get clipped because their owners are too ruddy lazy to care for their coats. No brushing, no grooming, matts, knots, flea ridden wounds, maggots...the list goes on as I'm sure other groomers will vouch for.

A BC was not meant to be clipped. Had a BC next door who is clipped each year. Apparently she bites and the owners couldn't groom her, because they'd never taught her how to behave when being brushed etc. Dog looked awful!

A coat is there for a reason, it is insulation. To protect them against the cold, and it works both ways by protecting them against the heat too.

Um, don't suppose I could get away with suggesting that all ppl who get their dogs clipped without genuine need shave all their own hair off first to see f it makes a difference?

Bekka, my advice to you is to start grooming your puppy now. get the puppy used to it on a regular weekly basis (at least) so that you will never have any trouble throughout the dog's life in keeping her coat tip-top. Besides, a brush 1-2 times a week is free. Professional grooming is not.

I already brush Kobi everyday, mainly because he loves it on his belly hehe.. he brings me his brush in the morning before breakfast!!

It definately wont be a grooming issue I am just curious to what people do with there coats. I havent been able to find any clipped pics really.. but i do like the look of BC when their hair is i presume trimmed back a little.. it would either be from the brushes you get that take the undercoat away or i was talking to another groomer who said i can trim his hair for that look (i used to be a hairdresser so i have $1000 scissors at home doing nothing)

Yeh good on you DA lol

I clip my poodles short because I do not have the time or energy to keep three standard coats clean when they go swiming and running around the bushes. Mind you it never occured to me to clip my BC...
though I supose that has more to do with that fact that I am used to coated dogs.

As for stripping the coat I always strip the tibbies coats when they bow them. it gives them time to grow in a clean/new one for the change of season... not to mention the fact that stripping it stops the hair knoting or ending up everywere when they blow

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Lol Ash. They're poodles!

Bekka, you can buy a good quality brush that will take out all the undercoat when needed, yes. As for the tidying up, particularly hocks a good pair of feathering/thinning scissors would come in real handy. I just feel they give a more natural result for a BC, especially the double-sided thinners, rather than single-sided.
As you're a hairdresser though, the good ones you've got would do the trick, as you've got the skill and knowledge to do the job nicely without that sharp "hacked-off" look that a lot of owners get when they chop their dog's coat in desperation.

hehe yeah i definately wouldnt settle for a hack job there is alot of techniques in making hair look more natural and not straight cut..
i presume it would be like cutting thick Asian hair.. that doesnt agree if you do the wrong thing..

I don't know if it is right to do this or not but in summer my inlaws have their belgian shepherd shaved. Because he is a farm dog he always gets cobblers pegs, sticky weed, and weird spiky ball things stuck in his fur and he goes swimming in the dam alot which stinks! It also makes it easier to check for ticks if he loses his tick collar. His fur still grows back beautifully and is very soft and easy to brush.
He looks so miserable in summer but once he gets his shaves he is so happy again!

I'm not a fan of clipping off the double coats, yes giving a bit of tidy up is one thing, but shaving off, no. I've had to shave off a few double coated dogs, and the one thing common to all of them is that the owners have not kept their coats brushed and tangle free - THAT'S what cause them to overheat. If you brush them regularly to get the loose hair out then they will be much more comfortable.

The most I would ever do is clip off around the stomach so the dog can lay on cool tiles, plus it won't show when the dog is standing, although I would only do it very lightly.

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Thats not a bad idea.. you wouldnt shave it all the way bad but just short.. I am aiming more for the neat look.. so this would work too!