# Great pyreneese grooming?



## Jen1959 (Jan 29, 2014)

I know they are supposed to be double coated but I swear my girl Roma is triple coated! She still has what seems to be her puppy coat since she is not shedding at all. I had her trimmed a week ago, smooth wavy top coat is gone but 2 more layers still there. Was wondering if she can be clipped shorter in summer? I have heard their long coat actually keeps them cooler in summer but I find that hard to believe! She is always panting and it's below zero here! She is an indoor dog but loves the cold! Pretty sure she will want to be in the AC in summer, tho we have a pool if she wants to swim. We will be spending most of the summer in SC near the beach but it's still brutally hot and humid there. I am hoping to get her trimmed pretty short which will also help keep her cleaner from swimming in ocean and sand. Thoughts?


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

First thought is to never trim a double coated dog... although if you are going down to SC for the summer maybe emergency remedies are needed....
It runs to the 100s even higher in the summer here-- we just make sure they have plenty of cool water and shade and the basement (its out in the garage so not airconditioned, but stays in the 70s all summer)-- we have a Bernese Mt dog with a pretty thick coat and that is how he copes....


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## zeronightfarm (Jun 15, 2011)

I grew up in FL with a double coated breed. Shaving is NOT a good idea, and some groomers wont do it unless it's matted down bad. Get some good Combs, and grooming supply, and groom the snot out of her when she starts blowing coat. They need their guard hairs to protect them from the sun.









Please please please do the research, shaving a double coated breed is not a good idea for many reasons. One other reason is the coat may not grow back to the way it was before.


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## Jen1959 (Jan 29, 2014)

Great diagram! I was never planning on shaving her, just trimming like I had done recently. The groomer also recommend just trimming her like we did, leaving her undercoat and most of her top coat, just minus the long wavy top top coat. And maybe a tad shorter in dead of summer. I have all the brushes to groom her, when the time comes for coat blowing, which I expect will be spring and fall


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## ForTheLoveOfDogs (Jun 3, 2007)

It's still called shaving, it's just usually done with a guard in your case. I still wouldn't do that. There's no benefit and your dog's coat will end up looking wonky when it comes back if you keep doing it. My groomer would never recommend that and only does it on owners insistent request. 

Seriously.. just get your dog's coat blown out at the groomer every few months and have the feet trimmed/neatened. In the meantime, just a good brushing every couple days is fine. They need nothing more than that.


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## fourdogs (Feb 3, 2014)

Every month: 2 thorough shampoos. Rinse rinse rinse. Next get some Cowboy Magic Detangle and Shine (I get mine at TSC) follow the directions, use about a quarter size dollop, spread it on your hands and then work it into the coat lightly from head to tail. You want just a small amount coating the hair, not enough to slather on or make it greasy. Get thee a forced air dryer (HV dryer). Go to town blowing the dog dry from head to tail. Do this outside. It will snow even if it's not winter. LOL

Keeping the undercoat brushed out will help the most. For Trimming, I'm ok with trimming up the rear and feathers but leave the rest alone. 
Then you'll want a rake brush with the longer tines on it, and a slicker brush. Slicker through first, rake through again and make sure you're getting to the skin. 
When you brush in-between baths, spritz with Infusium #3 leave in conditioner (you'll need to get a spray bottle) this is human conditioner, safe to use and found at walmart. So lightly spritz the coat, then go through with your slicker and rake. 

Hope this helps. (Groomer for several years).


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

fourdogs said:


> Every month: 2 thorough shampoos. Rinse rinse rinse. Next get some Cowboy Magic Detangle and Shine (I get mine at TSC) follow the directions, use about a quarter size dollop, spread it on your hands and then work it into the coat lightly from head to tail. You want just a small amount coating the hair, not enough to slather on or make it greasy. Get thee a forced air dryer (HV dryer). Go to town blowing the dog dry from head to tail. Do this outside. It will snow even if it's not winter. LOL
> 
> Keeping the undercoat brushed out will help the most. For Trimming, I'm ok with trimming up the rear and feathers but leave the rest alone.
> Then you'll want a rake brush with the longer tines on it, and a slicker brush. Slicker through first, rake through again and make sure you're getting to the skin.
> ...


not to hijack too bad, but it is On Topic...
Is it bad that we havent actually brushed out our 8 month old Pyr/ anatolian pup.... yet? Maybe one bath.... lots of petting (we like to snuggle)-- he is mostly outdoors (he gets too hot, and sleeping outside infront of the dog door, whose flap he tore off in 19 degrees, seems to suit him)... he has not been uncomfortable as far as we can tell, but he hasnt been through a summer with full coat yet...


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## fourdogs (Feb 3, 2014)

He doesn't look matted nor does he have a particularly heavy coat (yet!) BUT I think it's "bad" that you have not introduced him to being brushed and combed, as if he is an indoor dog, you'll probably want to do a fair bit of that, especially when he's blowing coat. 
Start now


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

fourdogs said:


> He doesn't look matted nor does he have a particularly heavy coat (yet!) BUT I think it's "bad" that you have not introduced him to being brushed and combed, as if he is an indoor dog, you'll probably want to do a fair bit of that, especially when he's blowing coat.
> Start now


OK! I will locate brush... and start passing it over his body! (our schnauzer gets all the grooming cause she is so tangling- all the clipping we do on her has made her coat super soft) and our other 2 (we have the Berner too) are so easy care coated...


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## Jen1959 (Jan 29, 2014)

Sorry I see I already posted about this!


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

Just my .02 cents, but learning and teaching him to accept line brushing might help you out greatly. It will probably take quite some time to do it, but when he is blowing coat, it does an AWESOME job of getting the loose undercoat out that he is shedding, without damaging the outer coat.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

my CO is the same way he is midway of growing out of his Fuzzy puppy coat,, and it's constant feeling lumpy and brushing sections every day .. I thought I had it under control lol ... then we went from winter weather to a full week of 60's OMG... as he just started to release the heavier coat he had grown.. And he doesn't shed it out on his own,, you can just tell how lumpy it feels in places to need to brush it out.. Hang in there ... I like this miracle oval paddle slicker type brush as the tines are shorter and softer not so abrasive for daily use as I have found other slicker brushes to be...


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## Jen1959 (Jan 29, 2014)

Roma is actually scheduled for a grooming this Wednesday. When she was done about 6 weeks ago, it all grew back just fine. She was barely clipped tho. I wonder if because it is still her puppy coat, that's why it grew back? I am actually going to go shorter this time, but will talk to the groomer about it. Since she is going to be an indoor dog, in the AC, this summer, and going down to the beach for 6 weeks, I am afraid I am going to have to try shorter so she will clean up better. I assume the keeping cool with the long hair is for GPs who are outside dogs? I don't really care what she looks like, if her coat doesn't grow back right, I will just keep her trimmed. I know I asked for opinions but I can't wrap my head around the keeping her long for the summer.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

What you need to realize is the LENGTH of coat provides NO INSULATION WHATSOEVER. I have a long haired single coated dog; she FREEZES in winter because she has no undercoat. The reverse is true. Seriously, think about it: Husky - short coat, good in cold weather, because it's dense, thick, undercoat. How warm do you think a single coated, long haired breed like a maltese or yorkie is in winter? The answer is, they're not - at all, and may as well effectively be naked. The undercoat provides the insulation, for good or ill, and it doesn't matter how long the hair on top of it is or isn't, because it's not keeping them warm - it's keeping bugs and mud and sun off them and that's all its' doing.

To make the dog cooler, you have to get rid of the undercoat. It doesn't matter how short you make her hair, unless you pull out the undercoat via a lot of grooming - and even then she's still gonna be hot because she is made for cold weather. That's the nature of the dog. Your best bet for keeping her comfortable is keeping as much of the stuff OUT via regularly brushing, combing, and raking.


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## Jen1959 (Jan 29, 2014)

I do brush her when I am brushing my Lab but she still has her puppy coat and nothing comes out yet. She doesn't shed at all, not one single hair. That's why I am thinking since she still has her puppy coat, and (I assume it will all change once her adult coat comes in the puppy coat falls out) I will trim her short one last time. Then see in the fall what comes back once she gets her real coat. I understand brushing out the undercoat regularly once she has her big girl coat, to keep her comfortable.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Jen1959 said:


> I do brush her when I am brushing my Lab but she still has her puppy coat and nothing comes out yet. She doesn't shed at all, not one single hair. That's why I am thinking since she still has her puppy coat, and (I assume it will all change once her adult coat comes in the puppy coat falls out) I will trim her short one last time. Then see in the fall what comes back once she gets her real coat. I understand brushing out the undercoat regularly once she has her big girl coat, to keep her comfortable.


If she's 10 months old, she has her adult coat - or with a pyr, if she has a harsh, longer, outer coat - she has a big girl coat. If she has that over some fluff, she has a normal, adult, pyr coat - that said a lot of pyrs don't get their whole coat until they're 2. You're not going to make her more comfortable by grooming off the outer coat coming in. It's just not going to help. You're just going to have to wait for shed time, and depending on where you are that will be later in the spring or early summer. They don't shed all the time - they blow their coats pretty dramatically once a year for a few weeks. 

I'm not saying you can't clip her, but it's not going to help her stay cooler. It's just going to expose her to sunburn and bug bites. If she's inside in AC/out of the sun that's not going to be much of a consideration. But then again neither is being overheated.


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## Jen1959 (Jan 29, 2014)

She is only 8 months old and still all soft fluff, except for along her spine, which is a little coarser, longer, and wavy. Having her shorter would help keep be easier to keep her cleaner too. She is not pure Pyr, her mom was a small pittie mix with super short hair. Her dad was unknown but suspected Pyr, St, or Anatolian shep. DNA came back predominantly Pyr. She is 88 lbs.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Jen1959 said:


> She is only 8 months old and still all soft fluff, except for along her spine, which is a little coarser, longer, and wavy. Having her shorter would help keep be easier to keep her cleaner too. She is not pure Pyr, her mom was a small pittie mix with super short hair. Her dad was unknown but suspected Pyr, St, or Anatolian shep. DNA came back predominantly Pyr. She is 88 lbs.


Ah, then yeah - she is just growing in the adult coat. My GSD/Pyr (or something similar) mix did a similar thing and I know it's a mess. That fluff soaks up dirt and mud like nothing and mats if you look at it funny. I mean if you want to clip it, clip it - but I'd steer clear of that spine section of adult fur and leave it alone, personally. Just don't do it because you think it's going to keep her _ cooler_ and do it with awareness that there may be consequences that you don't like.


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