# Trimming a St Bernard's hair?



## PapaGeek (Aug 13, 2012)

We have a St. Bernard with allergies, plus 3 other dogs and 3 cats (inside)! She is a house dog, we don’t believe in an outside pen for our animals. If we walk in the family room and they are already on the sofa and loveseat, we sit on the floor! OK, maybe we spoil them just a bit!

Our saint love to go outside and play ball, but when she comes back in, and we can’t play for long, she pants like crazy. We hand feed her ice cubes to help her cool down. At night she sleep on our bathroom tile floor because it is cooler.

In the winter months she only goes out to do her business, as we lovingly call it, “emptying the dogs”.

OK, tough question that I’m sure will get a few “are you nuts” replies. What does everyone thing of us having her hair trimmed back to about 1 inch to help her stay cooler?

We are saying this because we love our babies and hate to see her pant that way!

PS: glad I found this site so I could ask this question!


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

As odd as it may seem, their fur insulates against heat (keeping them cooler) as well as cold (keeping them warmer). By clipping a double coat (which Saints have) you risk the coat not coming back in properly. Instead of clipping/trimming keep her brushed out. By removing the loose, dead undercoat you allow her fur to do the job its meant to.

The only area I trim on my 3 1/2 year old is the fur around his paw pads and thats to help him with traction on hard surfaces.


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## PapaGeek (Aug 13, 2012)

Thanks for the reply "Luv", I will look into your comments very closely. Never realized that a thick double coat would keep a dog cooler!


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