mudpuppy
Posted : 6/7/2006 10:00:12 AM
we go for a run in the summer-- after we get back, all the dogs flop down in cool spots. Danes, with their short fine fur, stop panting after ten minutes. Double-coated mutt, she pants for over an hour. I shaved her belly last summer. Cut the panting down to thirty minutes; you'd see her pressing the shaved area against cool ground. And it grew back just fine. So I shaved her completely this summer. Now she cools out in ten minutes. With her double coat, you couldn't even effectively use wetting her down to cool her off, because she'd get wet, the water would get trapped in the fur and stay there. Water has to be able to evaporate to cool the dog.