gravitation
Well-Known Member
Why would I take offence at that? My dogs want for nothing Our oldest Sibe has recently turned 8 years of age... he has been an outdoor dog his entire life and (shock horror!) he has survived eight stinking hot Brissie summers. He must have missed the memo about dying of heat stroke. My dogs have loads of undercover shade, their own wading pool, and fresh water available to them at all times. In fact they cope better in the Brisbane heat than my two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
It's not an argument - it's a discussion I am just a little bit tired of the misguided belief that Sibes benefit from being shaved off in summer. Do you know how many times people have seen me walking my dogs and asked, "Oh - you must clip them in Summer, huh?".
I don't suppose you have any statistics to back that up? I am a vet nurse and I can't say I've ever heard of that happening actually. In fact the vets I work with recommend to clients with Northern breeds that they do not clip their dogs off in the summer.
Yes, they do shed year-round. BUT like the breeders say, they do also have a major coat blow once or twice per year. It is very different to regular 'shedding' - their undercoat comes out in clumps. Kataan (the 8-year-old boy) has recently been through his end-of-Winter coat blow - this is what it looks like. When he is blowing coat, I can fill half a dozen shopping bags full of hair every day and he still loses it in clumps.
Sibes are a very low-maintainence breed, contrary to popular belief. My youngest bitch is my show dog, she gets a hydrobath and a blowdry once per week to keep her coat in good condition for the ring. My older bitch gets a hydrobath and blow-dry about once per month. This is what my young bitch looks like two weeks after a hydrobath. And this is despite her love of digging holes in the dirt and splashing around in the wading pool. The dirt simply falls right off. Oh and my bitch does not have a 'small coat'. Her coat is correct according to the breed standard.
Another thing too, is that a nice coat comes from within. A good diet can make a huge difference in the condition of a dogs' coat.
Anyhow I'm not trying to start a huge argument here, but the Sibe is a breed I am quite passionate about (in case you couldn't tell :lol and it irks me to see people spreading myths about them. The simple fact is, they do not benefit at all from being clipped back in summer.
Well i'm sure you don't have much evidence to suggest that they don't benifit from being clipped as you have never done so.
I know how they shed, afterall i make a living out of grooming them.
You should bath your dog a minimum of every two weeks, you will wash out essential oils and minerals in the dogs coat.
About 80% of vets would not know the first thing about dog grooming, the most experience they have had with it is prepping for surgery and you use a 30# right down the the skin.
They DO benifit from being clipped, that's not to say that they can't lead a healthy lifestyle without being clipped, i thought you'd understand my point by now.
And yes she has a small coat which is what a husky should hold, alot of them these days are either too tall, too fat or carry way too much coat, don't get your knickers in a twist it was afterall a compliment.