Long Hair Breeds + Swimming Outdoors

[sgtfrog]

So I wanted to ask other people who have long hair dogs about swimming...

I'd like to bring Milli ( a sheltie) swimming outdoors ( in a clean river of some kind). Anything I need to know???

What I'm most concerned about is that If i bring her swimming, It will be at least a 2 hour drive away. I'm just not sure how to deal with the "drying" of the fur? And where I live, Its really humid / hot this time of the year so the dog wont be drying in the sun. I heard dogs who dont dry might start growing fungus and get sick if they sunbath??

mostly worried about something like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roH9EDUu7xU
So how do you deal with long haired dogs + swimming in distant places where you cant fully dry the dog???

 

[southerngirl]

I would just towel dry Milli the best you can and if she still damp when you get home use a blow dryer.

 

[648117]

I agree with southerngirl.
There isn't too much you can do to dry the coat before you get home except towel dry, have the dog sit on a dry towel in the car and finish the drying (if needed) when you get home. I wouldn't think 2 hours would be long enough for fungus to form.

If your really concerned then you could bath your dog and properly dry the coat when you get home.

Lewis is very fluffy (large Pomeranian) and although he hasn't been swimming we did take him to the park once in the rain (we tend to avoid walking him in the rain due to the drying his coat issue). He didn't get wet to the skin so all I did was towel dry when he got back in the car then used a hair drier at home (after about a 20 minute car ride) and then brushed it to remove any dried mud and make sure his coat was dry all the way to the skin. The mud was really easy to brush out once it was dry and he was as white as always after.

If it's your dogs first time swimming then she might not want to get too wet, Holly goes for a play in a stream most Saturdays and she still wont let her feet leave the ground so she only gets wet up to her belly. If your dog only gets her legs and belly wet the first time then you wont have so much drying to do the first time you take her swimming and can figure out the best way to dry her for when she gets really wet.

 

[Caiti]

I agree with the posters above, a towel dry should be fine and when you get him go over her with a blow dryer.

 

[MaryK]

Same here I agree with all the other posters, a friend had a Keeshund, they are a water dog, but he would towel dry then blow dry when he got home after a swim. Fungus shouldn't develop that quickly in just two hours.

 

[Adrianna & Calvin]

I would just add that you should make sure your dog doesn't have mats; mats that are close to the skin can trap moisture and cause skin problems. Also, brushing out your dog's coat as much as possible (and even trimming "problem" areas) will help; the less fur the better. My dog has a double coat and I can brush a lot of the undercoat out in the summer.

So, make sure you can comb through the whole coat (no mats) before dunking the dog. If there are a lot of mats, I'd get a groomer involved.

 

[sara]

I agree with everyone above towel dry then blowdry when home. (I brush as I blowdry, to separate the fur and prevent matts from forming) I used to look after a St. Poodle that swam. Who we kept in a long trim, as she looked alot nicer, but it was alot of work.

 

[Linda A]

I can't think of any thing other than what has already been said here.

 

[unicornn]

This is a subject that i am very experienced since i have a newfie in a hot place with lots of humidity. Though all the needed are given above. Basically just towel dry first and completely dry him with a blower when you get home. I would just add something about trimming. I wouldn't over trim (over trim means the hairs to be less than 1 cm) between her hind legs just before swimming because short hair may scrape the skin. This happened once with Yogi.

Umut & Yogi