Once you’ve done the thorough spring overhaul and got all the winter coat out, you may think you can take a break from brushing your dog for a while.
But NOOOOOO!
It’s especially important in summer!
This is when you can get all those ticks, cuts, matts, cleavers, twigs, grass seeds, and any other sticky passenger looking for a free ride.
The photo above shows Lacy after a dash through an innocent-looking field. She was completely coated, especially underneath. It took almost three hours to remove these sticky seeds - her trousers and her tail were completely knitted together!
And here’s the haul of several hundred cleavers I had to remove from Coco Poodle last week - one by one! - after a joyous rush along a hedgerow. I could see he’d picked up a few, but they lurk under his curls and I was amazed at how many I found.
I’m sure poodles were involved somewhere in the invention of Velcro!
All-over investigation
You have to take special care to feel all over the body - under the armpits, inside the ears, between the pads (a cleaver lodging here would lead to sores!).
You can see how important it is to keep the inter-pad hair trimmed on your hairy dog’s paws in this post
Grass seeds are particularly nasty - especially foxtails - which can enter the body and wreak havoc within.
And while you’re feeling for beasties and seeds, you may come across cuts or sore patches which will need tending - and you may also find lumps and bumps which may need vet attention.
Here’s a post that goes into much greater detail:
https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/the-weekly-once-over-can-save-you-a-lot-of-vets-bills
So, while you’re half-watching tv, you can be having some up-close and personal time with your dog - and save yourself some possible vets’ bills while making her much more comfortable.
Tell us in the comments - what have you had to remove from your enthusiastic dog’s coat in the summer? I can imagine tar from the beach comes quite high up the list of horrors!