We dodged another storm last night. I never know what I’ll wake up to after a storm but I’m happy to say it seems like all is well except the temps plummeted again.
Yesterday it was 80 degrees. The male carpenter bees were fighting each other to the death, wasps and birds were busily creating nests and my animals were panting for the first time in months.
Luca is starting to lose his heavy winter coat. I try to assist the natural shedding process by using a stainless steel grooming rake to grab and pull the loose hair out of his coat. He hates being groomed. He allows it for a few minutes so long as I only brush his back, sides and chest. His tail, belly and legs are off limits to me. This used to really bug me. I hated seeing knots and clumps in his fur. It made me feel like a bad dog mom. Then I watched Luca during fights, mostly with other dogs.
I’ve seen him fight several breeds including Pit bulls, Labradors and German Shepherds. Each time the dogs go in to bite him they get a mouth full of chunky white hair. This hair sticks to the attackers face and mouth like Velcro. More often than not the attacking dog quickly realizes they’ve been disabled and they take off running, trying to get the hair out of their mouths.
The same thing happens with snakes. Luca’s belly and legs are well covered with matted hair that hasn’t fallen off yet. When a snake or other small animal tries to attack him from underneath they find a mouthful of nasty old hair.
I’ve had Luca groomed twice. Both times he wouldn’t look at me for days and refused food. I suppose he was trying to hammer home the fact that I was removing his coat of armor – just to make him look better in my eyes. That dog is happiest shaggy and covered in poo.
Every time I see someone shave their working farm dog I cringe. It’s abusive, people. I knew that from early on but what I didn’t know was even grooming off their heavily matted areas was exposing my farm guard to injury.
I no longer feel badly when I see Luca running around with matted or poopy fur. Now I check matted areas for any possible skin hot spots, which I’ve yet to find in five years with him. I brush out undercoat fur whenever he’ll let me and I cut out a bit of hair under his tail when necessary. Otherwise, I mostly leave his fur alone. The last thing I want is to remove his armor when he is on guard 24-7. He needs his bravery in tact and part of what allows him to have courage is his full coat.
If you have a long haired, working farm dog please don’t shave them for your own convenience. If you’re worried about overheating there are plenty of ways you can help keep them cooler during summer months. Maybe try icy treats, cold water and baby pools with cool water but please don’t shave them and expose their tender skin to the sun, elements – and attacks.
xo