Gun Dog Forum

My Brittany has longer fur than most I've seen in magazines and other pics of them on point. My breeder gives free grooming, but she grooms him as a show dog.

Are most pics of Brits with them trimmed?

Does anyone else groom/shave their brittany?

Yes. Actually my boy needs a good shave soon.

I have setter's and yep they need shaved now and then. I have an Oster A5 and simply take off all their hair. Doesn't look so good at first but grow's back in enough. soon enough to look fine. You should just ask your breeder about a field cut, should be completely different.

I have never clipped my Britts and find no need to if they are brushed out occasionally. I do trim before hunting season and also behind their ears occasionally. Nothing wrong with clipping if they are mature and are not being shown.

Ezzy

He actually looks good after a grooming. She trims around his paws. His ears and his neck. It's his wavy back and the feathering along his legs. I'm afraid if I trim him, it'll look worse.

jfwhit wrote:He actually looks good after a grooming. She trims around his paws. His ears and his neck. It's his wavy back and the feathering along his legs. I'm afraid if I trim him, it'll look worse.

You're not showing the dog. You're hunting him. Your only concern should be cutting everything as short as possible while still giving him protection from sunburn.

Just like the military buzz cut, it is about function and not fashion.

I think you will have a hard time connecting clipping a dog in the summer with hunting in the fall in the Midwest or any cooler region of the country. And there is still some doubt about clipping keeping them cooler. I think clipping should be done if you want but you will not find any great advantage and the dog does not look as nice but like it was said it does grow back. I like the coats that are short enough to not catch burrs so I do trim the feathering, belly, and armpits before getting into field with cockleburs.

ezzy333 wrote:I think you will have a hard time connecting clipping a dog in the summer with hunting in the fall in the Midwest or any cooler region of the country. And there is still some doubt about clipping keeping them cooler. I think clipping should be done if you want but you will not find any great advantage and the dog does not look as nice but like it was said it does grow back. I like the coats that are short enough to not catch burrs so I do trim the feathering, belly, and armpits before getting into field with cockleburs.

I hunt and trial in the southwest and old Mexico.

Even in the dead of winter, I'd trim the brittanies because the 30 minutes it took to shave 5 dogs saved them from discomfort during the hunt and hours post hunt care.

And I might do the same given where you hunt but I am not giving that advice to those of that hunt in anything down to zero degrees and in cover that can be very abrasive to the shorthaired dogs.

I use a 10 blade on my setters in May, then again in August. The August cut helps a lot with the late summer heat and the various prickers, stickers and grasses. And it makes finding ticks a lot easier too. Usually by the time it gets cool and the dogs are beating brush, the hair has grown out enough to protect them.
A big bonus to clipping, if you keep your dog in the house, it cuts way down on hair and dirt dragged in.
My dogs don't have wonderful heat tolerance, and I think clipping the haircoat helps a ton with keeping them cooler. It's also a huge advantage if you want to wet the dog down before a run, and hosing them off after. My dogs jump in the pond or creek and then dry off in minutes, instead of close to an hour with wet stinky hair.
My dogs have variety of coat types, from short and coarser to long and fine, from thinnish to more than enough. They all get the same buzz cut...high 'n tight.

I have to groom my Britts ears and feathering/toes a bit but other than that remove very little else on him. Kids are pretty good at removing burrs...LoL.

terrym wrote:I have to groom my Britts ears and feathering/toes a bit but other than that remove very little else on him. Kids are pretty good at removing burrs...LoL.

That is pretty much my process also.

terrym That is one nice looking Brittney, what is his breeding?

My Britt has a longer coat, too, and it really grew out over the winter. She was getting hot already this spring, so I had her groomed. They shaved her coat down pretty tight, and it looked good. That was about six weeks ago, and her coat is starting to get a little long again. It didn't mess anything up having her coat cut short, it is growing in just like it looked before the trim. I figure I will wait a couple more weeks and have her groomed again.

My current Brittany has a short flat coat and never needs a trimming. But my previous Britt has a wooly coat and needed to be trimmed 3-4 times a year.

Here's a photo of Elle with her short flat coat. No trimming and burrs are never a problem.

This is Hic's summertime haircut. Went a little shorter than normal.

My present Brittany has a low maintenance coat. Had one with a furry coat that needed a shave 3 to 4 times a year.

It's hair. It grows back. You get better with practice. I trimmed out my ESS a month before hunting started-a hunter cut. Plenty of time before the season to grow enough to protect the skin, always had enough to hunt in snow.

If you are going to do this yourself, buy good equipment. Cheap breaks quickly.

Just did all seven of my Brittany's yesterday. I use the 3/8" comb so it's pretty short. I love the way they look right after a cut. Plus it's good to check them over from head to toes a few times a year anyway. For us it's March then June or July and then I will do about a 3/4" cut in September or October. Get good clippers and it it's pretty quick & easy (I had a $40 set from walmart that was terrible - This is the ones I have now http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=25649). I only have one that will fight a bit when I get close to his ears but my wife helps so it's not really an issue. I set my big shop fan up to blow the hair away from us as much as possible.

And I have this comb set. (came with the clippers when we bought them as a sale deal) http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=22288

Dakotazeb wrote:My current Brittany has a short flat coat and never needs a trimming. But my previous Britt has a wooly coat and needed to be trimmed 3-4 times a year.

Here's a photo of Elle with her short flat coat. No trimming and burrs are never a problem.

Beautiful dog. What is her breeding?

Dakotazeb wrote:My current Brittany has a short flat coat and never needs a trimming. But my previous Britt has a wooly coat and needed to be trimmed 3-4 times a year.

Here's a photo of Elle with her short flat coat. No trimming and burrs are never a problem.

That's basically the type of coat I bred for. Love the longer hair till time to hunt and every field I find is full of Cockle Burs.

Hi, I'm terribly sorry for up! I'm wondering, are the horse clippers suitable for dogs grooming? I got Wahl(like this). Is it possible?
Thanks in advance
Frank

Frank--
Wahl clippers with either a 3/8 or 1/2 inch snap on is all I use to use for my brits for Summer cuts and getting ready for Fall hunting. I had 5 britts at the time and I'd get a $25 set at Walmart. I'd cut all 5 and then get a new set of clippers for next year--after cutting 5 dogs the clippers would be fairly dull and replacement heads were about the same price as a new set of clippers, so I'd just get a new set of clippers. I don't think they would work well for show cuts, but you'd have to get some feed back from show people on that. They work very well for rough cuts on hunting dogs