Beach babes and playing in the waves!
Summer 2020 is going to see the Great British staycation as we start to be ‘ungrounded’. I for one, love going to the beach. It has to be said, I prefer Norfolk in the winter when there’s no one else about and you can walk for miles with your wellies and your dog.
BUT I love the beach in the summer too, I think my love of swimming in the sea came from Mum and Dad, spending endless summers down on the south coast either in Devon or Dorset. We used to have a £1 bet for the first person that could ‘see the sea’, we had the best summers
Beach days have changed for me a lot now, especially when taking my dogs with me. I look like the ultimate crazy dog lady. I have to be prepared for every eventuality with Prim as she can be a bit of a plonker, therefore I end up taking a full rucksack with me. However as my great friend and trainer Jo Hubbard (ProgDog UK) will tell you – I’m the worlds worst worrier when it comes to walking my dogs!
Don’t get me wrong if it was Mr Low Maintenance (Paddy) that I was taking with me, he’d just be on his extendable lead and I take a small first aid kit, poo bags and water. This is why you need to know your dog and know them well!
Sea water, sand and lots of play is amazing fun but you do need to remember that it is also the perfect recipe for knots and tangles! You need to make sure your dog is tangle free before you even get to the beach. I mean who doesn’t want to be looking their best on the beach anyway?
Remember; wetting a knot makes the knot tighter.
Make sure pop on a conditioning spray pre-walk and brush it through thoroughly.
You don’t want your dog to roll around in the sand to try and dry themselves when they’re wet either as this will just create further knots, try and distract them with a game instead.
Once they’re off the beach you obviously won’t have the means to brush them through and dry them like you would do at home but do make sure you give them a jolly good brush through, possibly with more de-tangle/conditioning spray.
I love popping a Ruff and Tumble Drying coat on Prim! If you are going to do this with a curly coated dog make sure they’re brushed through well before and after you put it on
Modelled by Miss Prim (sounds like she needs her own clothing range if I’m honest!)
Keeping on top of your dog’s grooming routine throughout the summer is really important. The better maintained your dogs coat is the cooler they will be. We often get asked for ‘summer trim’ styles, which is a bit shorter than usual to help keep the heat at bay. A lot of our clients also have their dogs booked in with us for a bath in between grooms before they hit the beach and as soon as they’re back.
It’s important to note that double coated breeds such as German Shepherd’s, Husky’s, Pomeranians etc need to be well groomed too, regularly brushed out to ensure the dead coat is removed. At all costs you should avoid requesting for these types of coats to be clipped off as it ends up ruining the coat and it grows back much thicker. There will be dogs that do need clipping off these are usually elderly or overweight dogs with health issues (in which case we’d clip off with a vet note). When Prim and I went for a swim in the sea a few weeks back, she pretty much blew all of her coat and had a massive moult and then was super shiny!
A couple of other pointers with beach play which are rather important if your dog turns into a seal at the seaside! When they’re in the water throwing their ball for them to crash into waves and catch, they’ll do this all day long but water intoxication can have fatal consequences. When I took Prim in the sea I just walked in with her slowly and got her used to the feel of the waves before taking her out again and building up to it. Once I was swimming she was right by my side, but smaller dogs can be a bit overwhelmed. Paddy, for example, will paddle in the waves but was soon as that sea water touches his willy…he’s out of there! And that’s ok, it’s not for all dogs, we can’t force our dogs to enjoy it.
Always make sure you have fresh water to hand too, don’t let you dogs drink the sea water and discourage them from doing so. Cody once has a sneaky drink when we weren’t looking and it was like poo-mageddon when we got home – poor lad!
Whilst playing and have beach fun. Please make sure you’re keeping an eye on your dog for any signs of heat stroke which you can find at the bottom of this blog all about keeping your dog cool for summer
Our favourite beach essentials are…
Herbal Dog Co. Daily Doodle Spray for home maintenance, I even use this on the shepherds’ back ends where their coat is thicker and it’s very good on spaniel ears to stop them getting grotty at the bottom.
Here’s a discount code for you to use with Herbal Co. We do get a small amount of commission from it but we wouldn’t recommend it if we didn’t rate it. Just apply ‘Anna10’ at the checkout.
Hownd Hemp Skin, Nose Paw Balm
We use this in our Pawdicures in the salon, it’s really nourishing and is great to apply before you head to the beach and it has sun protection in it too. If your has particularly pink skin or very thin hair they can be at higher risk of getting sunburn.
Portable water bottle
There’s lots of options on the market for portable water bottles and collapsible bowls.
Collapsible bowl
And don’t forget your poo bags!
These are my fave – they’re strong enough that your finger doesn’t go through the bag (it happens to all of us!) and they’re scented or unscented so if there’s no poo bins near you can carry them back to the car and take it home it your bin. We should leave only pawprints on our beaches.
And last but not least – enjoy it! The beach is so much fun with dogs.
If you’d like to know more about our canine styling spa packages or our ‘Summer Fresh’ add on package then please give us a call to book your free consultation 07467 394567.
