Getting wet???

cheriekynb · Post by **cheriekynb** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:05 pm

This is going to be quite a story..
In November I broke my ankle and had to have surgery. I was unable to take care of Sid in the fashion Chows SHOULD be taken care of.. (my parents helped but apparently it wasn't enough).. My Dad would bring Sid to me every other day just so we could spend time together and I would check him for mats and brush him and cuddle him and all that.
OK.. In December my Dad brought Sid (it had been 3 days since I'd seen him) and both of his sides were OOZING and matted so bad that he wouldn't even let me touch him!!! I called the vet and hobbling on crutches got him in.
2 trips, 2 dozes of morphine, shaving, antibiotics, steroid cream and pain pills... Sid had 2 hot spots so big and so red that it looked like someone painted his sides with red paint! OMG, I was devastated! The vet told me it was most likely caused from stress, anxiety and 'lack of grooming'.. WHAT A THING TO HAVE TO HEAR!!
He's fine now and his hair has almost grown back and he hasn't had a hotspot since! NUVET and OMEGA 3 and grooming grooming GROOMING!!!

ok.. now here is my question... The vet actually recommended that I keep him clipped short. I asked why. She said that when Chows get wet the outer fur dries but the inner fur does not and bacteria could form.

HAVE ANY OF YOU HEARD OF THAT??? He's ALWAYS in the water and LOVES swimming.

Thanks,
Cheri.

Post by **chris** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:12 pm

Ummm.... well.. I have had 3 chows. All liked to go in the water and I never had a problem with them. They dried off. And plus when they go to the groomer and get bathed they blow dried them. I guess it is possible, but I personaly have never had that problem. So... they swim...

But geeze... it only took 3 days for sid to develop hot spots and matts... bad enough to have to be shaved? are you sure it was only 3 days?

cuz sometimes I don't get to Steel but once a week. And with my Thor who was the furriest of the 3 .. hair so long I had to have him "shaped" at the groomers, but never had him shaved.. I liked the long hair... I didn't groom but maybe every other week because I had 2 at the time and they never really seemed to have to be groomed that much.

TJordan · Post by **TJordan** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:13 pm

I've never heard that. I will be interested to see what others say!

bubba · Post by **bubba** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:21 pm

my chow boy will wade in the creek but the only time he goes all the way in is when he slips and falls in , he has so much hair it is all he can do to keep his ears, eyes and nose out of the water .
like wise with all that hair it can take a very long time for him to dry ,
there is no doubt that if the undercoat is thick , wet and matted that it could cause problems , however , we all should be combing all that under coat out now with the hot arriving, i find that when i have the under coat properly combed out he dries pretty fast ,
so after a swim i would think a good rinse with clean water , a towling and some brushing it should be OK,
michael

cheriekynb · Post by **cheriekynb** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:25 pm

chris wrote:
But geeze... it only took 3 days for sid to develop hot spots and matts... bad enough to have to be shaved? are you sure it was only 3 days? cuz sometimes I don't get to Steel but once a week. And with my Thor who was the furriest of the 3 .. hair so long I had to have him "shaped" at the groomers, but never had him shaved.. I liked the long hair... I didn't groom but maybe every other week because I had 2 at the time and they never really seemed to have to be groomed that much.

Ya, I'm positive.. 3 days!! It was HORRIBLE! I'm convinced it was due to stress and anxiety! The reason I say that is because since the day I brought him home he never spent the night alone. He slept with me and was only in his "yard" when I had to go to work. He was all alone for 3 whole days and nights in his "yard." A nice big yard with shelter and pillows and toys but he is one pampered puppy.
After the shaving he stayed IN the house with me at my parents. My Dad had to take him out for his potty breaks. I'm so thankful my parents lived in town, that's for SURE!

I did fine a wonderful groomer right up the street from my house! She works at my Vet's!!. He's been twice, so far. The groomer says he's such a good boy and gave me some great tips too.

Thanks, I'm curious to hear more!
Cheri.

cheriekynb · Post by **cheriekynb** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:26 pm

Thanks Michael!

Layla · Post by **Layla** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 4:30 pm

Hmmmm, i've never heard that either. Millie swims in a lake and paddles in Puget Sound very regularly. I don't bathe her everytime or even always manage to rinse her as we're sometimes away from home. I groom her every few days but she has gone 3 days without brushing when i was sick (hubbie is convinced he is hurting her - she plays up to it!) She not got hotspots / any itchyness. Plus my friend works for the coastguard and they use Chows.... not had any problems like that when I asked.
I'm really not sure why that would be why you need to keep him clipped short either

Stress or diet prehaps? I'll be interested to hear everyones opinion. Interesting one

Victory · Post by **Victory** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:37 pm

It can happen but not exactly as your vet said. The problem is when like Michael said, their undercoat is matted and dirty and then gets wet and doesn't dry properly. The wet fur gets itchy causes them to scratch and THAT set the stage for hot spots due to bacteria, because the scratching tears the skin. Just like a person who has an itch and scratchs at it, doesn't draw blood, but doing it to much will tear the skin and open the door for bacteria.

So like Michael said, keep the under coat comped out and that will keep the coat and skin clean. If they get wet let them dry well. And if they've been swimming in a pond or something or even the ocean, rinse them well to get anything out of the coat.

Same thing with a bath, which is the other time they can end up with hot spots and for almost the same reasons, only it's shampoo or soap left in their coats that causes the problems. When I bathe Firesong, (not often) it's 15 minutes of shampoo and conditioner, and nearly 40 minutes to make sure it is all rinsed off and 2 hours of blowing and combing her dry. A chow takes a while to groom properly, when I decide to bathe mine, it's a full day long for two.

Victory · Post by **Victory** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:39 pm

Layla wrote: Plus my friend works for the coastguard and they use Chows.... not had any problems like that when I asked.

What's the coast guard using chows for? Keeping folks off the boat? I think it's cool but I wasn't aware of any organization using chows for anything.

Post by **kingalls** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:58 pm

Shiloh jumps in her pool every night. I consider it lucky if I get to brush her once a week. I spent a fair amount of time this evening brushing her - she doesn't have any issues.
I don't think it's the water or not being brushed as often...

redangie24 · Post by **redangie24** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:01 pm

Victory wrote:It can happen but not exactly as your vet said. The problem is when like Michael said, their undercoat is matted and dirty and then gets wet and doesn't dry properly. The wet fur gets itchy causes them to scratch and THAT set the stage for hot spots due to bacteria, because the scratching tears the skin. Just like a person who has an itch and scratchs at it, doesn't draw blood, but doing it to much will tear the skin and open the door for bacteria.

So like Michael said, keep the under coat comped out and that will keep the coat and skin clean. If they get wet let them dry well. And if they've been swimming in a pond or something or even the ocean, rinse them well to get anything out of the coat.

Exactly. The main thing is when they get wet to make sure they are completely dry and clean. After being in the ocean or other bodies of water bacteria can be a problem so I would just give a good rinse when you get home.

Layla-- "Plus my friend works for the coastguard and they use Chows.... not had any problems like that when I asked."

Are you sure its not the newfoundlands? I have heard of people using newfoundlands because they are excellent swimmers.

Layla · Post by **Layla** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:02 pm

I've not seen them myself but she has seen Chows before and mentioned it several times to me. Aparently they use them primarily for their excellent sense of smell in drug raids. They do swim but not in the saving people or things section of the coastguard. Apparently when trained they are better than bloodhounds at detecting work. They have to be able to swim well though. Just what she has told me though.......

cheriekynb · Post by **cheriekynb** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:04 pm

I wanted to thank you ALL for all the great tips!!

yung1s · Post by **yung1s** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:43 pm

Ok, I think I'm the only one here that has heard of this before. It was actually with the groomer that totally messed up Titan's hair cut.

I usually like to keep Titan's hair long and fluffy - it's why I love Chows. Well, this lady who supposedly had quite of few Chows herself and actually used to groom them for shows ended up hacking half of Titan's hair off, not to mention it was all jagged and uneven. She said that the reason why she did it that way was because if he were to play in the snow and got his hair got wet, it would rot his undercoat and the shorter cut that she did would prevent that from happening. I was so pissed off because first of all, our Chows always stay inside and second of all, how can any Chow play in the snow so much that it would get all the way in their undercoat anyways??? I mean, weren't these guys built for cold and snow conditions? It didn't make any sense to me and it still doesn't.

cheriekynb · Post by **cheriekynb** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:50 pm

yung1s wrote:Ok, I think I'm the only one here that has heard of this before. It was actually with the groomer that totally messed up Titan's hair cut. I usually like to keep Titan's hair long and fluffy - it's why I love Chows. Well, this lady who supposedly had quite of few Chows herself and actually used to groom them for shows ended up hacking half of Titan's hair off, not to mention it was all jagged and uneven. She said that the reason why she did it that way was because if he were to play in the snow and got his hair got wet, it would rot his undercoat and the shorter cut that she did would prevent that from happening. I was so pissed off because first of all, our Chows always stay inside and second of all, how can any Chow play in the snow so much that it would get all the way in their undercoat anyways??? I mean, weren't these guys built for cold and snow conditions? It didn't make any sense to me and it still doesn't.

I know huh?? Well, at LEAST my groomer just tells me the areas I need to pay more attention to and if she sees an area, like his "lamb chops", she will use thinning sheers but she won't cut Sid's fur short nor will she shave it. She DID tell me that if I don't keep on top of the grooming then we will have a problem and Sid will have to have his fur cut short!!! NO WAY, I say!

Thanks, at least I'm not the only one that heard this!!

Salandra · Post by **Salandra** » Tue May 01, 2007 12:01 am

Jaz loves to be in the water. Lakes, rivers, baby pool in the back yard. I've never had any problems with her not drying all the way. Mats seem to form behind her ears overnight, but no where else on her that fast.

cheriekynb · Post by **cheriekynb** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:07 am

Salandra wrote:Jaz loves to be in the water. Lakes, rivers, baby pool in the back yard. I've never had any problems with her not drying all the way. Mats seem to form behind her ears overnight, but no where else on her that fast.

Salandra!! I'm going to pass this one on to my MOM!! She doesn't believe me when I tell her that those MATS are sneaky, nasty works of the

that appear like MAGIC!

Salandra · Post by **Salandra** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:38 am

LOL! Yeah, tell your mom that they do sneak in. Sad thing is Jaz doesn't have that much hair behind her ears to start with, due to the lack of sense by a "groomer"

Having to work mats out all the time, well, kinda doesn't let the hair grow back.

Tippsy'smom · Post by **Tippsy'smom** » Thu May 10, 2007 7:14 am

"He's ALWAYS in the water and LOVES swimming."

Wow! Ive never seen/heard of a chow that loves the water. Both of mine have hated it. Anyways... Ive heard of that and thats why I blow dry Tippsy but I haven't ever had to have her shaved.

Jessica

Timbersmom · Post by **Timbersmom** » Thu May 10, 2007 4:20 pm

Cherie, I LOVE Sids Calif black bear picture--that is so adorable!
I had a collie with that double coat and same thing, especially when the weather is warm or humid & the coat gets wet, if he's not brushed out down to the skin till the coat's dry-- or maybe an insect bite would start it-- sometimes he would get a hotspot that quickly too. And it was SO hard to get control of it once it started. I remember a vet tech recommended I use gold bond medicated powder on the spots as soon as one appeared, and that helped. But if it was any bigger then a quarter and too raw looking, or if it didn't immediately start healing with the gold bond, it was a vet visit too.
And then like you said the stress factor alone can do it too.
We have these lovely fluffy puppy's--one more thing to watch out for I guess.