The Summer Doodle: Heat, Hot Pavement, and Why Shaving Is Not the Answer

The first real heat wave arrives, your doodle is panting on the kitchen tile, and somebody at the park tells you the kind thing to do is shave them down to the skin. It sounds obvious. It is also usually wrong, and it is the summer mistake doodle owners regret most. Here is what actually keeps a curly dog comfortable when the sidewalk starts to shimmer.

The coat is insulation, not a sweater

A doodle coat works in both directions. It traps a layer of air that slows heat coming in just as it slows heat going out, and it is the only sunscreen your dog owns. Shave that off and you get a dog with pink skin exposed to July, more heat reaching the body rather than less, and in some dogs a coat that grows back patchy or with a different texture entirely. A summer trim is a good idea. Ask your groomer to take the length down and keep an inch or so, rather than going to the blade. Shorter is cooler and far easier to brush. Bald is not cooler.

Your dog does not sweat the way you do

Dogs shed heat mainly by panting, with a little help from the pads of their feet. That is the whole system. It means shade and airflow and cool water matter much more than coat length, and it means a dog can be in trouble while still looking cheerful about it. Bring water on every summer walk, take the shaded side of the street, and move the long outing to early morning or after the sun drops.

The seven second test

Asphalt runs far hotter than the air. On an eighty degree day, pavement in direct sun can reach a temperature that burns paw pads in minutes, and your dog will keep walking because you asked them to. Press the back of your hand flat to the sidewalk and hold it. If you cannot keep it there for seven seconds, your dog should not be standing on it. Grass routes, dirt paths and shaded blocks solve this, as does simply going out later.

Signs that mean stop the walk now

Overheating moves faster than most people expect, and a doodle in a dark coat gets there sooner. Learn these and act on the early ones.

• Panting that will not slow down even after a few minutes of rest in the shade.
• Gums that look bright red or unusually dark, and drool that turns thick and ropey.
• Wobbly back legs or a glassy, unfocused stare. This is an emergency, not a rest break.
• Vomiting or diarrhea on a hot day, which often arrives right behind the wobbling.

Get the dog into shade, offer small amounts of cool water, and wet the paws, belly and armpits with cool water rather than ice. Ice water and ice packs can constrict things and slow the cooling you are trying to do. If the dog is not clearly improving within a few minutes, call the vet on the way rather than after.

Water, curls, and what swimming leaves behind

Summer is swimming season and doodles are usually enthusiastic about it. The part that catches people out is the drying. A coat that stays damp near the skin is where a small tangle becomes a real mat, and floppy ears that hold water are how a great afternoon at the lake turns into an ear infection by Thursday. Rinse the chlorine or lake water out, dry properly rather than letting them air dry in a shady corner, and dry the ears while you are there.

Check what the curls collected

A curly coat is very good at hiding things. Ticks, burrs, foxtails and grass seeds all disappear into a doodle where they would sit on the surface of a Labrador. Make a habit of running your hands over the whole dog after any walk through tall grass, paying attention to armpits, the groin, between the toes and inside the ears. Ten seconds of checking beats a vet visit for something that burrowed in on Saturday.

Not every dog starts from the same place

Size and mix change the math. Cavapoos, Maltipoos and Cockapoos walk closer to the hot ground, so pavement heat reaches them first. Bernedoodles and Sheepadoodles carry heavy dark coats that soak up sun, and they tend to struggle earlier in the day than their owners expect. Puppies and senior dogs have less margin than everyone else. And if your household includes a Pug, a French Bulldog or a Boston Terrier, the flat-faced breeds cannot pant efficiently at all, so summer rules apply to them twice over.

Enjoy the season, slowly

Appropriately, this is the exact season our Goldendoodle Iced Coffee Cool Dog tee was made for.

And the Golden Doodle Floral Silhouette tee is about as light as a shirt gets for a human who refuses to shave their own coat.

Summer with a doodle is early walks, shaded benches, a dog asleep on the coolest tile in the house, and a great deal of towel work. Go slow, keep the coat trimmed rather than shaved, and let the sniff walk take as long as it takes. If you need something light to wear on those early morning loops, have a look through the shop and find the design that matches your breed, or your exact mix of doodle.