sah

Hi all. I'm taking my 18 month old standard poodle, Ben, to Florida for a month (his first big trip). I've been told that this area has alot of burrs to go through before reaching the beach (and even on the beach there sometimes are burrs). My question: Should I shave Bens's feet?

Any suggestions and/or thoughts on this, or just travelling with a standard, would be most appreciated!
sah

PoodlePowerBC

I'm not sure what kind of burrs you will be coming across, but we have some small burrs that will stick between the dog's feet here, and I find them way easier to find and remove with a nicely shaven foot. So my vote would be yes And I check every time he comes in from a romp out of the yard.

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Walk with someone who will accompany you willingly, preferably a dog.

sah

Thanks for responding! I don't know what kind of burrs there are either, but I was concerned about Ben getting thorns or scratches if his paws are exposed. Apparently, you haven't had these problems.
On the other hand, or paw (sorry, couldn't help myself!!), I thought he'd have fewer burrs attach to his feet if they were shaved.
Thanks again!!
sah

3dogs

Shave the feet, you can even do slight high waters in the hopes that they won't attach higher up. The sand burrs are painful little things, even for us to remove them. I live at the beach & many of my clients with all types of breeds have me shave the feet of their dogs to help with the "burr" situation.

Siskojan

There was something in that recent thread about hunting poodles / the Gun Dog Magazine article that mentioned using a little cooking oil (I think) to help burrs out of poodle hair.

The thread was called The Hunting Spoo and this quote is from the article in GUn Dog Magazine

"Thusly trimmed, the coat protects the dog in all but bone-chilling water. It will also protect him from upland briars and brambles. It does pick up burrs, but the boss can easily pluck them out with a dog comb or rake. To help slide them out easily, some hunters first spray a little cooking oil on each burr."

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and Janet

tokipoke

You can also crush the burr first with pliers, then comb out the bits. Leroy has had sticks and whatnot stuck between his toes and even his leg hair. I walked him and he kept limping. I stopped and he pulled out a 4 inch stick from his leg lol. I love seeing him pull stuff out of his fur for some reason.

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cdensmore

We spent a week camping last year at Cape Hatteras, and both dogs were covered with burrs. We tried to pick them off their feet each night, and off their bellies, so they wouldn't get jabbed when they were asleep. But, the whole ride home, 4 plus hours, was spent slowly picking them out. It took days. I'll try the oil next time, but a close clip before leaving is the best proactive option.

sah

Thanks...I'm taking Ben to groomer just before we leave and will have him closely shaved.
sah