Giving Pearl a Haircut

It’s that time of year again when we give our Great Pyrenees a haircut. It gets hot and humid around here in the summertime and she needs to be able to cool off. On top of that, last summer she got a hot spot on her back that was bothering her, so she licked it. Then the fire ants discovered the spots and started chewing on her. So she tried to chew on them and before we knew it, she had an infection. The problem was, it took us a while to figure out it was the ants that kept the infection and chewing going. We are going to try to prevent this problem this year with an early haircut and being more vigilant.
 

Pearl is a very laid back dog. She didn’t budge an inch when I fired up the clippers and started whacking away. In fact, when I wanted her to budge, it took some coaxing.

A dog groomer I’m not. Her hair is much shorter, but it is not a nice, smooth looking hairdo. She still has a lot of underfur which is very thick, but a lot of it will shed out before long. Combing it out helps some, too.

For some reason this year she has more black spots on her back and neck than she used to. Before now, she had the large patch on her shoulders and some markings on her ears. Now she has many black spots up and down her back. Interesting.

Pearl is a great livestock guardian. We would recommend this breed of dog for anyone looking for a guardian. Before we bought Pearl, we got a book and read up on how to train her. Pyrenees personalities are very different from the Labs we used to raise and train. Without the guidelines we read in the book, I don’t think Pearl’s training would have been near as successful.

Her first haircut is complete. A good start before the summer heat sets in. Now, back to the garden and finishing off the school year. What chores are on your list this time of year?

Until next time – Fern