Customizing a Dog for the Great Loop

We have a Golden Retriever named Maggie who will be going with us on the Great Loop trip. She is almost 4 and this will be her second cruise with us.

Maggie has very curly hair. She has a lot of hair. When we pet her, we get handfuls of hair. The air conditioning and heating return air grilles on the boat all know about Maggie's air. We have to clean these grilles very frequently and we always get a ton of dog hair off the filter media.

Maggie's long hair also seems to affect her when it is hot. I don't know much about the ventilating systems of dogs, but she seems to pant more and generally seems more miserable in hot weather with her long hair.

Before last year's cruise, we got Maggie what our Vet calls a "sanitary" clip. This is not a full shaving, but rather a selective clipping. She seemed to fair well in the heat and our overall assessment was that the clipping was beneficial and that she was more comfortable.

So this year, we decided to get Maggie a new "sanitary clip" for the Great Loop. Last week when I was at the boat, Susan took Maggie to our vet in Auburn and the clipping was conducted. When I saw Maggie on Friday after getting home, I was struck by the fact that we had "customized" our Golden to make her trip more comfortable.

How do you customize a Golden Retriever? First, shave her body. Get all that curly hair off, and make her body look like a yellow lab. When all that hair is gone, her color goes from a reddish gold to more of a white. Check.

Next, get the curly hair off the neck, but leave a "roll" of hair on the back of her head. Leave her ears alone,and leave her face alone. She maintains her sweet Golden face from the front. Check.

At the back end of the dog, the tail is always important, especially with a Golden that has a long bushy tail with tail feathers. So, to maintain at least some Golden Retriever integrity, the tail was basically left as is. Check.

All the hair and feathers on the legs go also. If our Golden loved to swim (which she doesn't), I could see where bare legs might make for less drag and make it easier to swim. No hair on the feet and legs lets Maggie see her toes and finger nails which somehow makes her want to chew on these. Check.

With the clip complete, we have a custom Golden that is ready for anything that comes at her on the Loop, except sunburn. We have to be extra careful to keep her from too much sun exposure to prevent sun burns! She should be able to weather the warm June days on the Chesapeake. She can take the summer heat of the Jersey Shore. She will fair well in the humidity and warmth of Lake Erie. And, by the time we hit Lake Michigan in late summer, I hope she has grown enough hair back to keep her warm on those chilly mornings.

Thanks for Reading!

Pictures Below:

1. Maggie's "Sanitary Clip"

2. Back of the Head

3. Tail and Legs

4. Face