standard poodle puppy summer clip

Question
Hello Diana,

I have a 6 month old red standard poodle, he is 26 inches and 55 lbs. We will spending a lot of time on the beach this summer and wanted to know the best clip for him.
Do poodles tolerate the summer heat? I will of course provide shade and water for him but I am concerned about him over heating.

Thank you,

Patricia

Answer
Patricia, Poodles are not subject to heat exhaustion if you do offer plenty of shade, water and rest periods. There is always the exception and the one exception would be pigment. In saying this let me explain. You I'm sure you have seen lighter and darker skinned dogs. If not, look at the nose. Black is the darker pigment and pink noses are the lighter pigment. The lighter the nose the less sun and heat the dog can tolerate. You wrote that your standard is a Red, this would indicate that he may not have a black nose. Red is produced from a brown gene pool and they normally have a dark brown are red tint nose. Caution is to be advised in extreme heat. I would keep him a short kennel clip. Ask your groomer to use a #4 or #3 finishing blade all over. Leave the head and tail. This will be easy for you and comfortable for him yet, will be long enough for the sun to be unable to reach the skin. Hope this has been helpful.
Happy Beach Combing!!