Tucker a "fluffer"? opinions from those more knowledgable than us?

[PupsnPonies]

OK, here goes. When we first got Tucker, I noticed that his haircoat was very different from his sibs and other Corgi pups that I'd seen but his breeder assured me that his mom ( our Abbie now:) had thrown puppy coats like this before and he'd be fine. (of course she also assured us that Abbie had been on heartworm preventative and she came up heartworm positive, blah blah blah, you get the picture).
Tucker is now 7 months and the fluff did not go away with his puppy coat. In fact, his coat actually seems longer, silkier and thicker. Abbie, his mom, has a very typical short, somewhat coarse Corgi coat. Now that she's completely blown her undercoat, she's ready for summer.
Tucker on the otherhand, blew some undercoat but still has a lot of long, silky, Sheltie like hair, fringe on the ears, legs etc. (The hair on his lower chest and upper belly sweeps the ground and works somewhat like a cross between a broom and a rake, catching most of what he passes over that is not fixed to the ground...!!). His mom, Abbie, definitely does not share these coat characteristics.
I'm thinking he may be leaning towards "the fluffy side". At 7 months, would he have his adult coat pretty much? Or will it fill in even more?
I would love opinions regarding whether or not his would be considered a "fluffy" coat.
I have pictures on his Dogster page at the link under his name. Whatever his coat is, it's different but he's absolutely gorgeous whatever it's called :COOL:

[LaRositaMonita]

I would wait a bit and keep checking him out...but this sounds like exactly how Mac went coat-wise! At first he had a softish coat that wasn't quite fluffy, but as time went on it kept getting longer and more feathered when it should have been growing in shorter and coarser. We finally had him officially deemed a fluffy a few months ago. We love him just the same, if not more!! Mac would love to welcome Tucker to the fluffy club too ;)

[colbycorgi]

YEAH!!! More fluffer-nutters to join our gang!!
Colbs and Camster


and not that we know anything by any stretch but from your dogster photos he looks like my colby-fur wise...but as i said, disclaimer provided :)

[PupsnPonies]

Thank you guys for the opinions. Mac, Colby and Cammie are sooooo adorable!!

A question that I do have, do they have trouble in the heat? Tucker already is panting and the real heat has not yet begun. Abbie, his mom with the regular Corgi coat is fine, but he already seems to have difficulty with the heat. Granted we are in the Deep South but how do your fluffy guys handle the heat?

[LaRositaMonita]

Can't say for sure, although Mac made it through last summer just fine. To help with all the undercoat (which is really not any more than a non-fluffy corgi's undercoat, as far as I know) you may want to get a Furminator or another tool that we bought on the recommendation of Mac's groomer at PetSmart called the Mars Coat-King. You can get it from PetEdge, among other places, and it is meant to thoroughly strip out the undercoat in double-coated dogs. Since using it on Mac he's been shedding a LOT less and I can really feel the difference. Groomer assures us it will help keep him cooler in summer, too, although I do hear that undercoat can insulate both ways (hot an cool).

[Jaxerspal]

Fluffy or not, Tucker is a cutie! The more I see of the fluffies on here, the more adorable they are.

I just got a furminator this weekend (man, are they spendy! I committed to one before I heard the price, but that's another story....grrrrr) and it sure seems to pull out a lot of fur. Jax feels thinner and hasn't been shedding as much since I've used it on him a couple of times. Do you think you can use it too much? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[PupsnPonies]

Thanks for the information!
I have been using what I call a "rake" ( from my "old days" of showing Bernese Mountain dogs in the 80's :) to pull the dead undercoat out but I'm sure that there are better things for it nowadays so it's good to have recommendations that are more up to date :SMILE:

[PupsnPonies]

Fluffy or not, Tucker is a cutie! The more I see of the fluffies on here, the more adorable they are.

I just got a furminator this weekend (man, are they spendy! I committed to one before I heard the price, but that's another story....grrrrr) and it sure seems to pull out a lot of fur. Jax feels thinner and hasn't been shedding as much since I've used it on him a couple of times. Do you think you can use it too much? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I will definitely have to check in to that! Thanks so much for sharing:SMILE::SMILE:

[colbycorgi]

With the 2 fluffs, we are a never ending battle with undercoat too..we use both the firminator and the undercoat rake....no real method...yes the furminator was expensive, did find it a "bit" cheaper on ebay...but both do work very well...we also use a mat breaker for places that tend to get ickey....under colbys "armpits"...aorund the collar, sometimes to do the hairs on back side or ears...it is sharp but we are careful...we are also trying to "learn" more grooming techniques to cost down on costs...especially with two it gets expensive....we do "trim" the pants/skirt area(I KNOW, don't shoot us down)...both our babies tend to be messy....we just don;t care for the clean-up....and as i said, we are working on that grooming piece,,,we bought a pair of thinning shears but havent used them as of yet....we also use a slicker brush when we have one, they seem to get their paws on it and eat the handle :)

[LaRositaMonita]

Thanks for the information!
I have been using what I call a "rake" ( from my "old days" of showing Bernese Mountain dogs in the 80's :) to pull the dead undercoat out but I'm sure that there are better things for it nowadays so it's good to have recommendations that are more up to date :SMILE:

The Coat-King that we use is actually very "rake" looking...lots of single blades in a row to pull out all the undercoat. It seems to serve the same purpose as the Furminator, though, so either might be a god choice. Last weekend he got brushed and Coat-Kinged before visiting his cousin, Dave the Pug, and we tried Dave's Furminator on him when we got there about a day later...it hardly pulled out anything :)

We were told tat deshedding tools should be used maybe once per week...not every day. It's worked great for us so far.

[Jespah]

When I saw the avatar of Tucker I wondered if he was a fluff. Certainly the description of silky textured hair makes me wonder if that's the way he's leaning.

As per heat and the long hair - other than trimming up the regions that get a bit "mucky", some people might consider shaving them down. It's best not to as hair serves as a natural insulator from heat and cold. I have seen a fluff that was shaved down almost to the skin and he got a sunburn as well.

Deb

[Fluffypants]

Yay fluffies!!! +CHEER+

I was wondering if he was a fluff also, from his avatar.

My personal recommendation is to brush them every day (with a comb-type brush) to prevent mats and decrease shedding. If you brush every day, it only takes about 10-15 minutes per session, and you get no mats and less hair around the house. Very easy to do while watching TV at night. I do all of Jackie's grooming myself - baths, nails, trim the rear (which I also keep short - as you can tell from the many pictures I have of my dog's butt :CUTE:), etc., and I have found that devoting a few mintes a day keeps her nice & neat, and I have never had to take her to the groomer for anything. It's just what works for me, and I get compliments on Jackie's coat all the time.

I do keep an eye on her in the warmer months, as she does get hot, but have never had to restrict her too much. Just know that it could be an issue and keep an eye on him, and always make sure you have some water with you when you go out to the park or for long walks, etc.

[taflar]

Tucker on the otherhand, blew some undercoat but still has a lot of long, silky, Sheltie like hair, fringe on the ears, legs etc. (The hair on his lower chest and upper belly sweeps the ground and works somewhat like a cross between a broom and a rake, catching most of what he passes over that is not fixed to the ground...!!). His mom, Abbie, definitely does not share these coat characteristics.
I'm thinking he may be leaning towards "the fluffy side". At 7 months, would he have his adult coat pretty much? Or will it fill in even more?

No at 7 mos. he does not have his adult coat. And yes, he IS a fluffy (I looked at his pictures) and yes, it will probably get fuller and longer as he grows.

You can tell a puppy is a fluffy by the time they are ready to go to their new homes. Most breeders can tell between 3 and 6 weeks. Fluffies have feathering around the ears and on the backs of the front legs. The coat is longer and silkier than a normal coated pupppy. This breeder IMO, led you on and was not honest with you.

Also, there are two kinds of fluffy coats. One is like a sheltie coat, the other is like a long haired dachshund. Both have feathering. The shetlie type of course is much thicker than the longhair dachshund type.

Peggy

[taflar]

I would wait a bit and keep checking him out...but this sounds like exactly how Mac went coat-wise! At first he had a softish coat that wasn't quite fluffy, but as time went on it kept getting longer and more feathered when it should have been growing in shorter and coarser. We finally had him officially deemed a fluffy a few months ago. We love him just the same, if not more!! Mac would love to welcome Tucker to the fluffy club too ;)

Cardigans are different than Pembrokes. Pembroke puppies, as I understand it are more obvious as puppies and most Pembroke breeders would have been able to tell Tucker was a fluffy by the time he went to his new home. And if the breeder had others who were that way she should have known better than to say "he'd be ok". Yeah, he is ok, but his coat is a fluffy coat and she should have been honest about it.

Peggy

[taflar]

Thank you guys for the opinions. Mac, Colby and Cammie are sooooo adorable!!

A question that I do have, do they have trouble in the heat? Tucker already is panting and the real heat has not yet begun. Abbie, his mom with the regular Corgi coat is fine, but he already seems to have difficulty with the heat. Granted we are in the Deep South but how do your fluffy guys handle the heat?

I don't have a fluffy so I can't say for sure, but please don't shave him. Shaving can allow him to become sunburned.

I know of owners who have had the coats shortened for he summer leaving say an inch or two of coat and not shave the dog.

Remember that other breeds have thick coats and they do ok in the summer. I have owned shelties, still have one, and they do ok in the summer.

Now you might want to bring him in where it's air conditioned during the heat of the day. I do that with some of my guys even with normal coats. (My older guys aren't out when it's really hot or really cold.)

Peggy

[PupsnPonies]

Thanks for all the great grooming ideas!!
Tucker's mom, Abbie, blew most of her hair in one big blow so she's nice and cool and I'm just using the "rake" on her every few days now that the pin brush can get through very easily for day to day grooming.
Tucker, maybe due to his age? has not really let go of any of his undercoat. He has SO MUCH HAIR still. Maybe he didn't do a full blow due to his age (7 months) I don't know. He has already had a couple of small hot spots in the thickest areas on his hips that I've had to clip hair around.
Thanks so much for all the great ideas, they are much appriciated.:SMILE:

[PupsnPonies]

No at 7 mos. he does not have his adult coat. And yes, he IS a fluffy (I looked at his pictures) and yes, it will probably get fuller and longer as he grows.

You can tell a puppy is a fluffy by the time they are ready to go to their new homes. Most breeders can tell between 3 and 6 weeks. Fluffies have feathering around the ears and on the backs of the front legs. The coat is longer and silkier than a normal coated pupppy. This breeder IMO, led you on and was not honest with you.

Also, there are two kinds of fluffy coats. One is like a sheltie coat, the other is like a long haired dachshund. Both have feathering. The shetlie type of course is much thicker than the longhair dachshund type.

Peggy

Peggy,
I added a picture on Tuck's dogster page of he and a sister at 8 weeks or so at the breeders (mom Abbie is in background ). Of the litter of 4, 2 had "normal" appearing coats and the two in the picture (Tuck and sister) had what appeared to me to be much fluffier, longer coats. When I saw his picture, I did a little research and read about the "fluffy" coat. I specifically asked her if he would turn out to be a fluffy (I told her I didn't care, just curious) and she said no. She said some of Abbie's pups had that coat as a puppy but when they got their adult coats, they'd be "normal". :ER:Of course she also said that his overshot was very minimal .....:SWOON::SWOON: Ironically enough, the 2 fluff coated pups also had overshot bites. Backyard breeding at it's best but we lucked out, he's amazing and wonderful, fluffy, overshot and all and so is mom, Abbie (who is not fluffy or overshot but we love her anyway, :LAUGH::LAUGH:). And yes, she has been spayed.
Fortunately, we did not have to remove teeth when he was neutered at 6 months but the overshot is quite amazing and definitely not minimal. We'd driven 4 hours to go get him, I was shocked when I saw the extent of the overshot ( I was thinking slight, like 1/8 inch, not 1/2 an inch!!!) but it did not appear to be causing him any problem, he was healthy and happy so it became a moot point.
Because this was to be my daughter's dog and she found him, I did not do the research that I should have to find a more reputable breeder. Hindsight is 20/20.
Thanks for your insight. Check out the picture of he and his sister on the bottom of his Dogster page. To me, it was apparent that their coats were a bit "fluffy" already !

[Fluffypants]

Thanks for all the great grooming ideas!!
Tucker's mom, Abbie, blew most of her hair in one big blow so she's nice and cool and I'm just using the "rake" on her every few days now that the pin brush can get through very easily for day to day grooming.
Tucker, maybe due to his age? has not really let go of any of his undercoat. He has SO MUCH HAIR still. Maybe he didn't do a full blow due to his age (7 months) I don't know. He has already had a couple of small hot spots in the thickest areas on his hips that I've had to clip hair around.
Thanks so much for all the great ideas, they are much appriciated.:SMILE:

I'm not sure about ALL fluffies, but I can tell you that MY fluffy doesn't do the semi-annual coat blowing. She just continually sheds year round. Of course - the daily brushing regimen could be keeping me from noticing the "blow" also. :CUTE:

Also - as Peggy mentioned, keeping him in the air conditioning during the hottest parts of the day is a good idea.

PS - I love the puppy pic! Tucker's sister's half-white face is so cute!

[taflar]

Thanks for all the great grooming ideas!!
Tucker's mom, Abbie, blew most of her hair in one big blow so she's nice and cool and I'm just using the "rake" on her every few days now that the pin brush can get through very easily for day to day grooming.
Tucker, maybe due to his age? has not really let go of any of his undercoat. He has SO MUCH HAIR still. Maybe he didn't do a full blow due to his age (7 months) I don't know. He has already had a couple of small hot spots in the thickest areas on his hips that I've had to clip hair around.
Thanks so much for all the great ideas, they are much appriciated.:SMILE:

Puppies don't blow coat. Usually closer to a year. So sometime this summer....

Peggy

[taflar]

Yup, they both look fluffy to me!

As for overshot, my first corgi was overshot too. His didn't happen till he was about 6 mos. old. And yes, I got him from a reputable breeder.

It does happen, but when they're overshot at 8 weeks or so, yeah, chances are it's not going to change. I had one that way and was sure to show the potential owner and tell them what to expect.

Peggy

[PupsnPonies]

I'm not sure about ALL fluffies, but I can tell you that MY fluffy doesn't do the semi-annual coat blowing. She just continually sheds year round. Of course - the daily brushing regimen could be keeping me from noticing the "blow" also. :CUTE:

Also - as Peggy mentioned, keeping him in the air conditioning during the hottest parts of the day is a good idea.

PS - I love the puppy pic! Tucker's sister's half-white face is so cute!

I thought her face was cute, too ( but I'm sure it's probably another serious fault to have that much white on one side?!)
I checked out Jackie's Dogster page. She is such a cutie!! And too neat, when you look at her from the front and look at her from the back she looks like 2 different dogs with the red and blonde front and tri-color dark back!!

[PupsnPonies]

When I saw the avatar of Tucker I wondered if he was a fluff. Certainly the description of silky textured hair makes me wonder if that's the way he's leaning.

As per heat and the long hair - other than trimming up the regions that get a bit "mucky", some people might consider shaving them down. It's best not to as hair serves as a natural insulator from heat and cold. I have seen a fluff that was shaved down almost to the skin and he got a sunburn as well.

Deb

Ouch!! I've seen horses do that, too when they are clipped late in the winter and have pink skin ( paints, etc). The trimming up may be the thing to try and do. I'm scared to think that he'll get more and thicker hair still!!!

[Jespah]

You can ask Jess - she trims up Jackie's patoutie quite nicely, but I don't think the fur increases for trimming it. Don't forget, they have fur, not hair that grows endlessly if you don't cut or trim it.

[taflar]

I thought her face was cute, too ( but I'm sure it's probably another serious fault to have that much white on one side?!)

Yes, in Pembrokes that is a fault. A very serious one. The standard says a "narrow blaze". Now blazes vary, some are wider than what I think is narrow and that doesn't really bother me. But white on a face other than a blaze is not correct.

Peggy

[PupsnPonies]

You can ask Jess - she trims up Jackie's patoutie quite nicely, but I don't think the fur increases for trimming it. Don't forget, they have fur, not hair that grows endlessly if you don't cut or trim it.

Actually, I was not clear on this, sorry :( I was thinking about Peggy's comment that his fur will probably get longer and thicker as he approaches adulthood...YIKES!!:TWITCHY:

I know what you are talking about, though. With the horses, some people think that if you shave their mane, it grows back thicker. In actuality, it doesn't, it just all grows back at once, the same length, and seems thicker as opposed to natural growth where hair grows to different lengths as it naturally sheds.

[Fluffypants]

You can ask Jess - she trims up Jackie's patoutie quite nicely, but I don't think the fur increases for trimming it. Don't forget, they have fur, not hair that grows endlessly if you don't cut or trim it.

Jackie's rear seems to be the only part of her where the hair DOES grow! The rest of it stays the same length always. :LAUGH:

And thanks for the compliments Deb & Wynn!