For everyone who's considering a TM

[ruthcatrin]

I had to go watch it. They didn't do a bad job, there's a couple things, TMs only shed once a year not twice, and a couple of the dogs they showed were fat not big, but otherwise not to bad.

 

[tb44]

I was thinking the same thing! Did they shave some of them?

 

[ruthcatrin]

Its hard to tell in the videos. The Chinese DO recognize 3 varieties of TM, and I know one is fairly smooth coated, so that may be what we're seeing there.

(Please don't shave your TM, the outer coat doesn't grow in every year, and the dog needs that outer coat in the summer or they'll sunburn!)

 

[tb44]

Apollo is better looking then the ones on there . So there under coat is very thin then?

 

[raechiemay]

Ditto!! I always tell people don't ever shave a double coated breed!!! You will do more damage than good. They need their coats to protect them from the heat &/or cold.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Apollo is better looking then the ones on there . So there under coat is very thin then?

In the winter the undercoat is WAY THICK. Like, when we took him in to have his hip xrays the vet techs had trouble getting a vein cause the fur is so thick even on his legs!

In the summer, he's practically bare under the over coat, you can litterally see skin without trying.

 

[tb44]

Can you trim their coat at all to help them cool off in the summer?

 

[ruthcatrin]

Honestly I wouldn't. You can trim up weird spots, and I'll occasionally trim up his britches and tail when they start looking scraggly, but honestly I'd not bother. Once Apollo sheds out he handles the summer reasonably well as long as he can get shade and his kiddy pool.

 

[tb44]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Do you have any pics of him in the pool?

 

[ruthcatrin]

View attachment 20039

View attachment 20040

(this video was taken his first summer, he was 6 months or so)
[video=youtube;uGTrW6mGZvE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGTrW6mGZvE[/video]

 

[tb44]

I think he needs a bigger pool mommy! That's awesome I can't wait till summer to see if mystic likes the pool.

 

[ruthcatrin]

thats a 5ft-er lol, the little cheap ones don't come bigger!

 

[tb44]

Wow I didn't think it was that big. My boys said he looks like a lion. Lol and now they want one.

 

[ruthcatrin]

lol!

 

[ruthcatrin]

(he gets that reaction from kids who meet him in person too, FYI)

 

[tb44]

Id love to have one but I don't think I'm confident enough yet to handle a tm. But one day I will have one.

 

[ruthcatrin]

confidence helps lol

 

[tb44]

Correct me if I'm wrong but they are head strong? Not easily trained?

 

[ruthcatrin]

Thats probly the polite way to put it. A TM does what a TM wants. Your job as bonded master is to convince him that what you want to do is what he wants to do. Even the best aren't always successful lol. Confidence in your self and in the dog helps though.

 

[tb44]

That would definitely have to wait a few years. Between a 7,5, and 18month old and a puppy I've got my hands full. Lol