Do most of you clip your long-haired pigs short in the summer?

[Freela]

We have Misa, who is probably a sheltie cross but looks like she has the full sheltie coat. We have air conditioning so we tend to just trim the back area and keep the sides just above floor level, but we're taking a trip and will have to leave the pets with my parents and since they don't have air conditioning I am worried she may be warmer there. Do most of you cut your longer-haired pigs all the way short in the warmer seasons if you're somewhere where you can't preset the temperature to always be the same indoors?

 

[Truffolo]

Yes, Truffle was horrified by the thought of losing his long fur, but as soon as temperatures start to climb, he is very happy about having as much off as possible. I use rechargeable trimmers and he deals with it really well, although you might want to start gradually with little rests in between. It's best to trim before the heat sets in, but when it's just warm enough to acclimatise to being essentially a smooth haired piggy. Starting when it is very hot means risking over heating if piggy is resistant to handling and gets agitated, but it is still worth taking the long fur off if the weather is going to climb to over 23C

 

[Truffolo]

You could provide some warmer bedding in case the temperature dips, and also the option of deeper bedding hay for nesting if it gets cooler post trim

 

[Wiebke]

Yes, we have seen so many members' long-haired piggies having a popcorn and being much livelier after a haircut if they are not living in air-conditioning - which in Europe is not as common as in America and Asia with their previously warmer or more extreme climates. Rather give your temporarily short-haired piggies something warm to retreat to than the opposite.
Here are videos and pictures: An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting

Energy cost in Europe and UK are rather high and climbing even more because of the Iran war so energy intensive air con is something that can really impact on an already beleaguered household budget. Hence all our tips on how to make other measures work.

 

[Merab]

I always gave Priscilla a summer trim.
It made such a difference to her and there was usually enough fur taken off to make another piggy