Porter and the Amazing (not so technicolor) Dreamcoat

One of the cons in my book to a FCR is their coat. I'm so used to Indi's really short and straight single coat. She doesn't require brushing, her fur doesn't get tangled, and if she gets muddy, she dries quickly and the mud brushes right off. I was spoiled by her wash and wear coat. I knew I had to get over it since not only was Porter going to get a lot more fluff than Indi but he's  water dog and is going to be wet and dirty a lot more than I'm used to.

I keep telling everyone how Porter continues to amaze me and how he is "practically perfect in every way." His coat has not been an exception. The first time I bathed him I expected a wet, sloppy dog running through my house and soaking my couch. I had piles of towel waiting to do as much damage control as possible. Indi soaks through one towel and sometimes requires a second and while she's not dropping, her fur remains slightly damp. Once Porter leapt out of the shower (yes, leapt, my water dog hates taking a bath) I assulted him with a Shamwow. And let me just say, "wow!" Both Porter and the piles of towels were dry since one Shamwow was all I needed. And unlike Indi's cold damp fur, Porter felt completely dry.

Today his coat really showed off it's superpowers. We headed to Fiesta Island for the first time this morning. For those of you not familiar with San Diego, this is Fiesta Island. Dogs can be off leash anywhere on the island but there's also a large fenced in section. You can see if on the map in the lower left hand corner of the island. Everything southwest of the road is the fenced in dog park.

It was amazing! You can hike along the scrub or take your dog down to the beach to frolic in the water. Porter had a grand time running to and fro, grabbing bits of seaweed, biting at the water, and fraternizing with the other dogs. It was great to have him off leash but not need to worry. It's different at our normal dog parks since they are less the half an acre. Here, it's large enough that Porter can really taste freedom but not be in any danger. He was a great pup and would instantly rush over to me if I whistled. he also kept an eye on me and if I changed direction he quickly followed. He never got more than 50 feet from me. I was happy to see that without asking, he just followed me along the beach.

He didn't swim, which I was really hoping for, but he did end up wet and covered in sand from head to toe. To top it all off as we were walking back to the car a GSP female pup kept trying to wrestle with him so Porter was rolled in the dust many times which clung to his wet fur. He was so dirty he looked like a liver FCR.

Now here's the best part. We got back to the car two minutes later and he's almost completely dry. I ruffle his fur a bit and the sand, mud, and dust just shakes off. The only damp parts of his body were his ears, which dried on the car ride home. Even the foxtails flew out of his coat with ease.

Best dog ever (except for Indi of course).