Doggy Raincoats/ Body suits

[Alana McGee]

I can’t wait to try cornstarch on Monza! She has the soft curls too. I’m not the best at brushing her out regularly and reducing the number of times I have to pull hitchhikers and burrs out of her coat would make both Monza & I VERY happy, especially around the ‘armpits’, she seems to stockpile burrs in her ‘pits’.

[Alana McGee]

The corn starch works really really well, as does keeping the coat shorter during ‘working’ season. Not skin short (want to keep them warm!), but not more than 1 to 2 inches. More than that and it is a nightmare with mats- but we don’t ‘formally’ brush the Lagotti generally as that makes the matting issue worse usually (for our dogs anyway- we know every Lagotto coat is different- more so for Lo than Luc), during the season anyway.

As for the OBtrack jacket. Kristin can speak to this more as she was also gifted one Da Vinci wears. They are really nice coats. Really nice.

[Alana McGee]

I really would like the fancy coat. but think I can make one, using a Thundershirt as an Under shirt and attaching the lovely wool with velcro (also velcro attachments for GoPro

Oh, and Tippet had a romp in the woods today
tippettail.jpg

[Alana McGee]

Oh my that tail is taking the forest home! If that were Ashley, she would have stopped and tried to
pick out every last piece. She really does not like things stuck to her fur.

For the wool, I don’t know if you have ever tried this, but fulled wool is fairly waterproof.
We do renaissance faire, german mercinaries, and the proper clothing is made with fulled
wool. Great for the rain, since a lot of it rolls off for quite a while and it stays warm if it does get wet.
We get either wool flannel or wool gaberdine and you wash it in hot, hot, hot water with lots
of agitation. Dry and repeat 2+ times more depending on how much you full it expect anywhere from 20-50%
shrinkage. It will also get really thick. And when you have it fulled really well (maybe 30-50%)
you can cut the fabric and it will not fray. You must have 100% wool and it can not be on a synthetic
mesh or have any synthetic fibers. I can recommend a few places that sell 100% wool if you are interested.

I was thinking of making a few simple coats for in the car for Ashley if she gets wet.

I like the idea of a go pro!

[Alana McGee]

That is basically what we use the Ruff wear cloud chaser for. Maybe if it is really wet, and you’ll really be out for long periods of time mushroom hunting (this happened to me yesterday day and it made me wish I did this— so I’m going to) get two of them, so you can put a dry one on.

I don’t know about rain* coats off the top of my head. But the Cloud chaser is resistant and does pretty well. It was wet after several hours yesterday in heavy rain with Lo, but she was warm as long as we were moving. But that;s also why it is important to have something warm in the car too!

[Alana McGee]

Oh Tippet! Looks familiar.

I like the wool idea Annie! A lot.

As for go pro- there actually are a few harnesses built for dogs to wear as is. My attempts at DIY gopro thus far resulted in slightly nauseating footage. But sounds like fun!

[Alana McGee]

I am VERY interested! tell me more about the 100% wool sources
is it fulled or felled?
Isn’t that what boiled wool is all about? could you put, say a square yard in a big pot and boil it for a while and then go through a hot agitated wash, and dry on “very hot” setting.
I think using the Thundershirt as a base with velcro fittings might be really good, but you either must use the shirt as a pattern or take care not to get it wet since most are cotton.

Tippet LOVES water, as you would expect him to. I have seen him wet and in the cold to the point of shivering twice. I keep his butt in the almost shaved lion cut, and his front is longer, but belly stays short, too. But we expect to be north at times, so I would like something in the car that is both stylish and suitable.

[Alana McGee]

Shannon,
My profile picture shows Callie in the Cloud Chaser and a Julius K9 harness. Cricket seems to be built similarly so I doubt it would be too bulky.

[Alana McGee]

Our Cloud raincoat arrived today. Tippet seems to like the feel and the fit is really nice! We might get to use it Monday because rain is predicted. Yea! Hoping for a very wet winter in our parched world

[Alana McGee]

The wool you buy is not fulled. You get to do that fun part!
The trick is hot water and lots of agitation together. We add boiling water to the washing machine. And we did dry it hot. Repeat until you have the thickness and lack of fraying you want.
Trying to agitate by hand is difficult; we tried and failed.

I attached a file with info including some dog coat patterns I had searched out last month. The file is not pretty or well formatted as it is just my collection of ideas. Some of the pictures did not seem to come through when I converted the file to a .doc file, but the web line is listed.

Edit: the file is too large to attach. Just send requests to me at annie_lang@comcast.net and I will send it along with an additional pattern.

[Alana McGee]

Wool Sources

I have had good luck with Wool Flannel, Wool Coating and Wool Gaberdine.

http://www.denverfabrics.com/ good prices
http://www.fabric.com good prices, but make sure to check the fabric, sometimes it is not 100% wool.

http://www.periodfabric.com/Wools.htm : Good source of heavy weight wool (WBM-211)

woolrichfabrics.com/mysql/f_art.asp : Good source for lighter weight clothing fabric, a variety of colors and about 20% shrinkage. Look at the Fiber Art section.

http://www.fabrics-store.com/first.php?goto=fab…menu=f&fabric_type=1 : Good quality linen at decent prices. Just fyi.

Others: Army surplus stores ? wool army blankets
Good Will: wool coats ? good for smaller dogs

If you are using either of the first 2 stores, check to make sure the fabric is pure wool. To check the fabric you can Burn Test or Bleach Test ? or both.

Bleach Test
Take a 1 inch square piece of fabric and loosen the threads/fiber by pulling the material apart a bit. Place the fabric in a bowl of bleach 8 hours or over night. Wool will dissolve. If there is any threads in the bowl, they are not wool. Do not use the edge of the fabric as it may contain non-wool threads.

Burn Test
http://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/Burn-Test-Chart.html

Fulling Wool
For fulling the wool, both heat and agitation are critical. I use hot and add boiling water and wash on the heavy cycle. Then dry. Repeat 2 or 3 times. To test the fabric, on a cut edge, try pulling the fabric apart. On well fulled fabric you can not do this. For our costumes, we slash the fabric and it does not fray despite lots of wear and washings. Water also rolls off for quite a while.

[Alana McGee]

Thank you for Sharing Annie.

[Alana McGee]

This evening, I dusted Monza with corn starch before we went for a romp in the woods and she’s burr/hitchhiker free! Speed did not get dusted and had a few burrs.

We had an almost empty garlic salt shaker container and we cleaned it out and filled with corn starch. It smells a little like garlic, but the shaker is perfect. Monza didn’t mind it at all.

YAY for corn starch!

[Alana McGee]

Great idea. I have a garlic free shaker and the amazing box of corn starch that one buys and uses once every 10 years., We will give the tail an extra dose!

[Alana McGee]

Okay, Annie. With your instructions, I think I can do this!

I ordered a yard of med.weight 100% wool in black herringbone. and I ordered a black Cloud chaser. I am going to sew three lengths of velcro along the length of the back of the Cloud chaser. After I have the wool fulled and a pattern made, I will cut the wool to pattern and sew velcro strips across (perpendicular to the ones on the Cloud Chaser). I can use the Cloud Chaser as a rain coat or brush protector and it will be the undercoat for the warm wool.

That’s the plan. Goodness knows when I will get to it.

His other Cloud Chaser is green. Love the way it fits!

If it turns out as nicely as it is in my head, I will add a photo to the thread. Cost will be considerably less than the OBTrack and they never got back to me nor could I order a size 11 on line.

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