Need Some Advice On Grooming.

[Gayle.]

I have an 8 month old black tri-colour Australian Shepherd boy, who I don't show. But we do obedience at the local club and our graduation is coming up in a few weeks and we're hoping to do ok after weeks of practise in beginners class.

I would love for my boy to look beautifully groomed for the day but beside the occasional bath and a twice a week brush, I really don't know how to make him look like a "show dog".

Any hints, tips and ideas are greatly appreciated.

I have a pin brush, an undercoat rake and a bottle of fairly expensive dog shampoo.

[BC]

A bit of work will go into a show dog, and its hard to explain in writing. Their feet, ears, feathering, hocks etc are all trimmed in a certain way, and depending on the coat, that will also be dried and set in different ways too.

You can however make him look clean and neat.

You can trim feet by cutting all fur out from underneath his pads, and trim around the outside of the bottom of the foot to give him a neater more compact look. Can trim the hocks and feathering with thinning shears if they're very long, but at 8 months he most likely would not need this.

A good rake and slicker will remove any dead hair. A good wash to make his whites sparkling, and a good blow dry to remove any further dead hair and it frees the coat up. The another gentle brush and he will look gorgeous.

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

A double coated breed such as an Aussie Shepherd or a Sheltie look a million dollars after a good brush, bath and blow dry, it is the blow dry that really fluffs their coats up.