Advice Regarding Grooming My Border Collie

[BC Crazy]

Hi everyone,

Was wondering if anyone would be able to give me some advice on how I to strip my BC's coat. Sonny has a fair bit of sun damage/red tones through his coat, especially on

his pants,tail, behind his ears etc. I can see that the some of coat needs to be removed as it is very dead looking but unsure just quite how to do that. I have tried a Mars

Coat King but only lightly went over him & still managed to take a chunk of top coat so am not so confident with it now. In the area where I live all the groomers I have

talked to want to clip Sonny right off short,or they say they only groom small dogs & I certainly don't want Sonny clipped. The rest of his coat is

beautiful. Any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Have had a look on UTube too but couldn't find anything, maybe not looking in the right place.

[Mystiqview]

I replied somewhat in the bc thread.

For the dead hair behind the ears, the best is to pinch it with one hand, say between thumb and index finger and with the other just lightly pluck out the dead hair. A fine toothed comb is also useful here as well as a single sided thinning scissor. (double's take too much out at a time and it can look "hacked" very quickly.

Coat kings/Furminators if used incorrectly will not only strip undercoat, but also top coat. You also have to be careful NOT to keep in one spot and drag the "blades" onto the skin as they can cause cuts or abrasions on the skin itself. Rakes will also do this. Rakes can be good for the more wirery hair of the tail to thin them down. Again, be careful as they can cut the hair, so you are more cutting it than taking the dead hair out.

When using the above, you really need to part the hair at the skin, brush the undercoat, then do the next bit. There is no real "quick" way of doing it, as each part of the coat needs to be separated and brushed.

I find one of the best tools is a good solid pin brush. Those "Kong Zoom Grooms" are not bad either.

Warm baths are helpful. The warm water assists in them blowing coat quicker. You do not need to add soap to each wash. The warm water by itself will assist.

The dryer: some dogs love it, some will tolerate it. When you use the dryer, some say to start at the head and work your way back. I find starting with the dryer on low and doing the pants, the body and working towards the head will work better. When you get to the head, use one hand to fold over the ear (similar to putting your hands over your ears) to prevent the air from blowiing in and the noise. Once the dog starts to get used to the dryer, you can turn it up faster if your model allows you too. I have one with a dial which I can turn right down low for puppies and up higher. Some only come with two speeds. Plenty of praise and food if they will take it is good. When you are first starting off, a second pair of hands to hold and reassure the dog can be useful.

[BC Crazy]

Thanks Mystiqview, I did read your thread of the BC forum & am grateful for your help. I am getting sick of people commenting on my lovely tri-coloured border collie LOL. We are going to have our first dryer lesson some time this arvo.Going to start slowly as you suggested. See how we go. :)

Edited March 8, 2012 by BC Crazy

[Tassie]

When you're brushing and combing, it often helps to wet/condition the coat as you go - spray bottle - I use Plush Puppy Reviveacoat - but some say you can use dilute conditioner with lots of water. Brush and comb go through coat much more easily - less stress all round, and less breakage.

Flea combs are handy for behind ears - although pinch and pull as described is good when you have it under control.

My two favourite tools, besides pin brush - rotating tooth comb, and a comb with alternate teeth spaced at two different lengths - this seems to get a lot of dead coat out.

Some say using something like thick & Thicker in the rinse will help dead coat come out.

[Mystiqview]

If all you have is human conditioner, a dollop of that shaken in a spray bottle is fine. You can buy detangler sprays if you want to go to the expense.

Wide tooth comb is good in pantaloons. But sometimes found the rake good there as well.

[sheena]

My favourite detanglers are the human Schwarzkopf leave-in conditioners. It makes it much easier to get the knots out of my girl's tail. I also have Show Sheen diluted, but I find this makes the floor very slippery. The young fellow, he won't let me near him with any sort of spray, so if needs be, I will mix up a little bit of YU conditioner with water & gently sponge it on, but he still hates this. I have found the best way of keeping their coat shed is daily swimming up & down in the pool...the water just lifts the loose coat out as they swim & I catch it in the skimmer box. But of course this has it's drawbacks as well as it's advantages.

Another thing I have noticed with my two BC's is the way the younger one just seems to shake off the dirt & is always squeeky clean & percil white, no matter how much mud he digs & rolls in...it just dries & fall off him. Whereas the girl, I always have to make sure she is dry before being allowed outside as she seems to attract dirt like a magnet I try to avoid towelling them.

Edited March 8, 2012 by sheena

[BC Crazy]

Thanks everyone for your help thus far.

I am trying out some of these new ideas you have kindly shared.

Sheena, it is funny how different bc's can be as I also have one boy who always stays fairly clean & yet Stella prides herself in getting down & dirty. LOL. Will role in anything smelly, walk in a mud puddle where Sonny will step around it. She hates being groomed or smelling nice. Sonny loves his grooming & prances about after he has been bathed, "look at me". Go figure.

Edited March 10, 2012 by BC Crazy