sheena Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Cricket the border collie swims a lot, he also has a thick coat. I try to groom him once a week, but I find I can never get on top of the dreds around his back side. I have just spent an hour carefully cutting them out with the scissors, thinking all the time that when he stands up he is going to have a very untidy pair of pants, but surprisingly I cant notice where I have cut. Does anybody here actually clip around their border's rear end? I know it is wrong to clip their coat, but was wondering about maybe just clipping around his rear end & maybe his tummy. He is not a show dog, but I like him to look nice. Unfortunately as soon as he goes swimming again, he is going to look like a real dag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemappelle Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 What about something like a Mars Coat King that thins out the coat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 16 minutes ago, jemappelle said: What about something like a Mars Coat King that thins out the coat? Yes I have tried that, but it doesn't get the dags out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Best option would be to invest in a dog dryer to blow the coat apart and dry after swimming, if it’s salt water always rinse it out, it tends to dry out the coat and cause more knots than fresh water. Also keep a leave in spray conditioner on hand to use before brushing. Alternatively the entire back end can be shaped and scissored down, it comes up nice and won’t ruin the coat, needs to be done on a dry clean coat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 You need to brush more often ,the hr you waste each week would be better spent on 10 mins more often brushing through correctly ,wet pants not brushed will matt even more . Yes you can trim the pants back BUT it wont stop the knots as it still needs to be brushed out shorter or long & easier to brush out long pants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRG Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Buy yourself some clippers and keep the hair in that area short. The same happens to other breeds and, with practice it will look OK. i would not shave. Just use the clippers like stroking down the length of the hair. -if you were closer I’d say come round and I will show you, it really is easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemappelle Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Another thought was thinning scissors. Or a matt breaker with a blade in it. My Cavalier has very long fur around her back legs and for summer I've used a #9 blade with a #5 steel comb to lightly go over her rump and then follow the hair growth around her back legs. She now has much shorter hair that has blended in with the rest of her coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted December 23, 2019 Author Share Posted December 23, 2019 3 hours ago, JRG said: Buy yourself some clippers and keep the hair in that area short. The same happens to other breeds and, with practice it will look OK. i would not shave. Just use the clippers like stroking down the length of the hair. -if you were closer I’d say come round and I will show you, it really is easy. Thanks, that was what I was wanting to hear. Maybe if I take him to a really good groomer they could show me how. Thanks everyone else for your suggestions too. Rinsing him off after swimming in the family pool is not an option due to the fact that I would be rinsing him with water from the dam. Drying him off after every swim is not an option either. Stopping him from swimming altogether would be the only way but he loves it & it is good for him. A shame he has such a thick coat & just loves to roll around in the dirt after his swim unless I can get to him in time to lock him up. We have no grass at the moment, our lawn is just dirt, bark & leaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) Trimming will affect the coat as does using thinning scissors . well brushed pants have length and layers which are easy to brush . Thinners and clipping alters the layers and long term encourages matting more as the hair lengths grow differently. yes I’m a groomer and own coated breeds . We explain all the pros/cons to short cut options but at the end of the day dogs get dags & knots as there not brushed regularly ,there hair is just like ours Edited December 24, 2019 by Dogsfevr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) What sort of brush are you using? If you aren’t willing to dry after each swim and brush/comb daily you are likely to continue to have an issue unless you clip quite short which won’t look good at all. Edited December 23, 2019 by Rascalmyshadow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lhok Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 My Keeshond's pants get mats after he goes swimming in the kids pool when I can't dry him and sometimes he gets dags. However a good rake comb thingy gets them out with the help of some conditioner spray. I use the medium shear magic undercoat rake and it seems to work well. --Lhok 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now