How to Groom?

[mbfrench]

I have been trying to get my Dutchess to let me brush her and all she wants to do it to try and bite the brush and runs away. When I talked to the breeder, she said that she didin't have any problem with her getting groomed. She did have a grooming table which I do not have. Is there any suggestions out there to help me help her be groomed?? I would appreciate any suggestions.

thanks,
Char - Dutchess's Mom

Well if she is biting the brush for you,I'm sure she was doing it at breeders also. I think every pup wants to play with grooming tools,especially when they just start out.

i'm sure there was a good bit of redirection on her part,to get Duchess to be still on a table.I found at that age,they can be wiggle butts.Plus to use of the noose on a table can be strange to them as well.

When Trapp first came home,and right up until I found my "grooming" table,I waited till later in evenings,when he was all quiet and ready to settle in for the night.I brushed him on our bed.
When he would attempt to bite the brush,I told him Ahh-Ahh. When he would settle back down,I offered a treat,and continued with gentle brushing.

I think taking baby steps when introducing anything new will work. My grooming table is actually a baby changing table that I was lucky to get,as it was being tossed to the dump.

Now both of the boys,settle in and love the time in the evenings that they get brushed.Trapp will go to sleep.I do one side..then roll him over~

 

[BarbV]

Michele has it right.

Introduce grooming in small steps, and mostly when dog is sleepy already. Even now, and my dogs are coming up to 3 years old, I tend to wait until evening to groom.

Start with the nails. If pup is still really young, just cradle in your lap and use baby nail clippers. You can move up gradually from there as the nails grow harder. Invest in a dremmel later on.

Also, when pup is young, true grooming is minimal. You really just want to get them used to being held in one place and being still.

A grooming table is nice to have, but the floor and your own legs work well too!

If you can afford it, some investment in decent brushes and scissors is a good idea. It just makes the job easier and faster.

Learn the technique for line brushing...its not difficult, though it is time consuming. But at least you won't be wasting your time brushing needlessly, without managing the undercoat, which is always the biggest issue. The guard hair is going to get messy, no matter how often you brush. But the undercoat can get crazy out of control!

p.s. LOL! I was re-reading this thread from the beginning where OntarioSheltie painstakingly posted some good starter threads. One of them was my own when I first joined the forum in 2008! Essentially, I was a lost soul when it came to grooming as well! I'm no expert, but I have managed to learn a few things! Thanks to the forum for that

 

[Char]

Thanks Michele and BarbV! I appreciate your input. I will try to do the brushing later in the evening and go slowly with her. She is such a sweet little girl and I do want to be able to take care of her the way she needs.

Char- dutchess's mom

 

[mbfrench]

Oh gosh ya'll are welcome.I knew nothing of grooming.I spent lots of time reading here,prior to bringing Trapp home.Lots of trial and error. (not to much error,that I needed to wait for coat to grow back)..I do have to say,the purchase of the sheltie grooming handbook,was definately a book worth investing in.

That said,I ran across a series of videos,so I thought I would share it here,since both of you are new puppy owners.

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Groom-the-Collies-Teeth-and-Ears-Part-1-189528476

Sometimes it is nice to actually see something being done.And feet are definately topics that all of us strive to groom well.
I know I want to see nice rounded paws,nicely trimmed hock & pasterns on my pups.Even though not show or agility dogs,to me those areas are ones that really do make a dog look well groomed.

If you scroll thru the videos,you will se many on grooming,feet,teeth,ears etc.
You may even want to watch YouTube vids.

 

[mbfrench]

Michele has it right.

Introduce grooming in small steps, and mostly when dog is sleepy already. Even now, and my dogs are coming up to 3 years old, I tend to wait until evening to groom.

Start with the nails. If pup is still really young, just cradle in your lap and use baby nail clippers. You can move up gradually from there as the nails grow harder. Invest in a dremmel later on.

Also, when pup is young, true grooming is minimal. You really just want to get them used to being held in one place and being still.

A grooming table is nice to have, but the floor and your own legs work well too!

If you can afford it, some investment in decent brushes and scissors is a good idea. It just makes the job easier and faster.

Learn the technique for line brushing...its not difficult, though it is time consuming. But at least you won't be wasting your time brushing needlessly, without managing the undercoat, which is always the biggest issue. The guard hair is going to get messy, no matter how often you brush. But the undercoat can get crazy out of control!

p.s. LOL! I was re-reading this thread from the beginning where OntarioSheltie painstakingly posted some good starter threads. One of them was my own when I first joined the forum in 2008! Essentially, I was a lost soul when it came to grooming as well! I'm no expert, but I have managed to learn a few things! Thanks to the forum for that

Yes I wanted to totally agree about an investment in at least some good quality brushes,a nice stainless comb,and at least 3 pairs of decent scissors.For scissors I resorted to Ebay.

I hit the mother load of awesome grooming sheers there,and now almost 2 years later,they still are cutting as nicely as day 1.And I did not pay a fortune for them,each one bought at seperate times.

And learning to properly line brush is a must.As like Barb said the undercoat needs attention.

 

[Lightplum]

Oh gosh ya'll are welcome.I knew nothing of grooming.I spent lots of time reading here,prior to bringing Trapp home.Lots of trial and error. (not to much error,that I needed to wait for coat to grow back)..I do have to say,the purchase of the sheltie grooming handbook,was definately a book worth investing in.

That said,I ran across a series of videos,so I thought I would share it here,since both of you are new puppy owners.

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Groom-the-Collies-Teeth-and-Ears-Part-1-189528476

Sometimes it is nice to actually see something being done.And feet are definately topics that all of us strive to groom well.
I know I want to see nice rounded paws,nicely trimmed hock & pasterns on my pups.Even though not show or agility dogs,to me those areas are ones that really do make a dog look well groomed.

If you scroll thru the videos,you will se many on grooming,feet,teeth,ears etc.
You may even want to watch YouTube vids.

Ohhh i dont know if I like the way they trim...The way the poor collie looks aftewards they made him look structurely wrong like he was broken down on his pasterns and hocks...
The way we trim on the pets is we leave atleast an 1" of fur hocks and trim straight down to the ground. trim the fur under the feet, around the foot and trim the stray fur in between the toes...viola done. and we dont trim the front feathers....Contrary to what pet groomers think should be done

 

[Emmasmom]

You have been given a lot of good advice. With Emma and then Liam, they did not like to stand still to be brushed. Emma was a brush biter. Because she had her collar on all the time, I hooked my thumb in it to hold her while brushing. She couldn't escape When I had to take off the collar to do the ruff area, I would hold her around the body when she was little enough. Liam was older when I got him and I basically did the same things.

With my Noah, I would have him on his side and brush one side and then the other. I started this when he was little and had no problems brushing or doing the nails.

Liam does not like to get his nails clipped. I have to hold him under my arm with my hand up under him and between his front feet to to them, and then do a contortionist act to do the back feet, with treating afterwards. He is getting better.

I use cornstarch behind the ears to prevent matting - this works as well as or better than baby powder for me.

 

[mbfrench]

Ohhh i dont know if I like the way they trim...The way the poor collie looks aftewards they made him look structurely wrong like he was broken down on his pasterns and hocks...
The way we trim on the pets is we leave atleast an 1" of fur hocks and trim straight down to the ground. trim the fur under the feet, around the foot and trim the stray fur in between the toes...viola done. and we dont trim the front feathers....Contrary to what pet groomers think should be done

Well you know,after I have seen & really taken notice of loads of show pictures ya'll have shared,I did notice that differance.

I don't trim front feathers either,I do however trim around the foot.As I really do like the look of a nice rounded paw.

With these guys here,Jasper has beautiful feathers,honestly it is one of his most beautiful features,that and his eyes.Trapp on the other hand is quite sparse in comparison to Jasper in feathers,but makes up for it in coat right now.Go figure~

But thank you for making the correction,as when you are new to shelties,the coat & grooming can be daunting.As I said if it was'nt for the forum,I would be clueless.

 

[BarbV]

I have a trick for trimming the front feathers. I'm not sure where I learned it. It might have been on Silver Shelties????

After brushing, wrap your thumb and forefinger around the dog's front leg starting at the top of the leg, pulling the feathers down with your hand. Glide your hand downwards until you get to about half way between the dewclaw and the back of the foot (i.e. where the leg starts to arch up).

You should see below your thumb and forefinger about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of hair. Snip the hair off at a very slight angle below your hand. When you brush out again, you should see an even and sloping shape.

You are not trying to trim things back substantially, just trim the ragged ends.