Trimming Sheltie Ears?

I always trim prick ears, as my dogs who had them (Border Collies as well as Shelties) always ended up looking like wild animals or as my ex-hub used to say, they developed "target cross-hairs" between their ears.

Now trying to learn to trim a rose ear properly? Took me 10 years to learn how to trim without scalping my poor dog! (Thank goodness Shelties don't routinely come with rose ears!)
 
BarbV said:
The best guide you can get is the Illustrated Guide to Sheltie Grooming by Barb Ross

Lightplum is almost correct.

You can and should trim tipped ears, prick ears and hound dog ears slightly differently.

I don't have my book handy....I left it with my groomer....but for prick ears, don't trim in front of the ear too much.....just enough to keep it clean. If you trim too much, then you end up with "satellite ears".

You also don't want to trim alot of hair on the ear itself either. Every bit of extra weight will help the ear to droop a little.

Its the exact opposite with hound ears. Trim as much as you can in front of the ear to create the illusion of "space", and be fairly aggressive trimming the tips

Their are other techniques in the book that are helpful, but since I don't have it handy, its hard to give further tips.
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Wow, they sure are proud of this book! The cheapest I've seen it is on Amazon for $31.99 for paperback! I even seen one used for over $100:eek2:! If I'm wrong please correct me, but this is just what I've seen.
 
Define paperback.....its a book that is 8 x 11 inches on spiral - very handy, the spiral, for being able to flip the book while you are grooming and still keep the pages open.

$31.99 is not a lot if you think about how much you will spend in grooming if you have a salon do it for you. Expect at least $50-80 per groom depending on where you live.

I own a pet store, and it will definitely cost you less to get your dog groomed if the dog is already dematted

Ears is a personal choice, and the book is very helpful in helping you decide just how far you want to go.
 
ElleKayCee said:
Hmm.. okay, so here's a pic of his ears currently. Should I trim or leave em be? Im leaning towards the side of leaving them be.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e233/Lil_Flamez/Snowed-In/SAM_1002_zps91ec9527.jpg
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Its totally up to you. It really comes down to preference. If you wanted to you could trip the ends of the fur sticking up in front of the ear using thinning shears. Just be careful not to take too much off or it won't look natural.

If you know of a groomer who knows how to groom a sheltie or similar breed (Like Aussie), you could alway see if they'd be willing to demonstrate how to do it.
 
ElleKayCee said:
I took a look at the book and it's quite expensive! It was sold out at Chapters and the used copies were almost twice the price! A little over my budget for now, maybe when his adult coat comes in.

It was actually the front of the ear I was worried about. It has grown so long that it almost completely hides the insides of the ear. Just needing to trim that part makes it much easier. It's hard for me to accomplish much with a squirmy sheltie but we're working on it.

Thanks for all your input :smile2:
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I just checked, you can buy the Illustrated Guide to Sheltie Grooming at Mungo's Books for Dog People. They have it for $30.00 and they're a Canadian company. You won't get it any cheaper than that, especially from a Canadian source

Their web site isn't the best but they're really great people do deal with, I've ordered from them before. They also have a facebook page which is very informative.

http://www.mungosbooks.com/
 
OntarioSheltie said:
I just checked, you can buy the Illustrated Guide to Sheltie Grooming at Mungo's Books for Dog People. They have it for $30.00 and they're a Canadian company. You won't get it any cheaper than that, especially from a Canadian source

Their web site isn't the best but they're really great people do deal with, I've ordered from them before. They also have a facebook page which is very informative.

http://www.mungosbooks.com/
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Oh wow, that's great! Yeah, I noticed their catalogue was for 2010 so I hope they still have it in stock :fl

Thanks!
 
ElleKayCee said:
Oh wow, that's great! Yeah, I noticed their catalogue was for 2010 so I hope they still have it in stock :fl

Thanks!
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They do, I asked. :smile2:

They have one in stock. If you don't buy it then I probably will. :smile2:

Like I said, their web site isn't the greatest. You can either email them or 'Like' their facebook page to get in touch with them. They've always been quick to respond.
 
OntarioSheltie said:
They do, I asked. :smile2:

They have one in stock. If you don't buy it then I probably will. :smile2:

Like I said, their web site isn't the greatest. You can either email them or 'Like' their facebook page to get in touch with them. They've always been quick to respond.
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Oh dear, okay. I think it's only fair if you have it then :smile2: I recently bought a bunch of dog goodies online and was planning to wait a bit until I bought anything else.
 
ElleKayCee said:
Oh dear, okay. I think it's only fair if you have it then :smile2: I recently bought a bunch of dog goodies online and was planning to wait a bit until I bought anything else.
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Whatever works. Leigh, the lady who runs Mungo's told me that they had one in stock. I actually mentioned that I knew of someone else who might be interested in buying it. Leigh told me that she could have another copy available in approx. 4 weeks. :smile2:

Here's the link to Mungo's facebook page. Leigh is also a certified positive reinforcement trainer and is always posting really interesting information on training seminars with very reputable Canadian and US trainers (Like Ian Dunbar). I wish I lived closer to them!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mungos-Books-for-Dog-People/125809544142557?fref=ts
 
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