Dog Community

Need Rough Collie grooming tips

Posted : 2/14/2007 8:59:48 PM

Does anyone have some suggestions on good grooming products for a heavily-coated rough collie? Our younger dog, Zoe, is almost a year old and has the most coat I have ever tried to groom.We have an older collie, Ranger, but his coat is a piece of cake. I also had a chow for 14 years, but his coat was still different than these other two. To brush the collies, I use a pin brush, soft slicker brush, mat rake and metal comb.

Thanks!

spiritdogs

Posted : 2/15/2007 2:13:05 PM

One of the little tips I learned is to use a 30 tooth thinning shear to make the heavy part of the coat lie flatter. You never snip the top coat, you hold that up out of the way, and then you take just one snip of the undercoat (shear is flat, tines pointing up - be careful, and no more). Then, you use a slicker to brush out the thinned area. It just removes a bit of the undercoat, which helps the top coat lie better, and none of the top coat gets damaged.

willgroom4chocolate

Posted : 2/15/2007 2:30:30 PM

Never groomed a collie, but here is what I did for an enormous rescue sheltie:

Raked and combed the coat prior to bathing. I removed tons of dead coat and tangles. I bathed with coat handler shampoo, working it to the skin with a rubber zoom groom brush. After a thorough rinse, I applied de-matting conditioner. I let this soak a few minutes while the dog rested. After a long-lasting HV blow-dry, I raked through the coat again and again. When I dried the dog, I angled the hose to prevent the coat from knoting on itself.

Hope this helps. Collies/shelties take a lot of time and patience, as I'm sure you know![8D]

allison watson

Posted : 3/1/2007 10:34:05 PM

a soft slicker brush and a greyhound comb is a great start, an undercoat rake and i love the furminator to complete the finished look.

Cally01

Posted : 3/2/2007 11:39:09 AM

We groom many Collie's, line brushing is the best way to go. If you do bath Zoe wet brush him in the tub while the coat is suds up with a good conditioning shampoo. We have a special rubber slicker for wet brushing. This removes a ton of coat, non tight mats etc...it also cuts done on a lot of work.

Make sure that you line brush by holding up coat and working in sections when dry. Brush from the skin out, then after you can take a rake through...be careful not to pull.

Where Zoe is not quite a year he's probably holding onto a lot of puppy coat. He may grow out of that coat...but, then again he may just get neuter coat[sm=biggrin.gif] That's what happened to our Newf's lovely coat low maintence (for a Newf) while intact...then neuter or spay and boom...ton of coat.

kennel_keeper

Posted : 3/3/2007 6:19:21 AM

I do several Collies and used to do alot of brushing prior to the bath, combing during, and lots more brushing after the bath. Now I bath the dog (lathering twice), rinse VERY thoroughly, condition, rinse well, and then High Velocity dry (making sure not to cause whipknots). This alone gets out SO much of the undercoat and tangled coat and saves me alot of time (and wear/tear on my body), not to mention easier on the dog. After the dog is completely dry, I line brush (using a pin brush and slicker) the entire dog using a very good grooming spray as I work. I can then run my steel comb through the coat with no problems.
The dogs always look beautiful when they are done and one client always tips me $20 on top of the price for the groom.

mrv

Posted : 3/3/2007 8:54:50 AM

Mars Coat King, expensive but worth it and it will last just about forever.

Do back combing one time per week. Take your hand against the dogs body, push against the coat to lift the hair so the skin and undercoat is exposed. Slowly and carefully comb the trapped coat from under the hand. That will take out undercoat, beginning mats, etc.

One other expensive but worth considering option. Forced air dog dryer blow out coat very nicely,,,, you will have a blizzard and may wish to cover your nose with mask and your eyes with goggles.
Ah the joys of correct coat in herding dogs (harsh coated tervs)

Laurelin_429

Posted : 3/5/2007 12:19:12 AM

ORIGINAL: willgroom4chocolate

Hope this helps. Collies/shelties take a lot of time and patience, as I'm sure you know![8D]

You can say that again. My two shelties are a mess to groom.

timsdat

Posted : 3/5/2007 6:03:02 PM

I don't have collies but shelties with 2 that have very heavy coats.
My recomendations are:
1. A really good pin brush. Don't get the crap that they sell at petsmart etc. I use a Chris Christensen pin brush (I think that you can get them on the web). Best I've ever seen. They are expensive but mine is 6 years old with no signs of wear.
2. I good shedding comb (dual prong lengths). Mine is seven years old and I can't even find it anymore.
3. A really dog doggie hair drier. I recomend an Air Force Commander drier. Again expensive but worth it. Have had it for 6 years with no problems and it can dry my heavest pup in 15 minutes and can double as a leaf blower .
I have a rake but rarely use it as I line brush with either the brush or comb most of the time.
I use thinning shears only to get the wild hairs from around the ears and to shorted the frills on their legs.

Steve.

spiritdogs

Posted : 3/6/2007 7:55:26 AM

I didn't think of it earlier, but one of the best groomers in our area (that would not be me LOL), swears by Davis detangling shampoo. She used it on Sioux once, and the result was awesome.

brookcove

Posted : 3/6/2007 11:30:12 AM

Another vote for the Coat King. I love mine - BCs are obviously lots easier to maintain but the Mars makes short work of the job during shedding season. I have three BCs with a lot of coat plus the rescues are usually in need of remedial care.