Border Collie - Keeping the white, white

Disclaimer:  I am not responsible for anything that may result from the trial of these products!  

That said.  I was researching ways to get stains from unknown sources out of Indie's fur after I first got him and found this:

http://www.brightsidewoolies.com/articles/getting_yellow_stains_out_of_whi.htm

I tried the Woolite product.  I only left it on, maybe 5 minutes, because I did not want to irritate his skin or cause any reactions or stinging or any of that stuff.  It worked pretty well.  Here's some before and afters:

Before:

After:

It's hard to see his underside but it did make a difference, especially on his tail tip and tummy.  His elbows still have slight stains remaining but I only put it on for 5 minutes max whenever he gets a bath, so it's been a slow fade rather than a big overnight change.  I just didn't want to irritate his skin with it.  I never found a shampoo that worked on the stains and preferred the Furminator products, so I just use the Woolite.

Good luck! 

I don't know if it is okay to use on dogs, but we used to use old-lady white hair shampoo on grey horses and any horses with white on their legs.  That stuff worked wonders!  In NC where I grew up, grey horses were pretty much always orange from the red clay, and that stuff got all the orange out.  You can get it anywhere - the stuff we used came in a silver bottle, and the shampoo is a dark purple color (weird, but it works!).

Go to a shop thats sells shampoos or the nearest grooming shop and ask for a "whitener" shampoo. Its really incredible and you can use it all over her body, but as far as short term whitening (daily) I'm not sure what to use. 

We just wipe their legs off very well everynight when it is muddy, we have not had a problem their white is always white.....I read somewhere that BC"s actually have something in their coats to help repel dirt, in our case this has to be the case because as much rain as we have hadm I have not had a problem.  Sorry not to be of any help!! 

I've been using a whitening shampoo on Shiner. It's Perfect Coat White Pearl. Not sure if that's a good shampoo over all, someone at Petsmart recommended it to me....it has helped on Shiners white parts. He was really badly stained when I got him and I could tell a difference after one use and even more after three or so uses.

 Here's a before...

And after...

Thanks everyone. I will go out and try to find some whitening shampoo. I wasn't sure if that would be okay on a white and black dog. With all the rain we are having my yard is a total mud pit. Our yard has a lot of red clay too. I think thats why is is staining. At the dog park (not clay) even if she gets muddy she still looks fine once she is dried and brushed out. It's just all of this red clay at our house.

Two keys:

One, once you have washed her to your satisfaction, stop washing her.  The more you wash, the more of the protective oil you strip from her coat and skin. It's a vicious cycle.  Just grit your teeth for a while and let her coat recover naturally.

Two, if you don't already, add fish oil to her diet.  Fish oil particularly, not plant oils.  Border Collies were developed in a region where fish was a central part of the diet and they really "bloom" on lots of fish in the diet.  Also add canned wild salmon and other fatty fishes a couple times a week. Give it a couple weeks and you should see a big difference.

Thanks! I am already adding fish oil, but I will add in some other canned fishes a few times a week.

I know I am bathing her too much right now. She is probably getting a bath once every week and a half. She just gets so dirty. Her and her brother go out and wrestle in the mud pit that is my back yard. I will do as you say and just try to ignore it for awhile.

 Have you tried a spray on - leave in conditioner? I use it on my dogs and it helps the dirt fall off. Aussies in general don't stay dirty when dry but the coat conditioner really helps. As soon as they are dry, I brush them and they are clean again (of course my carpet suffers though!)

Is there a specific product you use? I may give that a try. Thanks!

 hmm you're going to test my memory on little sleep! ;) Let me see if I can look them up. I know that one is Miracle Coat Spray on Conditioner (or something like that)
 

http://tinyurl.com/2h3b7f

 I can't think of the other one I've used off the top of my head. I liked them both - the Miracle Coat smelled a little better though (I hate strong scents and this one is subtle)

I made a similar post a month or so ago for my b/w Lhasa.  She's stained from red clay too:

http://community.dog.com/forums/t/74422.aspx

There were some suggestions in there that might help.

How about some good old Show Sheen that's used on horses?  I used to use it on Mick once in awhile.  If you use it, make sure to wash your hands with soap and water afterwards.  Not only did I have a hard time getting a grip on the steeringwheel after using it, I also had a hard time holding onto my leather lead. 

micksmom

How about some good old Show Sheen that's used on horses?  I used to use it on Mick once in awhile.  If you use it, make sure to wash your hands with soap and water afterwards.  Not only did I have a hard time getting a grip on the steeringwheel after using it, I also had a hard time holding onto my leather lead. 

It's actually not a good idea to use a silicone protectant on dog hair, unless very temporarily (use it for a particular look, then wash immediately afterwards).  It not only keeps the dirt off the hair, it also keeps the natural oils from getting to the hair shaft as well, and you'll get drying and breaking pretty quickly.

What most of us with BCs do when they just get really nasty muddy, is hose down, towel off legs and feet, and then crate for a few minutes until your dog is drip dried.  Or just do what I do and let the wet dogs run around the house - it's 80 year old wood floors in here, damp dogs aren't going to hurt them!  It's not water that strips the coat, it's soap, so there's no limit to how much rinsing you can do!

Then when your dog is dry, brush her out thoroughly if you don't want the dirt to fall all over the house.  Again, I just vacuum frequently.