shamrockmommy
Posted : 6/9/2008 8:05:57 AM
Thanks to everyone for their replies. It has definitley given me lots to think about. DH still adores them and I do too, and I'm prepared to handle the hair, the training, and (eek) the extra costs. Although, I will say that I wouldnt' mind some fluffyish shelter pup too. It's gotta have some hair! :)
I had a great grooming post for Hot Shot's mom and then my 1 yr old came over and pressed some button which deleted the whole entire thing!
Here is how I groom the long haired dogs like bmd's, and goldens are groomed very similarly as well: Use a grooming/leave in spray with a silicone in it. This will greatly help with the brushing. I even use Infusium 23 leave in conditioner, put in a spray bottle. Spritz the dog all over lightly, get the tail and rear fairly good, as there's a lotta hair there! You can even soak mats with it and pull the mat apart with your hands carefully and work it out.
Ok, so once you've spritzed the dog, use your slicker brush or pin brush (slicker for very heavy coats and shedding) and brush from the tail toward the head. Follow through with a rake comb or a "greyhound" comb (have no idea why it's called that but it's a metal comb, typically with fine/coarse tines) Make sure you comb all the way down to the skin to be sure you've gotten all the tangles out. Major areas that like to tangle/mat are: behind the ears, armpits, between the back legs, tail and rear feathers. Pay extra attention to those areas. Spritz as necessary.
You can use thinning shears to trim the fuzzies off the ears and give a neat appearance. Or maybe you really like the ear fuzzies, you can leave 'em if you want. Use a clippers or a small scissors to trim all that pad hair. It will help them grip on slick floors and also stop them from dragging in so much dirt/grass/leaves. You can also use the thinning shears to trim the back of the rear foot. http://www.bmdca.org/info_sheets/grooming.pdf here is an excellent page on grooming the BMD.
So yes, excited, and we'll see what the future brings for us. I'll keep everyone posted and thanks so much for all teh thoughts!