Collie Grooming
Grooming a collie is one of the most important tasks you will undertake. You will find that with a couple hours of at home grooming work a week, your collie will maintain a beautiful, soft. luscious coat free of tangles and snarls. A professional groomer is really not needed if you dedicate yourself to the task at hand. Be aware though that the process of grooming involves more than just slapping a bristle brush on your collie's back a couple of strokes a week! Grooming involves the use of sprays, shampoos, conditioners, brushes, combs, detanglers, slicker brushes, and - most importantly - your hands!
Your hands are your collie's favorite part of you. You use them to hold him, stroke him, pet him, throw his ball, give him food, brush him, scratch his ears (and rear!), and to message his body. This hands-on approach should begin at a young age to get your collie use to the feeling of hands on each inch of his body. Your hands are a vital part of his lifelong health care as they can detect skin growths, abnormalities, lumps in the abdomen, sensitive spots, cuts and bruises.
Other parts to grooming include -
- Checking for abnormalities all over the body
- Removing tangles and mats from the collies fur
- Helping remove the downy undercoat when it's time for collies to "molt"
- Maintaining clean fur (thru regular bathing, misting, etc)
- Trimming back the nails
- Brushing teeth / maintaining good oral hygiene
Collies should be brushed daily. Using a pin brush, brush all over the coat, all the way to the skin, in the opposite direction that the hair lays (to loosen up and remove dead fur). Pay close attention to behind their ears, elbows, and rear flanks as these areas tend to mat quickly. Also, give your collie a bath every few weeks (or whenever they need it!) as it is a myth that dogs should only be bathed once a year. Use a high quality shampoo and conditioner and be sure to rinse thoroughly. Teeth need to be brushed, cleaned, and examined weekly. And nails should be trimmed back on a bi-weekly basis if your collie isn't getting adequate exercise space on rough terrain to help them stay trimmed.
With a little effort, your collie will stay the magnificent beauty that everyone knows to be "the Collie"!
