Grooming when letting hair grow out questions
We have been brushing her twice a week and hitting the occasional trouble spot in between. This grooming also includes butt trims, paw trims and between paw pad trims as needed. We also clean her ears and trim her nails. We plan on trimming her face when it gets too long. She doesn't get very dirty...we have no yard so she gets walks on the leash and playtime indoors at doggy daycare. So my questions are... How often should we bathe her? Do we need to get her hair trimmed as it is growing out? Or just let it grow? |
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| Bath when dirty. Sometimes just the face, butt and paws/legs are enough. The trimming that you are describing should be sufficient.
Bring on the tough questions!! |
| Well...I was asking because when I picked Iz up from daycare yesterday the groomer said that I really need to bring her in for a cut. I explained that we bathe and brush and trim ourselves. She then said that even if we are growing the fur out she still needs to have all her fur trimmed occasionally...something about split ends and such. It seemed like nonsense to me since I spend so much time here reading about grooming and had read nothing about it. I was thinking maybe she just isn't as familiar with OES as she thinks she is. So I thought I would ask. |
Or she wants you to pay for grooming.  |
ButtersStotch wrote: Or she wants you to pay for grooming.
That thought crossed my mind too. |
That sounds like she was groping for an answer after you told her Izzie was growing her coat out.  |
| She also said something about being able to randomly run a comb through the hair without resistance...and if you can't you need to trim. It seems to be that by nature the wiry fur of OES would often put up resistance even directly after grooming. Maybe she is just more familiar with other breeds?
Also another random question...when I say we give Izzie a bath...I really mean a shower. She is never actually submerged in any water. Is she supposed to be? I always hear bath's, but I assume people mean showers? |
| We use our bathtub. I fill it to start with about 6 inches of water. We used to have a handheld shower attachment - that was the best! Easy to wet the whole dog, and rinse. Our Ollie loved the shower part too - we would turn it on and he would stand there turning his face up into the water - I swear he was smiling.
Since then we have replaced the shower part (no handheld part), so Chewie gets a tub bath and we rinsed with large plastic cups. It was a pain!! I bought one of those adapters that fits over your water spigot, but it doesn't work. We now have Chewie trained to lay in the water, so now rinsing is easier, and I know he gets cleaner. We wash, let out the water, then use clean rinse water. I think it uses about the same amount of water as showering. I feel his belly parts actually get cleaner with a good soaking.  He loves water, so laying in it is no trouble. We actually have to make him stand up after we're done!
The times we only wash the white parts, that works really easy to get him clean. |
got sheep wrote: We used to have a handheld shower attachment - that was the best!
We have a tub/shower and have the shower head that detaches...really helps with the belly washing and rinsing!! |
| We bath Violet on the average of twice a month. I try to get her to the groomers at least every 6 weeks because I do not do the nail cutting and brown hair removal. I will also say, I do not "show" Violet, she is our family's pet. I wash her with shampoo, use conditioner and detangler. I do this so there will not be any mats. I brush her out everyother day, unless she needs a quick brush through. I do bath her in the bathtub, but it is really a shower. I have the detachable shower head and that is what I used to wet her and rinse her. I can get into her hair better with a shower head. She stands the whole time she is being washed. I thank Paul from the OES Rescue of St Petersburg Fl. for training her when she was a pup, so well when it comes to her being patient while she is being groomed.
I will tell you, I am not an expert. I am not a groomer and have no experience what so ever in "showing" a dog. This just works for Violet and me. I must caution you though, that other members have pointed out that you have to be careful not to dry out their skin so I may be washing too often. You just need to bear that advise in mind. My experience with Violet, so far (3 yrs) has been that she has shown no signs of dry skin ect. Now China my Aussie Shepherd on the other hand, runs like the wind in the other direction when she "hears" it is bathtime lol. You gotta lov'em Oh I forgot to mention, I am also letting Violet's hair grow out and will not have anyone trim it until I feel it looks shaggy where it needs to be trimmed. Best of luck, |
| Panda is also in the growing out stage...I bathe her about once a month with brushing every other day....I have another question though....
since i have always cut her hair short on her muzzle, now that it is growing in, it is growing up into her eyes...how do i train that to lay flat? |
| You guys are crazy bathers! Clyde gets a bath every few months-- if he's lucky! He really doesn't need it. I'll do face and butt washings when necessary but that's about it. As long as it isn't physically dirty or stinky, I don't see a reason for it.
Darcy wrote: since i have always cut her hair short on her muzzle, now that it is growing in, it is growing up into her eyes...how do i train that to lay flat?
I believe that's a trim or wait situation. Clyde's are sticking in his eyes now and I really want to cut them but I know they need to grow out. |
Chewie's face hairs are the same too. They just need to grow some more....  Kind of like that awkward stage growing human bangs out.
Chewie gets his whites washed every week. On grooming day. I only wash all of him if he needs it. Being on a farm, he gets into stuff, so perhaps he is bathed more than other dogs. He lives in the house, so we need to compromise . He also gets lots of foot baths. He is great about having each foot washed in the mop pail. Chewie says "welcome to my life!" |
| Bosley was trimmed short in May and is now being grown out . He has been bathed twice this year so far. I do the ears, nails, butt and face wipes myself.
Dixie gets trimmed every 6 weeks about and bathed with medicated champoo about every couple months or so. Only because we want to keep a close eye on her skin by keeping the fur fairly short and the skin clean. If the dog is brushed out on a regular basis, doesn't stick, and doesn't get into anything yucky, I wouldn't bath often. |
| I think that your groomer is fishing too. If you aren't brushing correctly then you can break the hair which will cause more matts, maybe that's what she was talking about. When they start to smell like a dog, they need a bath. Definitely use a conditioner when you wash, just like human hair, it needs some lovin' to stay nice. If you use some leave in conditioner while brushing, that will help too.
When she refers to the random combing, she's probably thinking that you won't be able to handle the brushing. You'll think that you're getting all the way through but you aren't and then you'll come crying to her when your dog is all matted and gross again. If you just line brush, making sure that you get all the way to the skin with every brushing then follow up by running a wide tooth comb through the coat, you'll find trouble spots and knots. Give it a shot! If you get bored or tired of it or it starts to get out of control, just shave it off and start again. I've heard it grows back!  You'll do fine. |
Maxmm wrote: I've heard it grows back!
I've heard this too . I am a huge fan of both long and short haired sheepies...so no stress if we have to do a shavedown.
I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything right. I have a feeling that this growing the hair out experiment will only last as long as our patience with grooming...Izzie isn't a fan of brushing  ...so she is probably voting for a shavedown. |
got sheep wrote: We used to have a handheld shower attachment - that was the best! Dawn,
[...] Since then we have replaced the shower part (no handheld part), so Chewie gets a tub bath and we rinsed with large plastic cups. It was a pain!! Installing a handheld attachment is usually pretty easy, unless your plumbing is very very old (or you don't have a shower head at all). The attachment that goes over the lower spigot won't work if you have the newer all-in-one valving system. The system works by allowing the water to flow out of the spigot by default, it flows out of the shower head when the switch is moved and the valve just blocks the spigot. Putting the adapter over the spigot acts just like the valve and raises the water pressure so that it will just travel up the pipe and come out of the shower head instead of the attachment wand. I found this out 14 years ago through personal experience too. 
If the problem is you guys don't like to use a shower with a handheld attachment yourselves, I'm pretty sure they make an adapter that fits between the pipe and the shower head that will allow you to attach a handheld to it, and switch back and forth between the handheld and the normal shower head. We just installed a handheld device at the shower pipe, and use that for human or dog. It also has a little bracket that hangs the handheld into a position that's sort of like a normal shower head. |
| eh hem, cough, point.
http://forum.repair-place.com/ |
| OMG, there is a site for everything!!!
And yes, I have ancient plumbing. The spigot and knobs are out of a short (24 inch)wall. The showerhead is one used for a clawfoot tub - otherwise there would be nothing to hook it to! |
| RE: split ends.
I've never had my dogs clipped down, even into a puppy cut. Merlin went almost 14 years with NO split ends. The groomer is fishing for money and either isn't very knowledgeable or wants to keep you that way. I'd shop for someone else. |
tgir wrote: RE: split ends.
I've never had my dogs clipped down, even into a puppy cut. Merlin went almost 14 years with NO split ends.. I don't know if I would call them "split ends" but you can cut the tips (1/2 - 1 inch ) off every month or so as they do get kind of scraggly & unkempt. It all depends on whether you really care or not. Only did this for a show coat to make the coat appear more full instead of flying around. |
| hehehh your gromer need money if you dont have much time for grooming every day its ok. Bruno is now 5 month old and have short hair (still). Earlier i have 2 OES in same time its lot of job to groom everything so i made compromise every day i groom both of them but only 15 min, and i groom specific places behin ears, betwen legs, elbows(i think thats the word ) and head, Every 5-6 days i give him full grooming. Now, that depend which kind of heir they have do they have hard heir or soft one (like pupies but loooong ). I have both of them and i know that soft one os nightmare for groming. I didnt cut their heir never.
Bruno is outside and i didnt bath him jet becouse is too cold. And hi smels little although i bath him hi will find to lay somevere 
i hope so that you understand what i want to say |
| I am just thinking that the groomer isn't too familiar with OES. Izzie goes there 3 times a week for doggie daycare. I don't know of any other OES that they groom, but I know that the owner/groomer(different from the one who spoke to me) does show another breed...which one escapes me now. Maybe Collies and I know they also have Poodles...so they may be basing suggestions off of their experience. I really like them and the job they do when I do have them groom Iz...so I won't be switching groomers...just ignoring suggestions
They have also been softly "pressuring" people to make appointments before the holidays. I think this is mostly so that people don't call at the last minute and the groomer is unavailable. Given the amount of time that Izzie would take, they may want to make sure that I don't get upset if they can't fit her in later. Thanks for all the tips everyone!!!  |
| I have never shaved down my Sheepies due to my preference. I did trim our first Sheepie down to 4 inches all over to remove the faded brown hair (she was an outside girl before I married her owner). I used a ruler to measure the length (guess who is OCD).
I spend one evening a week combing out each of the girls. I can comb one out in less than an hour, depending on the seasom. I don't trim nails, but will do the rest of it myself. Bailey has very long hair (I am afraid to measure it), while Riley has a much shorter coat (4-6 inches). I really don't find much difference in maintenance for them. When I have time, I will do a quick brush through with a rake on other days. Combing out before a bath is critical, howver. Otherwise you are likely to end up with mats that remind me of felt. And they look gorgeous running with the flowing hair. |
Hi everyone, Had my 2 sheepies shaved the begining of Sept. due to too much camping and not enough grooming  Ihave always kept them in a full coat. How long will it take for their coats to grow out? thanks loried |
| You'll get about an inch of growth per month. It comes back faster than you expect! |
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