Coat condition and grooming tips
She started off with a lovely coat.. but as of late its gotten rather scruffy: 
so what advice can you grooming experts give me in order to keep her coat in a better fashion. I read somewhere about a conditioners to spray on them while you are grooming.. what brands are best.. i assume these are pre-mixed ones? Also when I bathe her i use one of those brands that is shampoo & conditioner... are these acceptable or would a split one be best.. I then blow dry her down (altho this take awhile as she loves to play with the blowdryer and at this point i would rather have her do that then run away terrified) and comb her through.. after a good combing and she is dry i then you the bristle brush to fluff her up.. am i doing something in the wrong order or what.. i just cant seem to keep her from looking like a scruffy pup 10 minutes later.. maybe its the humidity down here... would that affect her coat? We are working hard on her obedience and i am slowly learning to groom her. Trying to learn with this pup so far has been amazing fun.. she is turning out to be one of the best dogs I have ever owned. I thought our Guiness was a smart, fabu dog.. but Bell.. she is something else.. we got a good one.. and i want to make sure we treat her right . =) thanks in advance |
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| Tanks,
Glad to see you are happy with Bell, these Bobtails really are very special dogs!! Anyway, about your grooming/bathing questions. I would strongly recommend AGAINST using combination shampoo/conditioners for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it isn't so important while Bell is a puppy but, as she gets older the combination shampoos will tend to soften her grizzle coat more than is should be and then her coat will loose much of it's water resistance. Second, the combination shampoo/conditioners are much harder to rinse out than the individual shampoos and conditioners. When bathing any dog you need to thoroughly rinse out the conditioner to help in drying the dog and getting that fluffy 'full bodied" look. It is also very important to get all shampoo and conditioner residue to prevent dry skin and irritation. I have posted on shampoo options and choices a number of times, most recently at: http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?p=160381#160381 My post is the eight in that thread and references links to more posts. When brushing it is often useful to"spritz" the coat with a leave-in conditioner spray. Any good quality leave-in conditioner, such as Infusion 23, will do but make sure to dilute it down. As a starting point "cut it" 1 part conditioner to 3 parts water. Make sure it is well shook each time you spritz with it (not just before each session but before each individual spritzing) and just put a very light "misting" over the area of coat being groomed. Don't spritz an area any larger than that which you can groom in 5 minutes or so. If the spray leaves a residue thin it out some more until there is no residue and the hair brushes out to a naturally dry look. Any greasyness or "clumping" of the hair will attract dirt, contribute to matting and ultimately soften the the coat. I can't tell your level of grooming experience from this post but if you need some help in grooming methodolgy try checking out my line grooming photo essay linked through thread: http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=11885 or directly by clicking on my www button at the end of this post and selecting "line grooming essay" at the lower left of our home page. I hope this is of help to you. As ever don't hesitate to ask if you have further questions about the information in any of these links or if you need more in-depth help. There are many helpful knowledgable people her and we'll all be gald to "pitch-in" with caring for Bell. Thanks and Cheers Carl |
The indepth Line grooming essay that Carl has done is a definate to have stored on your favourites on the Computer.  I have never seen such a great help there & such detail for a person learning to groom there OES.
Carl is the Man. You know Carl I am still trying to sneak the girls into Canada for the teeth scaling rotation.  Maybe one day you could post instructions and a pictorial on that procedure too, it would be greatly appreciated, I know you value your fingers but Hey, we need details and pictures of how far up you go on the teeth to de-scale them & the tool you use for that. 
The other thing, is how old is Bell now and is she coat changing, that is little bits of grey starting to emerge around the top of the hock area, back of the legs or across the shoulders? That can make them quite scrappy doo at that time. |
| lisaoes ...Bell is coming up on 6 months now.. only really color changes are slight touches of grey on one ear.. her other ear the black is getting more visable.. Her haunches .. she has has a strealing of grey there for over a month now.. not as much as on her ear tho...
and thanks tons Carl.. i have your guide printed out and refer to it often.. its been a HUGE help! As for my grooming expiernce.. i would say that 98% of my previous dogs have been of the short hair/slick coat type... other 2 % have been border collie medium hair.. Bell's hair is already coming up on 6 inches long.. so nothing in the lines of long haired pups.. hence why i want to check .. double check n such. =) I shall get a new shampoo and seperate conditioner and give that a whirl on her next bath.. which looks like it might have to be soon .. she doesnt half love to get dirty ..
just noticed i posted wrong pic and i cant edit that post for some reason O.o:  |
| Bell is sooo cute! She looks like she is wearing a black cardigan over a white fluffy jumper! How sweet! |
| I don't have any real new advice. We groom the whole body weekly, and small mini sessions as time allows.
If you plan on keeping a longer coat on Bell, you will appreciate the time and discipline spent now later on when their coat gets more challenging. 10 - 12 mos was bad with Chewie - almost daily mats forming d/t the 1st coat transition. Things are alot more manageable now. We are all happy campers!
Bell is so cute too! Thanks for a new picture. |
| Re: mouthing while grooming. It will be very useful for you to teach Belle the command "off" meaning keep your mouth off that.
It's a simple command to learn, requiring much more discipline on the part of the trainer than the dog. Have a small bit (several, really) of some acceptable treat and offer it to Belle, preferably after she's sitting nicely, if that's how you've trained her. Start by giving her a small bit. Then, hold out another, and when she reaches for it, say "Off" If she backs down even a teeny bit, give her the treat. If she continues to reach for it, close it up in your hand, wait, and offer again, with the off command. Keep repeating until she waits a tiny bit to take it---say "OK" so that she knows when she can take it. I'm describing it badly, but you want to incrementally increase her willingness to wait for a treat or to leave a treat when you say off. This comes in very handy not only for waiting for treats (important if you are treating multiple dogs and want to treat a specific dog at a specific moment), but for lots of other things: like that dropped cookie, or chicken bone or whatever. You want your dog to become willing to NOT put their mouths on whatever tempting thing they see. This will extend to putting her mouth on you when you are doing something she finds intrusive, or uncomfortable, such as brushing. When she learns "Off" very well, apply it to her mouth on or approaching your hand or brush. Praise when she stops. Do NOT move your hand away. This is the hard part. Moving your hand (with or without a treat in it) triggers the dog's instinct to follow a lure, so it's counter productive. Note: My dogs are able to understand by context Off applying to their mouth and off applying to say, the couch or bed when I want them off of the furniture. Also, keep grooming sessions short enough to be fun. Of course, there will be times when she requires more time than she wants to give you, but for most cases, try to make it a fun, relaxing and bonding time, even if she isn't always perfectly groomed. |
| We use the command "leave it" for mouthing the brush or putting anything else in the mouth we don't want in the mouth...we use "off" for jumping and climbing on the counter or couch, etc...whatever your comand word is, use it always and stick with it and be sure all family members to use the same word or the dog will get confused...
Personally, I find a treat in one hand while I brush with the other works wonders for keeping the mouth away from the brush I too have a puppy going on six months! |
| we use off for furniture and the kids =) ..when she "mouths" stuff we use "no mouth".. she has gone from full mouthing to i suppose something more kin to nibbling now but its still abit of a booger trying to comb her down. She mostly does it when I attempt to comb/brush her head/face.. she goes after the brush if i do her legs.. i think its still mostly down to her being a puppy and wanting to play play play..
I really appriciate all the tips and shall have a go at your suggestions on the conditioner Carl.. guess once i get her no mouthing sorted out and have her holdign still for the brush/combing i really need to work on the dryer is not a toy.. she loves getting a face full of the dryer then bloting like a nutty tart around the room .. gwad thats too funny to see =D |
Belle has grown into such a lovely young sheepie-girl!  |
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