To Clip or Not to Clip...That is the Question
Purely out of curiousity as one of your UK cousins, and a fairly new OES owner.....why is it that most of the sheepies I see from the US are clipped? Is that that most posters are from warmer parts of the country? Or isn't everyone as addicted to the full coat look as I am? I do of course realise that thier wonderful dopey, clownish and above all lovable personaities shine through no matter what..  ....just curious....
Mikey http://groups.msn.com/mjpix/shoebox.msnw |
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| Max was clipped for a while, but not by choice. I took him to a groomer that was reccomended by his breeder. And I ask for a trim. When I went to pick him up she had shaved him completely to the skin. I wasn't even sure I I had the right dog when I left the shop. Max acted so depressed after that, that I haven't had the heart to have him to the groomer again. So I guess I will be leaving him in a full coat. I think it's just a matter of choice. |
| On the Texas Gulf Coast it only goes below freezing 2-3 days in the year. It is usually 80% humidity, which means you cannot cool off when you sweat. Sweat doesn't evaporate and neither does the water on a dog's tongue. But my dog needs to get out and run. She is a VERY unhappy dog if she is kept inside all day.
But I do not shave her all the way. I have decided that I want her to see, I do not want water all over the floor, and I want her to look and smell clean. So, I shave her face, her rear back and rear and every bit of hair is shaved off her stomach and feet. She has a four inch coat on her chest and sides and what I call her ruff. It is a modified lions cut for a poodle, which I used to own a while back. I was living in a cooler part of Argentina when Abbi came to my home. We only shaved her once there --she had a skin problem. I enjoy Abbi as a best friend and she doesn't mind not having the hair. We can keep fire ants and other pest off her much better without all of that hair. She can see if the girls are about to walk on her and we have more harmony in the house. And a lot less hair. And any of my three daughters can groom her in 20 minutes or less. So she is groomed almost every day and loves it. Every 5 weeks I have to trim her again, but I am enjoy doing it. We all love looking at CLASSIC sheep dogs. Our whole family has a deep admiration for anyone who can keep their dogs mat free and happy. It just didn't work for us. |
| I have Max in a puppy cut for the summer so he can swim and get muddy and be dog without having to spend hours dematting him afterwards. Max is a great swimmer and loves the water. Sometimes he gets into the car after a trip in the woods completly black from mud, but when it drys, it brushes right out.
I live in Massachusetts where the climate is very similar to England. |
Truman wears a full coat sometimes and a clipped coat others. It depends on the heat, and his mom's ability to handle his tangles  |
| Our Bam-Bam was born in Miss. and raised in Florida. So he knows what heat and humidity is. We have managed to keep him in full coat with the line brushing method. (Taking turns of course) They can be a lot of dog in the grooming dept. We have tried hard to keep that undercoat thinned out during the summer months. He is out more than he is indoors and I will sometimes find him lying in the direct sun in the hottest part of the day,so obviously his coat does not cause him that much discomfort. (So far, So good) and my husband wants a second OES!!!!!! We may be singing a different tune in the future. |
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