Undercoat removal
I need some seasoned sheepdog owner advice about the undercoat. Barney is always hot. His favorite day of the year was when the high was 20 degrees F. At the last trip to the groomer, I mentioned this. When I came to pick him up she said, "the problem is his undercoat is way too thick." Barney is not a show dog. I groom him thoroughly weekly. I don't mind if his undercoat is removed... BUT... Is it safe to remove part of it? Does it pull like crazy and hurt them? The groomer showed me the rake she used. Very wide teeth and only a few of them. She barely pulled it through and showed me how much came out. She said that air circulation is key. I know sheepies are different than other dogs that blow their coat twice a year and require that rake. I want Barney to be comfortable, but I also don't want to torture him if taking out part of the undercoat is painful. Advice? Thanks in advance. |
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| I don't know if it hurts or not. Isn't the comb a series of razor blades? We just kept our dogs in a puppy cut... |
| The comb the groomer used isn't razor blades. It looked like this: PetEdge Undercoat Rake. |
| It shouldn't hurt very much whether you use the rake with the razor blades or the one you linked to as long as the fur is already brushed out and matt free. Removing some of the undercoat should keep him cooler while also making it easier to keep the coat matt free. |
My OES is not show dog, but she is therapy dogs so I like to keep her in coat. Having said this, I DO rake the undercoat a couple times a week. Not having undercoat makes her "less' fluffy, BUT~~~she is also less likely to get mats and she stays cooler in the Midwest summers (I live in St. Louis, MO). IN the summer I also have my groomer "tunnel" the belly~~shave her belly. When she lays on the grass on in the shade she is cooling off since she has no hair on her underside~~my groomer shave up to the shawl, so when you look at her, you cannot tell she has no hair on her tummy. I works for me~~~~~ Keep us posted  |
| I live in the south east of the UK so we don't have very hot weather but gets hot enough for our sheepie to hide in the shade. I tend to brush him partly most days so that over 3 days he has had a "good brushing"-that removes various undergrowth along with his undercoat. I am carefull not to take much out in the winter-we live in an old house that isn't heated like some modern ones are, we have a rayburn and an open coal fire. I trim the backs of his legs and around his feet to help keep him clean as mucky roads and fields. Then in summer I take out most of his under coat and maybe trim him up a bit if he seems to be to hot. Have done this with all our old English over the years with no problems. xx |
Thank you all so much! I'm glad to know that this is a common technique. Barney will DEFINITELY let me know if it hurts.  He's getting his hair cut as we speak. I've ordered a rake and look forward to adding it to his weekly "beauty duty" routine. Thanks again! |
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