Grooming

Hi there so if you have clicked on this page you must be interested in grooming so here goes , I will try tell you what I do the best I can ,  I have many roughs and just love to groom them, the tips that I use have been nicked from many other breeders but they work,  I have just adapted some of them and use cheats as that is quicker.

You must groom the collie in small areas as this is the best way to make sure you don’t miss any areas, and make sure you groom down to the skin. A lot of work I hear you say, no not if your collie has the correct fitted jacket.

Main body 

I lightly spray the whole dog and using a pin brush ,  I brush all the dog the wrong way (fur upwards) then brush back down if I find any knots I use a comb and comb them out if the knot its to thick to comb out then I rub some conditioner into the knot and leave (will come back too that) whilst carrying on the grooming.

I always start at the underneath of each area and then work up wards so you finish at the top of the dog.

Front leg and Shoulder -

I start at the top of the front leg on the side under the shoulder, I spray that area with either water or a grooming spray, you need to make the coat more damp than before but not soaking , then I use my arm and pull the fur upwards so you can see the skin and using a pin brush to brush downwards using small strokes until that area has been brushed same as back brushing our hair , remember to keep respraying the fur.

Neck- 

To do the neck where the white collar is you again spray the coat. On the back of the neck you brush upwards towards the nose,  you do this all around the neck and onto the shoulders, for underneath the chin and onto the chest spray and then as before hold the fur up with one arm then back brush down.

Ears -

Now for the ears, using the comb dampen the fur behind the ear then check for any knots if there are any and they are very small cut them off if too big then try rubbing in the conditioner and leave (will come back too that) use a comb and comb the ears , both on the ear and down the side and behind the ear. A TRICK use either cornflour or a little oil (not both) rub either into the fur behind the ear and you wont get any knots (just keep eye on it and when the oil or the cornflour wears off then re apply)

Leg's- 

Now for the legs the front legs have what is known as feathers. These are one of the things that give the rough its style so don’t cut them. Spray the feather one leg at a time , comb the fur remembering to be gentle, as before if there is a knot conditioner rub it in and leave.  If the feathers are very knotted just re spray and comb again worth doing well.

Arm pits -

Now the arm pits, yes many forget about this part on the collie, arm pits get knotted and is very sensitive for the collie, so a CHEAT is to cut out the fur and keep that area short this part of the collie cannot be seen so no one will ever know.

Tail

The tail. This is one of the areas the collie does not like you grooming so take care and be kind don’t pull hard, I spray the tail both on the top and underneath run your hand from base of tail all the way down to the end, then hold the tail quite tightly at the base and brush using the pin brush from top to bottom then hold the tail again in same way and use the brush brushing from the bone downwards.

Trousers or the skirts

Now for the hardest part. The trousers or the skirts depending on gender. Again spray rub in the water/ grooming spray as the fur here is much denser so you might have to repeat this often, as before use one arm hold up the coat and back brush using the pin brush down wards if knots gently cut out by cutting into the knot either upwards or downwards into the middle of the knot.

Feet and pads and hocks

The collie has paws that are covered in fur this is too stop the foot being frozen in winter and to keep the pads from getting damaged by terrain, but in our modern living we often have slippery floors, and if you wish to show your collie you will have to trim the fur on the feet and on the hocks.

For the feet, you will need sharp scissors and hold the foot in one hand and cut the fur off level with the pad , then put foot down and cut around the foot so no fur is over hanging, you will need to keep the nails short by either letting them walking on concrete as much as you can or using nail clippers. You will see that the foot looks small and arched which is what you are trying to achieve.

Now for the Hocks, these are the back legs which has fur growing and it get knotted and straggly, get the collie to stand preferable on a table, then hold the leg at the top where the elbow is and using a small square slicker brush to , brush the fur outwards so its standing out then using the scissors either cut straight down from top to bottom or you can be a bit more arty and cut in a crescent shape again from top to bottom. Cut the back feet out the same as the front ones and then there is a bit of fur called a frog its located where the pads of the foot meet the fur on the back leg,  it sits back in a sort of dent cut that out in a straight line going across.

TIP remember when cutting the nails to look at the dew claw (this is situated just inside the front legs about a quarter of the way up, one on each front leg

Where you left the conditioners

Know for the parts which you have left the conditioner in. Go to the area where the conditioner is spray it and then use comb, comb gently and keep combing till the knot is out, it should come out easily now as you used the conditioners 

Once you have groomed all the collie in this way then using just the pin brush go through the whole collie just brushing towards the tail, do all the dog and once you are happy with the result then finally use a groom spray to lightly spray the collie all over and leave let it dry naturally don’t over spray you are looking for a fine spray.

what equipment I use 

The blue handled scissors have a rounded end and are used for general cutting.

The other pair of scissors are called thinning scissors and are used for shaping the fur around the feet and also for the ears.

The comb has two rows of teeth, this gives overall combing through thick fur.

The small oblong brush is a slicker brush and is used for the brushing of the hock fur and can also be used behind the ears.

The Black brush is used on small pups to get them used to being brushed, it can also be used as a finishing brush, when the collie has been fully brushed , you can then use this brush to give an over all shine and finish.

The small round brush is very soft and can be used on small pups to get them used to being brushed, also it can be used to add cornflour behind the ears to keep knots from returning .

These are all the brushes and comb I use and the only two type of scissors I use. Please remember don’t pay a fortune for your brushes 

Video will be coming soon explaning everything.