Trimming a sprollie

Discussion of grooming tips and questions.

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elisa
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:11 am
Location: Finland
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Trimming a sprollie

Post by elisa »

So my border collie - working springer cross girl is now 2 years and 3 months old and her fur is a mess. She used to be all sleek and easy and I would just trim her ears to avoid tangles and then trim her paws a bit. But now she has these super long hairs on her sides and then this weird fluff on her legs and I just don't know what to do about it. I spent like an hour yesterday cutting the long bits and her ear hairs and now she looks more like someone is actually taking care of her...

I guess the question is what to do with the fluff? Right now it is super bad because it collects these huge snow balls.

I don't want to take her to a trimmer as she is not used to being trimmed. I do it by just having her in my lap on the floor and she likes that, but is not used to standing up getting trimmed.

I guess her hair is more springer-like, so what is usually done to springers? And what tools are good?

(She was spayed a year ago, 3 months after her first season. She has now been eating Applaws dry food for like 5 months and before this it was Arden Grange. Granted she is a bit too heavy now due to being fed too much on the better food. I've been working abroad for 6 months so it has been my boyfriend taking care of her. She has this small spot on her elbow that does not have hair and the skin is flaky, it might just be that she has scraped it in the woods sometime. Will be watching that. The temperature is like -10 to -20 °C here and the air is dry. She did have a bit of dandruff on her back, but nothing much taking into account that I spent half the day brushing and massaging her.)

Oh but her tail is gorgeous. :D
The best friend of Ansa the sprollie since autumn 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AnsaTheSprollie
Train with your brain. :)
gwd
Posts: 1958
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:33 pm

Re: Trimming a sprollie

Post by gwd »

if you could post me a picture or two and i'll give some grooming ideas!
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elisa
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:11 am
Location: Finland
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Re: Trimming a sprollie

Post by elisa »

Hi gwd, I thought you would be able to help. :)

Here is a link to some pics: https://plus.google.com/photos/10275838 ... pjWj5rFpQE

Let's see if I can post a general pic here.
Image

Now this is after some trimming. Like the hairs on the back of her front legs get very long and also, though you can not see it here, her butt hairs also like touched the ground before I shortened them. Also it seems like a third of her hairs on her back grow like super long and I cut those shorter. I think the biggest question is what to do with her "wool pants" - legs. I'm afraid if I touch those I will just mess it up. (Ok they are quite cute, but not very handy.)

Thanks!
The best friend of Ansa the sprollie since autumn 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AnsaTheSprollie
Train with your brain. :)
gwd
Posts: 1958
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:33 pm

Re: Trimming a sprollie

Post by gwd »

what a pretty girl!!! i couldn't imagine the combination but what a lovely mix. with those two energetic and bright breeds, i'm sure she keeps you on your toes! :lol:

i think you can get by with not too many tools to keep her looking neat and tidy. must haves are: a wide metal comb, a pin brush , a pair of straight shears and a pair of thinning shears.

in the 'nice to have' category i'd add a mars coat king

the link will show you the different results with various blade sizes on several different breeds.

since a picture is worth a thousand words, i'm just going to link to some sites where people have done a good job at diagramming!

feet


this site will give you pictures for grooming vent, hocks and also feet.

her tail is lovely! you can take a bit off to make it more manageable ......in this case i'd treat it like a golden tail.

here are directions for the tail

if there are other areas you want to take shorter let me know and i'll go into more detail.
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elisa
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:11 am
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Re: Trimming a sprollie

Post by elisa »

Thanks gwd!
I got the thinning shears (super expensive Mars ones, there is nothing more annoying than bad scissors) and a comb. Already had good enough normal shears and a pin brush. Tested the mars coat king but sort of half forgot to take one home. Will see what I can get done with the thinning shears. They seem great. Started with the paws and got all of them almost done until Ansa got tired of it. I will continue later and maybe post pics of the results, if I have time.

Luckily her hair is not like the field spaniel's in one of the instructions. :D

Ansa certainly is smart and energetic though she has calmed down now that she is two. So she is only crazy outside. ;D
The best friend of Ansa the sprollie since autumn 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AnsaTheSprollie
Train with your brain. :)
elisa
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:11 am
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: Trimming a sprollie

Post by elisa »

Finally managed to "finish" so here are some pics. :)
(The album if the pics don't show here. https://plus.google.com/photos/10275838 ... 1PzV-KmZLw)
I don't know if anyone will notice a difference, but there is a lot less fur. :) I'm sure I'll get better at the trimming eventually.
Image
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The best friend of Ansa the sprollie since autumn 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AnsaTheSprollie
Train with your brain. :)
gwd
Posts: 1958
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:33 pm

Re: Trimming a sprollie

Post by gwd »

elisa wrote: I don't know if anyone will notice a difference, but there is a lot less fur. :) I'm sure I'll get better at the trimming eventually.
no, i can mos def tell. you were able to get a ton of hair off and yet make it still look natural ......which of course is the goal.

you might want to take a bit more off the feet and hocks as i've found keeping them groomed tight really makes a difference when it comes to keeping my floor clean. the less hair on the feet and hocks, the less stuff they bring in (small leaves, dead grass, etc)

but you did a nice job, and you're right, you'll get more comfortable about what and how much to take off.
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OnceInAWeil
Posts: 431
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 4:20 pm
Location: AZ, USA

Re: Trimming a sprollie

Post by OnceInAWeil »

My, what big eyes she has! Nothing helpful to add, just wanted to say she's gorgeous. :D
elisa
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:11 am
Location: Finland
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Re: Trimming a sprollie

Post by elisa »

Heh, thanks OnceInAWeil, she is a very nice looking dog, if I say so myself. :)

And thanks gwd. Sadly I have to wait 6 months again to see her due to my work situation. I'm sure she will need loads of trimming then too. :D My OH is not very good with trimming a dog. He just snips off here and there and does not have the patience to do a proper trim. But otherwise he is very good at taking care of her so I am not complaining. :)
The best friend of Ansa the sprollie since autumn 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AnsaTheSprollie
Train with your brain. :)
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