Dog Grooming Hints

The Old English Sheepdog is a gorgeous animal, but but for the grooming alone, it is not a dog for the faint of heart.

The OES was bred to be a herder, and they do love to herd – if you don’t give them sheep, they will herd the kids, the sofa, the cat or your guests. The origin of the breed is unknown, but they may come from the Deerhound, the Briard or a Russian dog called the “Owtchar”. There may also be an influence from the Bearded Collie. The bobbed tail comes from the custom of identifying tax-exempt working dogs by docking their tails.

Today they are still used for herding, but are also good retrievers and watchdogs.

Appearance

The shaggy coat is what you see, but shave a Old English Sheepdog and you will be amazed – they aren’t as massive as you might think. Tall, yes – up to 24 inches, but weighing in at only 60 to 75 pounds, although some can approach 100 pounds. They are square, solid dogs, underneath all that fur, which is a double – coarse guard hair and a soft undercoat. The colors can be gray, merle or blue, with white often as the predominant color. Although their tails were bobbed in the past, today they generally born tailless.

Temperament

The typical Old English Sheepdog is a gentle giant, intelligent, faithful and even tempered, loving and lovable. Their herding heritage makes them great with children – they bump to control the “herd” rather than nipping. They love to play, but are happy napping the day away too. As with most large, powerful breeds, start the training early and use positive motivation rather than stern correction.

Health problems

The Old English Sheepdog is generally healthy, but as with may large breeds they may suffer from hip dysplasia and bloat, as well as cataracts.

Exercise requirements

They are working dogs, so you will need to provide regular exercise, however, at the end of the “working” day, they will happily settle down on the sofa for a long nap. Give them a job, like keeping an eye on the kids, or get them involved in sheepherding trials to keep their minds exercised too.

Grooming

Well, what can I say – with all that hair, grooming can be a real chore if you must preserve “the look”. If that long fur becomes tangled and matted, or if the dog develops problems with parasites, they can develop serious skin problems. However, if you don’t want to spend several hours a week at the grooming table, keep the Sheepdog’s coat cut close and life will be easier for everybody.

Lifestyle

Old English Sheepdogs are active outside, but are happy to be couch potatoes at the end of the day, if they get a good romp. With their heavy coat they don’t tolerate the heat, so be prepared to install air conditioning.

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The rough collie was originally bred as a working dog and is the right breed to get if you are looking for your first dog as they can be quite demanding. These dogs require a reasonable amount of feeding, exercise and grooming.

Characteristics of the Rough Collie

The rough collie is a very elegant breed that wears an intelligent expression on its narrow chiselled head. Rough collies are available in cream and gold stable, tricolour, blue merle with a touch of black and all of these colours will also have a touch of white through the colour. The rough collie has a smooth elegant look to its movements. The rough collie is classed as a medium sized breed. The female rough collies stand to a height of fifty three centimetres and weighs about twenty five kilograms. The male rough collies stand to a height of sixty centimetres and usually weigh about thirty kilograms.

History of The Rough Collie

The rough collie was originally bred as a herding dog and originates from Scotland in the United Kingdom. This breed was originally used as a sheepdog but it has not been used for this purpose for many years now. The rough collie is a part of the working dog group.

Training of the Rough Collie

The rough collie need to be trained in a positive manner due to them having a very sensitive nature. The rough collie is a very intelligent breed so they tend to be relatively easy to train as they learn very quickly.

Temperament of the Rough Collie

The rough collie was originally bred as a working dog. The rough collie breed can be very demanding so it is not a suitable dog for laid-back owners or first time dog owners. Rough collies are usually very friendly and show absolutely no signs of aggression. Rough collies make wonderful pets and household companions especially for children. The only disadvantages of rough collies are that they have a very sensitive nature and they can sometimes be very vocal.

Care of the Rough Collie

Rough collies require a vast amount of grooming due to them having a long bushy coat. The rough collie requires a reasonable amount of exercise and they require a reasonable amount of feeding but they are relatively easy to feed because they are mainly not fussy eaters.

Rough collies can very commonly be affected by skin problems and they need good quality food and regular grooming in order to keep both their skin and their coat healthy. Another important thing to bear in mind is a regular dental routine in order to keep their teeth in good condition.

ORIGIN:

There are actually two types of collies: Rough collie and smooth collie. Both of them descended from the dogs of Scotland. The Rough Collie breed of dog was developed specially for herding. There is a difference of opinion even in experts in the answer to the question: whether the rough and smooth collie belongs to the same breed.

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT:

Height:

Males- 24-26 inches (61-66cm)

Females- 22-24 inches (56-61cm)

Weight:

Males- 60-75 pounds (27-34kg)

Females- 50-65 pounds (23-29kg)

Appearance:

The Rough Collie is a lovely looking long coated sheep dog. Its head is lean and wedge shaped. This gives it a look of lightness. The top of its head has a flat appearance. The face is beautifully chiseled. It has a black nose with well rounded muzzles tapered to it. Its ears are short and erect. Its eyes are in the beautiful shape of almonds. Its neck is well curved and muscular. Its trim muscular body has a good length than height. It has a strong chest that gives the Rough Collie a confident look.

The Rough Collie is mainly distinguished by its coat pattern. The Rough Collie has an abundant Double coat that extends up to its neck. This needs heavy grooming. The Smooth Collie on the other hand has a one inch coat that doesn’t require much grooming. Both the varieties has hair on the head and legs. There are three colors that Rough Collie exhibits: Blue merle, Pale Sable and Black tricolor (A combination of black, edged in tan and blue merle).

LIFE SPAN EXPECTANCY:

14 to 16 years

TEMPERAMENT:

Rough Collie is a highly intelligent dog that is also very friendly, active, loyal and lovable. Being medium sized, they can live quite comfortably in apartments. The Rough Collie is a fast learner owing to its eagerness in learning. This breed also loves human companionship and may become very frustrated and offensive if left without care, love and affection.

Rough Collie breed responds better to a soft hand than a rough hand. By nature their herding instincts make them brave and fearless. When in need, the Rough Collie will rush to the help of its owner. The Rough Collie can easily adapt themselves with other pets without much fuss. As puppies they might nip at people’s heels because of herding instincts. But this problem could be solved if they are taught not to.

EXERCISE:

As a herding dog, the Rough Collie is used to being active, so a minimum of a daily walk is very necessary for the mental and physical health of the Rough Collies. They will love to be unleashed. So, whenever possible, let them roam around free for some time in a safe area.

GROOMING:

The Rough Collie sheds its hair heavily twice a year. The coat needs to be brushed and trimmed regularly to keep it healthy and free of infections.

Overall, Rough Collie is an excellent choice for a pet, for all sorts of people who has some time to spend with their pet.

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We have a wonderful gentle natured dog that I adopted about 8 years ago. Unfortunately she was a bit neglected and was very timid when I brought her home. She had previously belonged to someone who lived nearby and I had spent the last few months making sure she had food and fresh water so we were already well acquainted.

Meisha is her name and I would say she is a cross between a collie and a husky. She is a beautiful mix of grays and white with a little black mixed in. Up until a couple summers ago I had always taken her in to be groomed and trimmed, but I had forgotten to make an appointment for her one time and the next thing I knew her groomer was booked up for the next couple of months.

Well my sister-in-law and I decided instead of looking for another groomer we would just take care of it ourselves. No big deal. We had decided it was just so darn hot and she always sheds so bad that we would really give her a trim and make her more comfortable.

I didn’t have any dog grooming clippers but my neighbors did and they volunteered them for the task. My first clue that this might not be a good idea was that although my neighbors had clippers they still took their dog to the groomers for a trim. Why did I not think to ask why they did that when they had a perfectly great pair of trimmers at home.

We got out the clippers and were really going to town, poor Meisha was not impressed but she really wasn’t too tough to handle. We were feeling pretty proud of our beginning results but as we got going we realized this was not going to be a quick chore. To get everything done and looking great it was going to take some time, and we were wondering just how long Meisha was going to good naturedly cooperate with all this when disaster struck.

How it happened I don’t know, and I’m not sure how we did not notice but the guard came off the clippers and before you know it my poor dog and a reverse Mohawk that was extremely short. We didn’t get her skin or anything but we had definitely trimmed her much much shorter that we desired.

Of course at this time the neighbor came out, the kids came by to see what was going on, and my brother stopped by. Everyone just looked at this poor dog that was only halfway trimmed anyway but she also had this extremely short strip right down the middle of her back.

To top it all off Meisha decided she had had enough and took off to the back of the yard to lay in the shade of the peach tree.

My daughter was mortified with what we had done and my brother and neighbor could not quit laughing. Now my sister-in-law and I did not think it was so funny. After all we had a half groomed dog that was now thoroughly tired of our well meaning efforts and to top it off she almost had a bald strip down the middle of her back.

We decided it was time for an expert and started calling groomers. I finally found one that could take her the next day, I had told her there had been a mishap with the clippers and she was too short in some areas and only half way trimmed in others. I DID NOT volunteer that I had caused all these problems, but I did not blame it on anyone else either. I just kind of left it up in the air.

So the next day when I took her in they commented on what an awful job someone had done and they could not believe that someone had been foolish enough not to have the guard secured or at the least have noticed right away when it fell off. They made these comments before I could say anything and volunteer that it was me who had gotten my dog into this predicament.

One groomer made the comment I hope you will never let the person that did this near your dog with clippers again, and I just commented that I didn’t think we would ever have this problem again. I knew we wouldn’t because I was just sure I would never forget to make an appointment again and attempt this myself.

I left Meisha and went back to get her later and she looked really great, except for that darn strip across her back. They gave me instructions that I should probably put sunscreen on her back for a week or two until it grew a little longer. Of course I had brought my then 4 year old daughter with me to pick up Meisha and as children will do they often pipe in with comments we would rather left unsaid. I think her comment was that after she saw what I had done to Meisha she was no longer going to let me trim her bangs anymore.

Of course dead silence resulted, and I felt I had to make my excuses. It all ended up with laughter (at my expense) and the promise that next year I should just let them know I was Meisha’s “mom”, and they would fit me in no problem.

So the moral of this story if you want to trim your own dog, go for it, but don’t let the guard fall off the trimmer and not notice!! You might also want to read the instructions that come with it too, just to be sure the guard is secured on!

There are some great trimmers out there and I was contemplating getting one and attempting it again but then I happened to run across a picture of what happened a couple years ago. Instead I picked up the phone and called the groomer for an appointment to have her trimmed in a couple of months. I decided I didn’t want to take any chances of not getting in before it got really hot. I swear my dog looked at me gratefully after I hung up, and my daughter still won’t let me trim her bangs!