Greater St. Louis
Shetland Sheepdog Club
While the Sheltie’s lush coat looks daunting to some, they are not difficult dogs to care for. All it takes is a little know-how, a little time on a regular basis, and some occasional elbow grease, and you’ll be rewarded with a lustrous coat and a Sheltie that is admired everywhere you go.
BASIC EQUIPMENT FOR COAT BRUSHING
Straight pin brush
Grooming rake (only use when the dog is blowing coat... when you see tufts)
Water spritzer
BASIC “line brushing” technique
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1. Lay the dog on its side.
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2. Spritz with water. Periodically spritz the dog to keep the coat hydrated as you are working.
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3. Using the straight pin brush, brush small sections of hair towards the dog’s head. Start with the hair behind the dog’s ears. Once the first “row” of coat is untangled all the way to the skin, work through the next row of hair, and so on.
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4. Again, you should brush against the natural grain of the hair. If your brushstrokes are always towards the dog’s head, this will naturally happen.
technique when the dog is blowing coat
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1. Lay the dog on its side.
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2. Spritz heavily with water. Periodically spritz the dog to keep the coat WELL hydrated as you are working.
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3. Using the straight pin brush, follow the line brushing instructions above.
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4. Next, using the grooming rake, gently work through sections of coat much like the line brushing technique. Use the rake to pull out loose, dead undercoat.
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Be gentle and patient when using the rake. Remember, you are speeding through a shedding process that would naturally take several weeks.
