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ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > Grooming a Show Line (14 replies)
Grooming a Show Line by Falcon12 on 23 October 2009 - 18:28 |
| Below is a link to my male show line. Picture was taken in Germany before he came to the States and my question relates to his undercoat which grows inward from both sides and meets at the center of his chest , belly, and groin area. That coat hair has become a little long now and if you look at him quickly from the side it makes him look overweight. I'm not much of a grooming guy (just bathe and brush, mostly brush) and I was curious what would be the best and safest tool to use to trim his coat in these areas? mechanical clippers? recommendations? Thanks...Dan http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/540708.html |
Falcon12 by dogshome9 on 24 October 2009 - 05:07 |
| What ever you do DO NOT use clippers ------ brushes , rake and combs only. Yes it can be hard work. He is a very beautiful boy Good luck with him. |
dogshome9 by Sunsilver on 24 October 2009 - 05:30 |
| My female grows a long fringe of hair on her belly in the winter. I asked a friend who used to be a professional groomer what to do about it, and she told me to buy a pair of thinning scissors. Then, you carefully trim the hair so it's uneven, and looks natural, rather than just chopped off. I took my courage in my hands and had a go at it, and found it was actually easy to do, and the results looked quite acceptable. |
Sunsilver by Falcon12 on 24 October 2009 - 15:36 |
thank you both for your suggestions.  Sunsilver, those thinning scissors you referred to...are they designed for dogs or is it more of barber shop item? |
by Sunsilver on 24 October 2009 - 17:37 |
| They are the same ones used on both dogs and humans. I'm not even sure if I purchased mine at a pet store, or Zeller's! They weren't expensive, either. |
by Sherman-RanchGSD on 24 October 2009 - 17:49 |
| Why would you have to trim Him? he only grooming tools I have are a 8" metal comb and some nail trimmers. German Shepherd dogs dont need *trimming* ...with the exception of possibly some very very OLD or sick dogs perhaps who can not reach to clean themselves.. ? I see absolute no reason to trim a GSD . And grooming is same for any family line . Bet wishes with your new male! Debi www.sherman-ranch.us www.ironfistcreations.us |
Sherman-RanchGSD by Trafalgar on 24 October 2009 - 20:43 |
| I wouldn't use any instrument whatsoever that cuts the hair. Best bet would be to use a stripping tool and then hand pluck in the area until you've achieved a healthy live hair condition. Hand plucking is simply pulling a few hairs at a time (4 or 5) in the direction of growth. Hairs that are dead at the root will come out easily, young healthy hair will slide thru your fingers. Cutting the hair and leaving the dead roots embedded is the very, very worst thing you could do. imho |
by Liesjers on 25 October 2009 - 01:37 |
| I was expecting to see a really plush looking dog. Personally I don't see where/why this dog would need to be trimmed? I have a show line with a similar coat, a little more coat actually, and I've never thought of trimming him. I use an undercoat rake to pull out loose undercoat and that's it. I show my dog in the UKC and the SV-style rings (WDA and USA). I don't think hair really makes a dog look overweight. The judge can run his hands over the dog if he wants to. |
Liesjers by Sunsilver on 25 October 2009 - 02:15 |
All right, I didn't check the picture before. Yes, I can't see why that dog would need trimming. I don't have a picture to show you of what she looked like with the fringe, but I can tell you this: she looked a LOT better after the trimming!
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by Domenic on 25 October 2009 - 21:25 |
| Falcon,congradulations he is a very nice dog and also Sunsilver,thats a very nice dog as well.Good luck to both of you. |
by Davren on 26 October 2009 - 01:13 |
| Sunsilver, your girl is beautiful. How old is she in the picture? Also, I am curious: it looks like she has a "tuft" of hair on her rear leg upper thigh-femur? (I might be wrong, it might be the picture). I am asking because my male gets something like that only more pronounced. His looks like a cowlick almost. He does not have it all the time, mostly with the changes in coats. Any input? |
Davren by Sunsilver on 26 October 2009 - 03:57 |
| Davron and Domenic, if you read my post carefully, you will see that is NOT MY FEMALE. It is her SIRE! However, she DOES have the same sort of coat, and grows long fringes on the front and hind legs and belly when she gets her winter coat in. And yes, she does have that same fringe on the upper thigh. No, it's not a cowlick, just extra hair. She also has a tiny tuft at the base of each ear. Interestingly enough, despite these 'longcoat' type characteristics, the hair on her back and ribs is actually rather short. She doesn't have a very thick undercoat in those areas. Re the picture of Erko, her sire, when you can't tell if it's a dog or a bitch due to the long hair on the belly, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to give the belly hair a trim, don't you? Here's my girl. I trimmed her belly and legs just before the photo was taken. I've picked this particular shot because, although she's not stacked properly, it really shows how much hair she had on her belly even after trimming. I was afraid to take too much off, in case it looked unnatural. I just wanted to make the OP aware of something important. The GSD is to be shown with the coat in its completely natural condition. I know this is the CKC and AKC rules, and I'm pretty sure this applies to other venues as well (SV, etc.). If you trim the dog's coat in such a way that it is OBVIOUS to the judge, you will be disqualified.  |
by crhuerta on 26 October 2009 - 04:55 |
| None of the dogs pictured in the posts, look to me to need any trimming what so ever........ There is nothing nicer than a beautiful , thick coat. All you need to do is properly brush, rake & maintain the coat. We have several dogs with much more coat texture & length and would not consider "trimming" them..... However;.....since I am not the owner of any of them.....it is only my opinion. You should do what makes you comfortable. Robin |
by Falcon12 on 26 October 2009 - 12:58 |
| Thank you all for your help... |
by Davren on 26 October 2009 - 13:10 |
| Hey Sunsilver, Thanks for the input. I agree that it is not a true cowlick on my male, but I could not describe it any better. It just seems that some of the hair is growing in the wrong direction. He does not have it all the time; it seems like he acquires it just before he blows his coat. I brush him rather vigorously for a few days and then it is gone. He does not have it anywhere else. Thanks again. |
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