Grooming a Show Line

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by Falcon12 on 23 October 2009 - 18:10

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

by dogshome9 on 24 October 2009 - 05:10

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.

by Sunsilver on 24 October 2009 - 05:10

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.

by Falcon12 on 24 October 2009 - 15:10

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 - 17:10

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 - 17:10

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

by Trafalgar on 24 October 2009 - 20:10

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 - 01:10

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.

by Sunsilver on 25 October 2009 - 02:10

All right, I didn't check the picture before. Yes, I can't see why that dog would need trimming.

Here's why I trimmed my bitch. She had a long fringe of hair on her belly and legs, just like her sire's:

It looked really untidy, and made her almost look like a longcoat. I trimmed it up to show off her bottom line, and make her look neater for a show. The hair in the belly area was a good 3 to 4 inches long!

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!

by Domenic on 25 October 2009 - 21:10

Falcon,congradulations he is a very nice dog and also Sunsilver,thats a very nice dog as well.Good luck to both of you.

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