Sheltie Haircut?



Barked: Wed Mar 21, '07 6:53pm PST 
Hey all! I had a couple of quick questions. I own a Shetland Sheepdog who has never been professionally groomed, but bathed and brushed regularly. He's healthy and happy, it's just...he looks absolutely nothing like a Sheltie. He doesn't have much of a ruff, if anything, he has more fur on his rump than his front!
Was I supposed to get his fur trimmed in a typical 'sheltie' manner or is he just particularly fuzzy? thinking

Barked: Wed Mar 21, '07 7:03pm PST 
Hey Reno! Other than a bit of "cleaning up" there really isn't a Sheltie cut that I know of.

Gio gets his belly shaved in the summer time to keep him cool. I trim the hair on his paws and tidy up the fringe on his ears. I also like to keep the hair on the back of his back legs short and trim the fringe on his front legs even, but still long. I also trim his "pants" a bit to keep them from getting unruly. Some people trim the hair just under their tail to prevent Cling-ons, but Gio has never had an issue with that so I just keep it brushed. But other than that, there really isn't anything else that is done to Shelties (other than the show dogs before they go into the ring) as far as trimming goes.

I prefer a sleeker coat, so use the Furminator to get rid of most (but not all) of his undercoat. I leave the undercoat thicker around his ruff, but the rest gets stripped out. It really cuts down on the shedding, too.

Some Shelties just don't have a really thick show coat. Gio's coat is naturally shorter and not as "poofy" as many other Shelties. He didn't begin to develop his adult coat until he was around 3 years old. He was neutered young, and I have heard that this can also affect the coat development, but I don't have any real proof on that one.
Duncan, CD,- CGN, RNMCL,- RACL,

velcro dog
Barked: Wed Mar 21, '07 7:24pm PST 
Duncan has a shorter coat as wel, but it is nice and fluffy. But we did not notice a difference in his coat until he was atleast 3 years old, and he has yet to be neutered, so I don't believe that early neuter has anything to do with it. The girls don't have nearly as nice a coat as he does, thickness wise, but I am hoping as they get older. We have a friend who has a sheltie whose coat goes down to the floor! They have to trim it to keep it clean! We all go to the same groomer, and all she ever does is trim the hair between the toes, trim up the ears, trim up the slippers, trim up the bum-hole hair a bit, and shave Duncan's wee-wee to prevent him from smelling like a urinal!

The way the coat lays all depends on how you brush him, how much and what his coat is like. Remember, he is still young. Give him time, it will come!


shake it, vanna
Barked: Wed Mar 21, '07 8:18pm PST 
My mom is a pet grooming salon manager and have several Shelties that come in on a regular basis. They usually get what they call a Heavy Neaten, which is just neatened all over with no length taken off. She's had to shave one or two and admit they look pretty bad with no hair. About your Reno looking like a Sheltie, whatever he looks like is exactly how they are supposed to look, he's beautiful in all things that make him unique.way to go