Knowing Old English Sheepdog

Before bathing, start with the dog standing on the table and loosen up the coat by long sweeping strokes of a large pin brush or bristle brush. Brush with the lie of the hair and then against and finally back into normal position. This will give you an idea of any tough areas. Now making sure all is “to hand”, lay the Old English Sheepdog on it’s side with the back toward you with the “Judges” side up. Do the “Judges” side first, as sometimes a groomer will cheat on good grooming as they tire. Should you be inclined to tire midway through your job, do the “Judges” side first for the best look in the ring.

Begin with a long line parted down the spine, from the nose to the tail, and work a 1-2 inch area along each side of the part the whole length of the dog. Make a new part, 1-2 inches up from the original part and about 4-6 inches wide. Put your hand behind the new section and begin to brush. First use a bristle brush. If it will not go into the coat, graduate to the next brush in line, which should be a large pin brush. If this too encounters thick spots and will not easily penetrate the coat reach for the long narrow pin brush, which allows you to attack smaller areas.

If this is still a problem reach for the ‘ever gentle’ slicker and if that won’t do it, use the ultimate ripper and go for the Universal slicker. If this will not undo the area, you are left with evaluating the whole dog. Is this a small area that is alone in its condition or is it indicative of the whole dog. If it is the whole dog, please, put down all your tools, go get the clippers and clip your dog down. You can use a #4 blade if all is pretty loose but you will need a #10 blade if the mats are at the skin level.

There is another choice. If the dog has been out in the weather, the mats have been wetted, are tight to the point of not being able to get a comb into them, or lie close to the skin, you might consider this. If the dog can be dried out in a warm place, and is otherwise in clean condition, you can put off grooming for 2-4 weeks. Keeping the Old English Sheepdog dry, often no more damage will be done. In a 4-week period, the mats will have grown up off the skin level by about 1 inch and you will be able to split or separate the mats and save some coat. Or clip the coat using a thicker blade (4 is thicker than 10) thus leaving a fuzz behind. If the dog is dirty, really completely matted from total neglect or has sores or external parasites, do not even consider this and go ahead and clip this dog down and give it a bath.

Using the tools in the order mentioned above, finish the entire upper side of the dog as far across the Old English Sheepdog as you can comfortably reach. Part an area about 1 – 2 inches up and carefully brush the hair sideways and then down, being careful not to hold on to the hair from above and so back comb or tease the coat instead of brushing it out straight. If the soft brush will not go through the coat, pick up the section and brush it against your hand. In this way you can evaluate the area and if necessary graduate to the harshest tool you need to “clear” the area. Remember that if you are grooming to keep a full coat that you are only straightening and pulling the undercoat upward through the guard coat, not pulling it out by the roots.

If you are show grooming do not put your thumb on the back of the brush and use it as a comb or you will remove more coat than you desire. Your brush should be grasped loosely and not forced down through the coat. Use caution when using a slicker brush. If you repeatedly scrape the skin you risk introducing the normally present staph germs into the scratches which can lead to large infected areas. The brushing action should be a lift and pull not a push and scrape thus the reason for not putting the thumb on the back of the brush. By turning the Old English Sheepdog (if the table is big enough), moving your chair or turning the table, move around the Old English Sheepdog, grooming as you go.