How To Groom A Border Collie

If people have ever heard of Border Collies, they will most likely assume that this group of dogs come from an area near the border that divides two countries. That assumption isn’t too far off from the fact. In fact, Border Collies come from the Anglo-Scottish border that divides England and Scotland which aren’t technically countries in themselves since they are both a part of Britain.

Border Collies are bred in order to be working dogs, especially for herding livestock, but many people also keep these dogs just to have as pets. Border Collies can and do come in many colors and patterns, but the most common combination of colors is white and black. Read on down below to learn how to groom a Border Collie.

The Process Of How To Groom A Border Collie

1. Brush Your Border Collie

A Border Collie will typically have one of the following two coatings: a rough coating with medium-length and feathered hair or a smooth coating with shorter and coarser hair.

Either way, Border Collies will have dense, double coatings and so you will want a good brush that is effective at cleaning up this kind of coating in order to get your Border Collie looking neat and healthy without scratching his/her skin in the process.

The Hertzko Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush will do that and more. The “more” that I am referring to is the brush’s self-cleaning feature that will allow you to press a button that will easily clean the brush of all the mats and dead hair that you will undoubtedly be collecting from brushing your Border Collie.

With the brush in hand, make sure that you brush your Border Collie’s coating throughly, ideally in the direction of hair growth. You want to make sure that your Border Collie’s coating is as mat-free as possible as mats can cause skin pain for the dog if left unaddressed.

Border Collies are known to shed a moderate amount of hair throughout the year with heavy shedding happening during the fall and spring seasons. So, dead hair is also a concern that Border Collie owners like yourself need to address by thoroughly brushing the dog’s coating.

You will want to brush your Border Collie two or three times per week outside of the shedding seasons. During the shedding seasons, however, you will want to brush your Border Collie daily in order to keep shedding under control.

2. Brush Your Border Collie’s Teeth

Brushing your Border Collie’s teeth isn’t something that should be overlooked at all. That is because tartar can gather onto your dog’s teeth if they aren’t brushed off. That can cause your Border Collie’s teeth to decay.

You will want to use the Virbac toothpaste for your dog’s teeth as that is what the veterinarians often recommend for a dog’s teeth. You can use a toothbrush your dog’s teeth.

3. Bathe Your Border Collie

Typically, your Border Collie only needs to be bathed once every three months unless he/she tends to get quite dirty. You want to be careful not to over-bathe your Border Collie as that can have the adverse effects of dulling the coating and drying out the skin.

Before you give your Border Collie a bath, let’s make sure that you have the best shampoo possible. The Buddy Wash 2-in-1 Dog Shampoo and Conditioner is one of the best shampoos that you can find for your Border Collie.

This shampoo is free of soap and alcohol in order to ensure a harsh-free shampooing experience for your Border Collie. It is designed to be easy to apply on your Border Collie’s coating and then rinse off.

This shampoo is made with a coconut base, aloe vera, and vitamin E in order to nourish your Border Collie’s skin and to make his/her coat soft and shiny. It comes in three flavors to choose from in order to get your Border Collie to smell good.

They are lavender and mint, rosemary and mint, and green tea and bergamot. Now that you have got the shampoo, go ahead and start bathing your Border Collie in your bathtub. Use a cup filled with warm, but not hot, water in order to get your Border Collie all wet.

Now, thoroughly apply the shampoo onto your Border Collie’s coating, take care not to put any shampoo into his/her eyes. Then rinse the shampoo off your Border Collie’s coating.

With the bath over, dry your Border Collie with a bathing towel and then brush his/her coating again.

4. Clean Your Border Collie’s Ears

Your Border Collie’s ears can become ground zero for wax buildup which can result in ear infection if left unaddressed. This is why it is important for you to keep your Border Collie’s ears clean.

So, keep an eye on your Border Collies ears and if they look dirty, it is time for you to clean them out. I would go with the Virbac ear cleaner as veterinarians often recommend it for dogs just as they do with Virbac’s toothpaste which I mentioned earlier in this post.

5. Clip Your Border Collie’s Nails

You will want to make sure that you keep your Border Collie’s nails short because if they are left too long, it can cause paw pain for the dog. If you are hearing your Border Collie’s nails while he/she is walking, that signals to you that it is time for you to clip them short.

You can use a nail clipper like Millers Forge Dog Nail Clip to clip your Border Collie’s nails. Be careful not to cut the quick part of the nails as bleeding can easily result if that happens.

How To Groom A Border Collie – Conclusion

All in all, this is how to groom a Border Collie. As far as trimming your Border Collie’s hair is concerned, I would just leave it alone as it is. Your Border Collie will in effect trim his/her own hair by shedding it.

Also, your Border Collie’s dense double coating keeps him/her warm and cool during the winter and summer respectively. So, trimming the coating too much runs the risk of stripping your Border Collie of that protection.

If you are finding your Border Collie to be uncooperative during grooming, this post can help to change that for the better. What are your thoughts? Have you had experience with grooming a Border Collie? Feel free to leave a comment down below.