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Border Collie and Golden Retriever Advice Sheets Grooming your Border Collie or Golden Retriever - Using the Right Tools
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A hound glove has one "pinned" side to lift out dead hair... |
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Grooming should be regular activity for you and your dog so it is worth investing in the proper tools and preparations. Good quality brushes are expensive but if cared for properly they will last for many years and help to keep your dog's coat in prisine condition. Cheap, poor quality brushes will last only a short while and spoil your dogs coat by breaking the hairs and leaving it dull and lifeless. Always keep your brushes and combs clean and get nail clippers sharpened regularly or the blades changed before they become blunt. Wash out your dog's toothbrush and let it dry in the air before putting it away. |
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and one coir side to shine the coat |
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Brushes Get a good quality hair brush, one with a mixture of real bristle and nylon is ideal, the nylon is usually longer than the bristle and parts the coat teasing out dead hair whilst the shorter thicker clumps of bristle shine the coat and massage the skin. Any good chemist will have a selection for such brushes and whilst they are quite expensive they will last for many years if cared for properly. These are the best brushes for Border Collies and are also useful for shining up a Golden Retiever coat. |
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use a good quality nylon and bristle hair brush |
| A brush with round headed steel pins is suitable for Golden
Retrievers (not a slicka), these don't shine the coat but are excellent
for removing dead hair and grooming right down to the skin. A "pin
cushion" type brush with short blunt pins that is held in the palm
of the hand by a strap is very good for brushing all over a Golden Retriever
coat and easy to use under the chest and around the legs.
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Round headed steel pin brush |
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Combs It is best to use different combs for different jobs, always use steel combs specially designed for dogs, these are quite cheap and easily available from any good pet shop. The largest comb will have teeth set wide apart and is suitable for combing through the tail and collar after brushing out any tangles, it is also useful for combing out hair from a thick coat if a dog is moulting and combling through any very thick coat after brushing. Use a middle sized comb for combing out the feathers on the back of the front legs, the hair over the rear pastern (between the foot and first joint ), the head, throat and any medium to short areas of fine coat. Lastly use a very fine comb - sometimes sold as a "flea comb" to comb excess or dead hair from around and just under the ears and to comb the feet. |
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A selection of suitable combs |
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Gloves Smooth coated Border Collies don't need much brushing but a glove with a rubberised face is invaluable for lifting out dead hair and Coir faced mat brush (sometimes called a "Hound Glove") that straps onto the hand will bring up a lovely shine on the coat. |
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Gloves with a rubber dotted surface lift out dead hair |
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Nail Clippers There are two types of clippers readily availabe from pet shops, the Guillotine type and the Scissor Type which you use is a matter of personal perference but which ever you choose EXERCISE GREAT CAUTION WHEN CLIPPING A DOGS NAILS or you may cause considerable damage and pain. Some people prefer to get their vet to clip their dogs nails but as nail clipping is a precedure that dogs tend to dislike intensely it is possble that getting your vet to perform it will create or reinforce a dislike of attending the vets. |
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Guillotine type Nail Clippers |
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Toothbrush and paste Your dog should have his own toothbrush, select a soft brush, the paste you will use is designed to soften the scale that can build up on a dogs teeth so the brush does not need to be hard and you will need to be carefull not to hurt your dogs gums. Your vet or a good pet shop will supply a toothpaste suitable for dogs, these are very different from human toothpastes and you must never try to use a human toothpaste on a dog. |
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A typical Canine Toothbrush |
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Ear Care Buy a bottle of Surgical Spirit or proprietary ear cleaner and assemble some cotton wool pads and cotton buds. NEVER TRY TO INSERT A COTTON BUD INTO YOUR DOGS EAR you could cause serious injury and distress. |
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Cotton Wool pads and Buds for cleaning ears |
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