Sheltie Show Grooming?

Question

I would like to know has anyone ever utilized the book Illustrated Sheltie Grooming by Barb Ross? and if so is it helpful in teaching a newbie how to show groom when they have nobody close willing to work with them. To go to my breeder's home it would take a day and a half. So I am really trying hard to prepare my sheltie for the show ring and need to learn to groom myself and not have the competition do my grooming. I have time since my puppy will be seven months the end of this month. Any and all advise would be very helpful

Answer 1

You can't really learn grooming from a book - you need hands on work. You don't necessarily need help from a sheltie person, just someone with a long-haired dog (one who actually looks after their dog's coat).

You need a good quality pin brush, medium size, a good small slicker and a comb, rounded scissors. If you brush your dog out thoroughly once a week, doing line brushing, you shouldn't have problems with mats. If you get mats, you gently tease them out with the slicker, laying your fingers against the dog's skin so you don't cause slicker burn.

You also need to get chalk for whitening his white and you should practice with that at home because you have to be careful not to use too much because you need to get it all brushed out before you go in the ring.

If you need any more help, you can contact me (I bred and showed afghans for years as well as a bearded collie who had hair down to the ground).

Answer 2

My mom has several old books on Sheltie grooming. It seems to me the best one was Sheltie talk. Shelties are very popular, contact someone closer, maybe the breeder can recommend someone to help you.

If you do some trimming, remember that a wrong snip will take quite some time to grow back, so take it SLOW. There is alot a good groomer can do to hide faults, Sheltie grooming can sometimes be a bit of an art.

IMO showing Shelties these days is more of a grooming contest than anything else. But, if you want to win...

Answer 3

There are GAZILLIONS of the little buggers out there,which means THOUSANDS of breeder/owner/handlers. Collies are close enough,too.
GO to a show & WATCH!!!
Even pet groomers can approximate the necessities!
Book"larnin'" can only take you so far.
A WHOLE book on it??? Must be padded out by a couple hundred pages!LOL!