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Sheepdog Care
Daily Weekly Monthly Quarterly Semi-Annually Annually
1. Clean away any "sand man" deposits from eyes.
Reason: If the deposits are not cleared away from the skin, the
moisture will attract bacteria. Bacteria will produce an infection, and
a trip to the veterinarian will be in order.
2. Check hair around eyes to see if there is any debris caught in the hair.
Reason: If there is a leaf or small twig, etc. caught in the hair, the
sheepdog cannot, because of the density of the hair, remove it by
pawing at it. If anything is rubbing on the eye, this can produce
lacerations on the eyeball. A trip to a veterinarian specializing in
ophthalmology will have to be made.
3. Fresh food and water.
Water at all times!!!! Good dry kibble. The best diet you can give your
dog is a good dry kibble food!!! No human food!!! No changes from brand
to brand!!! Any change in food with a sheepdog usually means instant
diarrhea!!!!
Reason: Your dog deserves it. Diarrhea will dehydrate your dog and can
decrease its immunity to fight off colds, and diseases. Meanwhile, who
needs to clean up the mess, especially when you've come home from a
hard day at the office!
1. Complete de-matting of the entire dog.
This can be done, within a reasonable time, by doing the following:
a) Comb (with the grain), using a mat splitting comb, until you have
broken up all the mats. Pay particular attention to behind the ears,
the chest, under the stomach, and the rear.
b) Then use a medium or small Universal or small Warners slicker to
remove the broken up mats. If the hair is 4 inches or less, you can
brush with the grain. If the hair is longer than 4 inches, you must
brush against the grain. You must be able to see the skin!
c) After "a" and "b", you should be able to pass a medium tooth comb through the hair; if not, start over.
Reason: If anything gets underneath the mat (flea, tick, parasite,
etc.), the density of the coat, does not allow the dog to be able to
get it. In most cases, the dog will try to remove it, but will only
inflict damage to it's own skin. This can cause "hotspots", and must be
treated by a veterinarian. Hotspots that are not treated promptly can
attract flies looking for a warm moist place to lay eggs - hence
maggots which can be fatal.
1. Heartworm prevention pill.
Reason: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Note: You may wish to
have all of the items below done by a groomer. They are listed here so
that you will know what must be done, and can pass this information on
to your groomer. Do not assume that all groomers know how to groom an
Old English Sheepdog!
Ears:
* Pluck the hair from
inside the ears. This can be done with ear powder, and your fingers; a
hairmostat might be needed in some cases. Most dogs do not enjoy this,
but there is no pain!
* Clean the ears with an ear cleaning liquid. Hold the dogs head
firmly, and tilt to one side. Then pour solution in ear, massage, and
wipe clean with cotton balls and cotton swabs. Do not go too deep with
cotton swabs!
Reason: If the hair is not removed. The hair within the ear will mat.
The mat will prevent the hair from growing out. If the ear is not
cleaned, the ear becomes a breeding ground for parasites, and yeast
infections. Here comes another trip to the veterinarian.
Feet:
1. Trim hair between pads
of feet. This can be done with a blunt nose scissors. Groomers will
usually do this with a special trimmer blade.
Reason: If the hair between the pads is not removed, it will also mat.
The mat will retain moisture, providing a breeding area for bacteria,
and the inevitable ulcer of the skin. That is actually the least of the
problem. If the hair continues to mat and grow, it can become very
painful.
2. Trim all nails. A standard dog nail trimmer can be used. Care must
be taken not to trim into the quick (the pink). This will cause
bleeding, and must be stopped by use of a styptic powder. Some
sheepdogs have "due claws". These must be trimmed! Do not attempt to
trim nails without "quick-stop" or a similar product within reach!
Reason: Most sheepdogs like to bat you with their paw to get attention.
Once you have been clawed by a sheepdog with long nails, you will
understand why. If the due claw is not trimmed, along with hair mats,
the due claw will have no other place to grow except into the skin!!!
Does this mean another trip to the veterinarian?? You're catching on!
3. Trim hair around feet. The hair around the feet should be trimmed
flush with the ground. The easiest way to perform this task, is to have
your dog standing on a grooming table. Hold his head up with a leash
suspended from the ceiling or grooming pole. Tell him to "stay". At
this point, you are "in control". Now comes the easy part. Hold one of
the paws in the air, and trim the others. By holding one foot up, you
can usually trim the others with a minimum of effort.
Reason: If the hair is not trimmed around the feet, the dog will slide
on slippery floors, track additional junk into the house, and in
general not look too sharp.
4. "Private" areas:
* Males: Trim the hair at the penis, as well as in front of. The urine
must have a clear shot to leave the body, without being absorbed by the
hair!
* Females: Trim the hair at the vulva. Give the urine a place to go!
Reason: When the hair absorbs the urine, two things happen. Neither of
them any good. First, the odor will knock your socks off!! Second, we
are once again providing an excellent breeding ground for bacteria, and
parasites. I'm getting tired of going to the veterinarian!
5. Trim rear:
* Trimming the rear is very easy. The hard part is to describe how it
is done. To start with, the dog must be completely dematted, and combed
out. From this starting point, comb the hair to the rear and over the
rump. After you have the hair laying across the rear, find the "vent"
and raise the hair with one hand while placing your other flat against
the rear. This will give you an idea, as to where you want to cut. Cut
all the hair hanging over the "vent" so that only one inch hangs below
it. If you have a clipper; clip all the hair around the "vent". Always
clip away from the "vent", never towards it. Give the feces a place to
go!
Reason: The obvious one; that your dog is going to smell like a barn!
There is also a health reason. If the feces gets caught in the hair,
you can bet that soon there will be fleas, flies, and maggots! Oh, yes
I almost forgot, another trip to the vet.
6. Bathe and dry:
The most important part of the bath is the preparation. The worst thing
you can possibly do is to bathe the dog before you de-mat and comb it!
If you bathe it before de-matting; please accept the fact that you will
probably have to shave the dog! The mats will harden and tighten as if
they are concrete!
a) De-mat and comb out the dog.
b) Place large rubber mat in tub.
c) Have plenty of towels ready on floor.
d) Have good dog shampoo ready.
e) Have good tearless dog shampoo ready.
f) Have largest nylon choker collar with double spring hook ready.
g) Have 2 cotton balls ready.
h) Have a hand held shower set up.
i) Place dog in tub, and secure with choker strung through soap dish
and hooked with double spring hook. This should keep dog's head in
center of tub. Note: Some owners simply take the dog into the shower
with them.
j) With hand held shower, soak dog completely, except for the head.
k) Douse with shampoo, and scrub all over with your fingers or a sponge.
l) Place a cotton ball in each ear.
m) Wet head with hand held shower.
n) Apply tearless shampoo to head, and scrub head.
o) Rinse with hand held shower until the drain runs clear!
p) Rinse again!!!!!!!! Do not leave one speck of shampoo on dog!
q) After dog is rinsed, squeeze out as much water from the coat as you
can. Remove cotton from ears, then dry with the towels as much as you
can. After this, if you have a dog dryer, you can dry the dog with the
dryer. Otherwise, you will have to wait for "mother nature" to finish
the drying. Do not leave the dog in a cold draft during this drying
time.
r) When the dog is dry, a final touch up with a pin brush or a slicker will put the finishing touches on the dog.
Reason: Pride - pride - pride! The pride you will have in your
beautifully groomed, clean sheepdog is all the reason necessary! Make
sure you tell your sheepdog how gorgeous he/she looks!
Shave/Strip:
1. If desired, shave with a number 4 blade all over. This can be done in the spring, and fall of the year. Or,
2. Puppy cut by hand to 1 1/2 or 2 inches.
Reason: Maintenance will be much easier! Possible skin problems or
growths can be seen, and treated. On certain Old English Sheepdogs this
can be done more often because of skin problems or ease of maintenance.
Veterinarian visit: (You finally get to go - again!)
a) General physical.
b) Heartworm check (occult). c) Internal parasite check (bring stool sample).
d) Distemper-hepatitis-leptos pirosis-parainfluenza-parvo virus- vaccination.
e) Bordetella inoculation.
f) Rabies vaccination.
g) One year supply of heartworm pills.
Reason: Most health problems that are caught in the early stages are
easily treatable. Many kennels will not accept a dog unless it has had
the bordatella immunization 2 weeks before boarding! (Also, giving
heartworm year round may also appear to be excessive, but if you have
to go to Florida with your dog in the middle of January, do you really
want to worry about heartworm?
Copyright 2007 Old English Sheepdog Rescue Network of the Southeast