I have just aquired a Border Terrier who was a stray - initially thought to be quite old but once through 3 doses of wormer/a carrier bag of matted fur & a dental - he has been aged at approx 2! He's now had his Vaccs, got a chip & snip. He's an absolute darling with the cats & my chi x. What I want to know is when does this fur stop coming out?!!! His coat is a bit bizzare having had a complete matted fur shell on his back. If I groom him daily will this just keep taking the undercoat out - (worried he will have nothing left!)...or will the coat get into its own rythm now he's been groomed? He doesn't seem to have the blindest interest in vermin - walked past a rat 3ft away & he looked in the opposite direction & didn't even take the present the cat brought him (a live mouse!). is he a real Border??!! When he is walked he seems to be in a complete world of his own. His nose is in absolute overdrive and I recon you could chop his leg off & he wouldn't notice. He is currently wearing the 'cone of shame' because he was castrated on Friday - had his stitches out friday night - skin stapled on saturday - had 2 of those out saturday night! Any Border advice would be greatly recieved, Thank you x
Border terriers amongst other breeds need "stripped" (not clipped) several times a year. This can eithrr be done by hand stripping or by a stripping knife, either or other is ok. Most prefer hand. Contact a groomer & emphasise your dog is to be stripped. He will look fab after it
Hey I'll get one up... there is a picture of him on doglost tho - around 6th may in the found section - central area. The pictures were before I 'sorted' him out! I did have a tentative go at stripping him once I got rid of his 'hair shell'! which pretty much lifted off him. The only scissor action was around his eyes to help him see! I have had him advertised everywhere - dog lost, police, vets, border terrier world, dog wardens. But no-one has claimed him so he's here being looked after properly.
Stig - looks much better now these pics were the day after I started to look after him. He looks much healthier now...
Above is my first attempt at stripping suppose you've got to start somewhere! I really should try & get a better pic of him how he is now - can't believe how he's changed in such a short time already!
Have you ever stripped a dog before? I really would advise you to get someone who knows how to strip to do it for you, at least for the first time.
Yes someone was with me when I did it. They used to own a grooming business. She said that because of his matting his first time round wouldn't look as good as it should. I didn't hurt him if thats what you're thinking anything that didn't want to come out didn't. And as advised his sensitive parts such as under belly & face weren't touched. He actually fell asleep when I did it, and then about fell over when I stopped! Other than grooming - are there any typical Border characteristics that the books don't tell you about?
He is a really nice Border!! I just wanted to make sure he was one after your description. Despite what "sellers" and the lark may tell you, Borders DO moult. Just comb the undercoat out with a metal tooth comb, do not use any of the "coat king" types on him because they ruin them. He does need stripping properly and you have made a great start. If you can get him over to me, Id happily help you and show you how to do it. Im in Walsall. Have a look at my site, it will help you with grooming too. Any questions, just ask. http://www.emblehope.co.uk/border-terriers/hand-stripping-and-grooming/
Being a new Border Terrier owner you should get on to : "borderterrierworld.com" right away. Get answers to your questions from lots (!) of Bordr owners immediately!
