Still my constant companion,. still "helping" with stacking firewood...still chewing on chips.

My guy has only ever been groomed by myself as he was a show dog and is a now retired AKC champion.

Since he was neutered his coat maintenance is a beast to manage and I’ve recently injured my back and can no longer lift in him in and out of the tub so I’m having to take him into a groomer for the first time. I want nothing but his feet trimmed, no hock trimming, no head trimming, no body contouring just a straight feet tidy, bath, and blow out.
Do you find most groomers willing to do NO trimming? His coat is in excellent condition. I line brush every other day. Metal comb it out once a week, and before my injury he was bathed ATLEAST once a month.

Marnie is finally tolerating the blow dryer, and let me dremmel two of her nails today! 😊 she also kind is starting to enjoy her biweekly bath time!

This is my parents, five year-old purebred, neutered male collie, Kipling. Kipling is from a reputable breeder from North Carolina. My family has had many collies throughout my growing up years, and this was our very first collie that was purchased from a breeder. We did a lot of research on collie breeders, and this breeder was wonderful and we got to see both parents as well as his siblings (if that makes any difference). Kipling was a wonderful puppy, and he still has the classic happy-go-lucky beautiful Collie personality that we all know and love. While my parents are elderly, I help them out as much as I can with making sure their dogs get a good amount of enrichment every week and my parents have a large, beautiful backyard that Kipling and his rough collie brother Pippin enjoy romping in. Ever since Kipling turned about a year old, he has had fairly severe allergies and he also has unfortunate eye issues (not collie eye). Everything that has come up with him he has been seen by our longtime vet for, and he is being treated for those issues, and he has seen allergy specialist. The allergies have mainly affected the fur on his face, and there was a time that he went through where the fur around his eyes started to fall out, but since he is being treated for that, it is much better.
My main question is, (as I actually currently have him and his brother because I am Dog Sitting For my parents while they are out of state for a few days) This is the first time that Kipling has been in my home for a longer amount of time than just a few hours to come over and play with my own two personal dogs, and I am noticing some things that my parents have talked about before, but they have only ever said these things to me in a way that they just kind of find these things funny and quirky. I have never seen a dog have such a voracious appetite- I have had to put everything in my house cannot physically swallow. Anything that he can fit in his mouth he tries to actually ingest, not just chew on. He is not overweight as my parents monitor. I control his diet very well. I also notice that his coat, while it is not extremely bad by any means (no matting), and they are professionally groomed regularly, his coat is crazy. It reminds me
of the cats that I’ve seen every once in a while, that have hypertrichosis. I do not believe that he has this condition because I know animals that have this condition would have truly far much more hair than what he does have. I personally have never seen a rough collie with as much hair as this guy has. The collies that my family has had in the past, have all been purebred collies, and I realize that they all have a crazy amount of hair, especially when compared to many other dog breeds like labradors, bully type dogs, etc. That’s obvious. But Kipling‘s coat is so insanely dense that it’s ridiculous. I have looked up symptoms of hyperthyroidism in dogs, and I would think that after him having received regular veterinary care, including appropriate bloodwork every year, that something like hyperthyroidism would have been caught long before now. Am I grasping at straws? He again, is a very sweet and loving and wonderful dog, but to me there is something that is just a little bit off.

I love his fluffy head so much.

She's 18 weeks now and I can't believe how big she is!!! Almost the size of my 11 yr old catahoula. But I really need help...she barks that shrill puppy bark, loud as possible, over and over all day, over EVERYTHING. I've been trying to train her not to bark for months!!! She just looks at me and barks again

Help

This is my 9 week old puppy. I’ve had him for a week now, and am working on a name.

I have it narrowed down to a couple choices: Colin vs Linden

I’m open to other suggestions. I have a strong preference for two syllable names, and like people names for animals. Maybe this community can help me decide, or, perhaps, suggest something I haven’t thought of?

Nous venons d'adopter Bussy il y a 5 jours il est adorable.

Notre Shetland est devenu "grand frère "

My buddies were out when I rode my bicycle past their house. Sable on the left didn’t start barking until I rode off.

I’ve been guessing on who my dogs breeder could be since forever, I got her from some lady rehoming her 3 years ago that couldn’t care for her or her brother anymore because she was elderly and disabled.

Was just curious if anyone had any guesses! I’ll probably never know but it’s fun to think about the possibilities haha

These are all of her puppy pictures, and I made sure to include some with her dad to see if anyone recognized him.

My guesses so far have been Sharp Classic Collies, Cor collies, and Cadies Collies!

I have a 7 year old rough collie (image left) that hates grooming. He has mats. I call him Rasta man. The older he gets the less he tolerates grooming. He’s a dream at the groomers they say, but everyone is reluctant to take him on due to the labor and time. There’s also months waiting time for a booking.

I am able to groom him myself but he has less patience for me when I do it. He bears his teeth and after a while mouths me, but never bites. After like 30 minutes he’ll just walk off. He sits on his bum so I can’t get there.

He’s never bitten anyone but does like to snarl and show teeth when he’s ready for me to stop — which is getting shorter and shorter. I have a muzzle I’ve never used.

I give him treats the whole time. It’s the only thing that works — until he’s over it.

I have professional grooming equipment at home. Brushes combs scissors and conditioners.

Tips and Products
I’m thinking of purchasing a grooming table with 3 thin straps (product image right) since he has a fab mane and I don’t think a harness would give full access.

What advice do you have? Any products/brands you recommend? He’s quite large. I’d prefer an included bar but not an elevated unless sturdy table as he has anxiety around certain floors and slipping.

I’d like him to let me get into all the hard to reach areas.

He’s going through a big shed right now and summer is coming on. Any guidance would be very much appreciated.

My girl is four months old and I’m loving every second with her!

I know it’s still VERY early, and I’m definitely not planning on adding another dog anytime soon, but I’ve already fallen in love with the breed and can absolutely see myself getting another Collie someday. I’m particularly interested in a blue merle Smooth Collie!

For those of you with multiple Collies, how old was your first when you decided to bring home a second? Did you wait until they were fully mature, or did you find that having two closer in age worked well?

I’d also love to hear how your first Collie adjusted to having a sibling and whether you noticed any differences between raising a Rough and a Smooth.

Just curious about everyone’s experiences as I daydream about Winnie’s future sibling!

Hi I just wanted to share this if you groom at home. Bathe shampoo and spray as leave in conditioner, brush in to get deeper. Makes hair much easier to detangle when dry and prevents mats and knots. I just discovered this and was surprised how well it works. Can steel comb deep undercoat now with less pulling discomfort to remove weaved in shed hairs. Showsheen used on horses and show dogs and was able to buy on Amazon and didn’t have go to a horse store.

I named him Heath for my late collie Heather - Heath means land where Heather grows 🤎 she was a sable, so I thought I’d change it up with a tri. He is so beautiful!!!

Wonder Woman went on the Pup Crawl and was all tuckered out afterwards!

Hi Rough Collie owners! Former German Shepherd owner here (sadly), and I've always had a soft spot for Collies.

Shedding with a GSD was a constant battle, even with regular brushing and coat care. Those little hairs. Everywhere. All the time!

I've read that Rough Collie shedding is actually more manageable than you'd expect, outside of the seasonal coat blowouts, especially with regular grooming.

Curious how that lines up with reality. How manageable is the shedding day to day? Anyone who's owned both, or other notorious shedders, able to compare?

Not sure they like their costumes!

We had an 8-year-old (Molly) when we got Duncan. Molly had previously been with a Jack Russsel and our daughter's Boxer. When the other two passed away within 4 months of each other Molly was so lonely. She passed away a couple of years later. We got Cotton when Duncan was 4. Duncan is now 11 and Cotton is 7; crazy us we just got a new puppy. Right now, it is a bit much. Cotton plays with her and Duncan does a little. He is definitely the old dog. I think a lot of your decision depends on you and your life. I do think they need a buddy in general. When our kids were young they were our dogs buddies, so we had one at a time.

We DID it! We finally conquered the stairs! Winnie is now able to climb UP and DOWN with little hesitation!

Of course, we do lose our nerve sometimes, so we will continue working on her overall confidence, but I am so proud of her!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO OFFERED TIPS AND TRICKS!! I love this community!! 🤍

I just have the chris christensen slicker brush and a generic flat comb

Is this enough for rouch collie?

Last pic is Apple reaching for her treat 😭

How much work goes into maintaining that beautiful coat? What does a week look like in terms or coat care and how many trips to the groomer per year?

I’m really considering a collie rough or smooth for our next dog and personally I like the look of rough collies more but it really depends on how much work that beautiful coat is.