Hula skirt, kilt, whatever

[powerfulgazelle]

We've had Kip a bit more than a year...so only a full cycle of seasons now, in terms of his coat.

 

When he came to us, last Feb., he was a little thin/underfed, and his coat was less lush overall.

 

September-ish, he shed terribly.

 

Over the winter, his coat has gotten thicker overall...not too unexpected...but one thing is odd to me: The hair that starts at the base of his tail, to either side, has gotten long. Really long. As in, now starts where his tail starts and hangs all the way past his hocks, like bangs. Or a hula skirt, as my daughter says. My DH calls it his kilt.

 

From the back, it does look like he is wearing a grass skirt. No other part of his coat has done this...the length of the hairs in other sections all grow to the same length they ever did. This section, the hairs are like 7-8 " long, probably twice the length of anything else on his body.

 

I've certainly had dogs that put on thicker coats over the winter, but this is like, if one winter my hair ONLY grew in one spot---bangs---and everything else on my head stayed the same. It's kinda weird.

 

When he gets in something stinky, we wash him. Otherwise we just brush him.

 

Does anyone else have a dog with a hula skirt? What, if anything, do you do with it? Trim it? It literally gathers things as he walks.

[1sheepdoggal]

My Pyr has hair like that, and some clients dogs as well. Generally what I do is thinning sheer quite a bit through the hair to thin it out so it lays flatter, and then scissor the length up to just above the hocks. Then it looks more like little chaps instead of a hula skirt. You can use the thinning sheers all the way up to the sides of the bum up by either side of the top of the tail. if you go under the hair you wont see any marks or cuts from the thinning sheers. Their a little more expensive, but a 42 or 46 tooth thinning sheer will give you the best results.

[desertranger]

The long hair on his forelegs and tail are called feathers. The long hair on his back legs coming down from his butt are his britches. The long hair on his chest is his ruff. As a personal preference I keep the britches short that way nothing gets caught in his coat. Feathers and ruff are left as they are unless they get matted which they do on Mookie.

[Shetlander]

I'm not a pro like Darci, but I also use thinning sheers if I don't like the way a certain section of hair is growing. This is more commonly a problem with the Sheltie, but once in a while I do a little neatening up with Quinn. I'm a big fan of neatening up my dogs.

[powerfulgazelle]

Hey, thanks, all.

 

I think if we do something with Kip's britches/hula skirt/kilt...it'll be done by a groomer. Neither of us are predictable enough where scissors are involved!

[Laurelin]

Thinning shears are pretty simple to use. I have to thin Rose and Beau a lot because their hair on their britches gets very long. Rose is just really hairy so I trim and shape some things up. I also have to trim her tail because it gets so long it'll drag the ground even with it curled up over her back. I much prefer Summer's shorter coat to keep up.

[Jumpin Boots]

I loved your description of the backward bangs/hula/kilt...it's keep me giggling all morning

 

Renoir's tail is docked, extremely short, the poor guy doesn't even have a nub , where the tail should be the hair grows several inches longer than rest of his coat. We call it his 'butt flap' and I cut it off every few weeks.

 

Sounds like you got great advice on how to handle your hula skirt

[desertranger]

Hey, thanks, all.

 

I think if we do something with Kip's britches/hula skirt/kilt...it'll be done by a groomer. Neither of us are predictable enough where scissors are involved!

 

 

Neither am I but it's cheaper than the groomer. Besides you get better with practice.

[Laurelin]

Neither am I but it's cheaper than the groomer. Besides you get better with practice.

 

You should see the hack jobs I've done on mine, lol! I've had their breeder sit me down a half a dozen times to show me how to trim feet. I still can't do it, but I couldn't see taking them in every month or two to get it done.

 

I like to think I've gotten better with practice.

[urge to herd]

I try to keep everyone's feathers/rear end trimmed, it's so much easier to rinse out mud, etc. However, it's never bothered me how they look. I always just tell people I wasn't paying attention and ran over them with a lawnmower.

 

Ruth

[1sheepdoggal]

Neither am I but it's cheaper than the groomer. Besides you get better with practice.

 

Maybe so, but if memory serves me correctly, my grooming prices are still quite a bit cheaper than a vet visit, or two or three which is what very well could and some times does happen when a dog zigs and the owner zags with a sharp pair of scissors leaving more than just some hair cut.

You are welcome to groom your own dog, as is anyone else, however, when some one says I dont feel confident doing it myself, I think I'll leave it to a pro, Im not so sure I appreciate or feel comfortable allowing you to try to convince them other wise, sighting that you can actually save money with the do it yourself notion.

[SoloRiver]

That's what I like to refer to as Solo's "Lassie Ass." His butt breeches aren't as long as you describe, but they are quite impressive nonetheless.

 

I've tried scissors and thinning shears and didn't like the results -- being red, his undercoat is a sort of rose grey color, and his mudflaps just ended up looking like a pair of lavender butt pom-poms. It is very difficult to make that area look anything other than hacked off since the coat is so thick and in Solo's case, wavy back there. (Keep in mind I have zero grooming skills and prefer for dogs to not look like they have been "done.") For us the solution was an undercoat thinning rake, which does a fantabulous job of neatening up the area and leaving it natural looking. These things are nearly impossible to screw up with, unless you get enthusiastic and take too much off, in which case it'll just like like he has very little coat back there. (It is possible to give a dog a very convincing rat tail using one of these... I speak from experience.)

 

I also use the thinning rake to thin out Solo's coat in general, and to neaten Fly up. She has a medium coat kind of like a Lab's, and it has a wiry texture, so she often looks unkempt. The thinning rake leaves Fly looking more like a smoothie. Both of them appreciate it quite a bit in the summer. I have no idea how these work, but they do seem to mostly remove undercoat while leaving the guard hairs intact so your dog does not look "groomed" or clipped, just less heavily coated. Everyone should have one of these!

 

The most popular brand is Mars (the product is called the Mars Coat King). I have the Oster version. For a heavy rough coat like Solo's I use an 8-blade. PetEdge sells a super-cheap knockoff. I will probably order one of the 12- or 18-blades from them for use on Jett, who has a much finer, thinner rough coat than Solo does.

 

Usually what I do with Solo is thin out the insides of his breeches (inner thighs and butt cheeks) as that's the area most prone to, er, soiling. I leave the rest of it mostly intact to preserve the look of his lush coat back there. I am rather vain about Solo's coat.

[mcburniefarm]

OMG, this is too funny, hula or kilt! We have a new one, "BED BUTT" it's like bed head only worse. Pirate rolled in something ooooh soo sweeet to him but barfy ook for me, so I gave him his first real bath last week. I spent time brushing him out, I'm such a loving mommy, I thought I did such a nice job.......... weeelll...poor guy has bed butt. His butt and hips are 3x the size of his shoulders because all the long hair on his bloomers is backwards now!!

[powerfulgazelle]

 

I was using the, um, more elevated terms at our house for Kip's, um, furry biscuits.

 

It is also lovingly known as "Kip's wide-load collie a--" and the "nappy sheepdog a--".

 

Kip might fairly be heard to ask, "Does this hula skirt make my butt look fat?"

 

And, yes, he too gets curly starting at the top of his rump. Does anyone remember Lilt (the home perm stuff)? He looks like he sat in some.

 

And, Darci, I'm with ya. About a yr ago, Kip had two pads sliced off by a (Petsmart) groomer-person trimming his feet. If someone who has done it more than once can do that, I think I'd be bad news. He tolerates washing and brushing, but me, him, and scissors of any kind won't be getting together any time soon. He's still kinda freaky about grooming implements.

[1sheepdoggal]

And, Darci, I'm with ya. About a yr ago, Kip had two pads sliced off by a (Petsmart) groomer-person trimming his feet. If someone who has done it more than once can do that, I think I'd be bad news. He tolerates washing and brushing, but me, him, and scissors of any kind won't be getting together any time soon. He's still kinda freaky about grooming implements.

 

Well, I wouldnt exactly hold Petsmart groomers to a very high standard, (PS grooming is way over rated) most are rookies and beginners with very little experience or training. Persoanlly, I think their whole grooming program needs a major over haul. (yes, speaking from experience, I was an area manager for PS grooming shops for almost two years back in the early 90's till I couldnt stand it anymore) Corporate can kiss my grits! What happened to your fella should have never happened, and wouldnt have ( or it would have at least stood a far less chance of it happening as there really are no gaureentees when working with live animals) with a professional.