Maralynn Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 You're lucky Kristen. I think my smooths are some of my worst shedders! I guess that's because smooth also comes in many forms and the ones who have more undercoat (less slick) also shed a ton. J. I agree! My theory is that a rough coat traps the hair just a bit until you can brush it out but the undercoat on a smoothie just falls out when it's loose. Still beats trying to get burrs out though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 Faye is just going on 3. Sometimes I think they get more coat the older they get or I'm just lucky so far. I'll keep hoping she stays that way. Faye just blew her coat this fall first time. I brushed her twice and it was gone. The old guys are still letting it rip. Mick and Dew are hairy little suckers. They're half sibs and both curly or wavy coats. Maybe that's why they're sill blowing coats. My favorite is smooth.....today anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilyfalk Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 I've had a bunch of combos: smooth with no undercoat, smooth with thick undercoat, rough with no undercoat, and rough with heavy undercoat. Those with no undercoat get brushed maybe twice a year and shed out incredibly cleanly when they drop their coats (Liv in particular pretends to be a smooth coat). Rae's smooth coat has gotten so thick with age that it's nearly impossible to bleed her jugular without clipping (it's torture living with me!). Everyone's going to have their preferences, and there are always "experts" no matter where you go. The one thing all of mine have in common is that when they come in covered in ick, I can plop them in a crate and tadaa! They come out spic and span Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 You're lucky Kristen. I think my smooths are some of my worst shedders! That has been my experience, as well!! And poor Dean has the kind of smooth coat that doesn't insulate him much at all. He's hot in the summer (I am always letting him dunk in a tub of water when we are outside in the summer) and he gets cold in the winter. But I know they aren't all like that. Sammie and Maddie were fine and their coats were even smoother than Dean's. I'll admit I'm partial to along, flowing coat. That said, I have never wished for any other kind of coat on my smooth coated dogs. They, as individuals, just wouldn't have looked right with anything but their own smooth coats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 It has been my experience, too, that coats change with age. My oldsters have mostly gotten thicker undercoats that have a greater tendency to mat (maybe because of age-related skin changes?). But it's not just thicker--it's different, different texture, especially. And that's both rough and smooth coats, though seems more obvious on the smooths. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippin's person Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 The one thing all of mine have in common is that when they come in covered in ick, I can plop them in a crate and tadaa! They come out spic and span Yes! Our crates come with Border Collie faeries, too! Our heaviest coated dog sheds the least; one smooth and one rough with little undercoat are in competition for shedding most of the border collies. None come close to out shedding our mutt, though. Same experience as others with coat and aging--curlier, heavier, more matting. I prefer the coat type I'm looking at. A BC rescue org. representative once argued with us that our tri smoothie with hound ears was a mix and probably had no BC at all. We all had a good chuckle when we showed his papers. I spend so much time with "dog people" that I forget sometimes how small a group of people it actually is and unless they have some particular stake in Border Collie breeding politics, people who ask me about our dogs are generally quite curious and interested to learn more about the perspective that how they work and think rather than look is the mark of a border collie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephaaRas Posted December 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 At first I thought the shedding was going to be much less with a smooth coat, but I'm being proven wrong lately. Though I think my roughs have had more shedding in the long run, this girl is shedding like crazy. I've gotta give her a good brushing today before I too start using hair as a condiment. It's a good day to wear all black! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Haven't yet seen a border collie whose natural look I didn't like. That said, and with all my border collies so far being rough coats, I find I'm getting a little quickening heart beat when I see a pic of a smoothie. Perhaps I'm developing a preference. I'd not turn away any kind of border collie in need, if I could help. We'll see what happens when it's time for me to go 'shopping' again. Ruth and SuperGibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Haven't yet seen a border collie whose natural look I didn't like. That said, and with all my border collies so far being rough coats, I find I'm getting a little quickening heart beat when I see a pic of a smoothie. Perhaps I'm developing a preference. I'd not turn away any kind of border collie in need, if I could help. We'll see what happens when it's time for me to go 'shopping' again. Ruth and SuperGibbs I like them all, too, even though I am a softie for a medium rough black-and-white. After all, it's what's inside that counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogrsqr Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 I was always much more attracted to the rough coated BCs. A few years ago we adopted two smoothies and now I'm sold on them. They don't shed any less, but removing any burrs that stick is easy as a wipe and when you bath them there is much less towel usage! We live in Minnesota and never put a coat on them. When it gets to windchills of 20 to 30 below we have to monitor their time out just like any rough coated dog. Other than that they are fine. I do sometimes get the question about what kind of dog they are, but I use it as an opportunity to educate about what a BC really is. I used to get that question about our red BC because she was red and had a gay tail, and about our very rough coated dog because he had drop ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway61 Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 I know the AKC show collies have the long, flowing coat but are most real Border Collies expected to have a semi-short rough coat? I'm still pretty new to this breed and Sammy is now 20 months old so I'm wondering if this is about as long as his coat is expected to get? In the last photo, you can see he doesn't have much in the way of a mane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptJack Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 It varies all over the place with border collies - the real ones I mean. AKC show dogs do tend to have heavy bone and a lot of heavy coat, but some of the working collies do, too. You'll probably not see your guy's full fur until he's 2 or beyond and some keep growing more fur even longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 My experience has been that male border collies tend to do a bit of filling out at around 3 years old, and that can include the mane getting a little fuller. This is especially true of intact dogs. But, yeah, coat length and fullness can be all over the map with border collies. For the rough coated dogs I tend to prefer the shorter rough coats like Sammy's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 That is a gorgeous coat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxi Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 In the UK, BCs with coats lengths like Sammy are called 'medium' in the description of their appearance for the ISDS (assuming they are eligible to be registered for other reasons). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 At 3 yo, Gideon still didn't have any undercoat to speak of, but over the last 6 months(3 1/2 yo now) he has definitely added some undercoat, not much, but some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway61 Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 That is a gorgeous coat! Thanks! He's well fed and I take pretty good care of him He was snipped about two months ago, don't know if that has any effect but I haven't noticed any (yet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephaaRas Posted December 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 He's absolutely beautiful! He's still young, so his coat has time to change, or fill out more as others have said. However, there is a chance it is done growing, or at least noticeably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 At 3 yo, Gideon still didn't have any undercoat to speak of, but over the last 6 months(3 1/2 yo now) he has definitely added some undercoat, not much, but some.Yep, that is what I'm afraid of with Faye. She just turned 3 and blew her coat for the first time. We had to go somewhere dressed up yesterday. I wasn't home for final man inspection (husband and son) they were nicely dressed in their Sunday finest with a beautiful layer of hair all over their bums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'm afraid that's my test of friendship. They accept me for who I am, dog hair and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'm afraid that's my test of friendship. They accept me for who I am, dog hair and all.All I can say is it was my mom's funeral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Sorry that you lost your Mom, Kristen. Remember that dog (and cat) hair is multi-purpose - condiment, decorative accent, and fashion statement. I'm sure there are other uses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEC Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Kristen, great story, and sorry for your loss. I think I'll direct that a certain amount of dog hair remain on my lapel when that time comes for me . When my BC reached about 6-7 years, her medium coat became more wavy, and her undercoat grew thicker. Made her look like a larger dog, but the scale said that was not true. I do not groom her enough, frequently preferring the vacuum to correct my neglect. My wonderful wife had a lengthy recuperation at home a few years ago, and it was Christmas Eve. She suddenly decided she felt well enough to attend traditional midnight mass at our church. I was delighted that she was going. She may not have been out of the house in weeks, but I helped her hastily get dressed. House slippers, PJ bottoms, fleece jacket, hair as you might imagine from weeks of bedrest. We navigated the ice covered parking lot, and I helped her to a place in the pew. The church was beautifully decorated for the season, lights dimmed, and everybody was in their best. The lighting must have come-up for the entry procession. As everyone stood in respect, I looked at my dear wife standing next to me, and came to the realization that here was a disheveled looking woman with her arm in a sling, wearing pajamas and slippers, and to make it worse volumes of dog hair covering her from head to foot. I involuntarily began to brush and pick it from her clothing and hair, and stage whispered something like, "Poor thing, do you have a place to stay tonight?". I sensed those seated near us nod in agreement (certain I did not imagine it), and Sheryl and I began to laugh uncontrollably. It was muffled, but a good laugh nonetheless. It was one of those moments that cannot be forgotten no matter how hard we try, yet never fails to bring smiles. We like to think that God was unconcerned about her manner of dress, and that under the circumstances, he gave her a pass on the dog hair. -- Happy Holidays, TEC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 I used to blame my long haired collie mix Ross for all the furballs around the house but since he died it's no better. All the remaining dogs are short coated. I still prefer short to long though as Ross took forever to dry off and shake the sand from his coat after being on the shore. Short rather than smooth for me. I like just a hint of fluff and short coats seem to suffer from the cold and wet less than smooth coats. Yes, I know it doesn't get what you call cold here, but it's relative. My dogs never need to be covered up even after breaking the ice to take a dip in the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 TEC - seeing as the first Christmas was in a stable, I'm sure that God is just fine with a bit of dog hair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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