Grooming Tips

Loving an Australian Shepherd is one thing, but grooming one requires lots of work. As you have probably guessed, Australian Shepherds have a ton of hair, which comes with a lot of upkeep. Today, I am going to provide you with 4 quick tips on how to keep your Aussie pup happy and healthy!

Tip 1: Coat

Lets start with the most obvious, their coat. A common question about this breed is, can you shave them? Some people say of course! Others say absolutely not! So which is it?

You can in fact clip an Australian Shepherd’s hair, but it isn’t required and highly discouraged. The only time you should trim an Aussie’s hair is if the coat has knots in it, or the skin is damaged. Instead of cutting your Aussie’s hair, brush them! This breed needs to be brushed multiple times a week, if not every day. However, if you absolutely must trim your Aussie, be careful to leave at least an inch left. If you cut their coat too short, it has the chance to not grow back or won’t grow back to how it looked before. The reason Aussies shouldn’t be shaved is because they have double coats. This is to help them regulate their temperature and to protect them from the summer sun.

Tip 2: Nails

Unlike their unique coats, Aussie’s do not come with any special instructions on their nails. Just like any other dog, their nails should be trimmed, using the appropriate tools, every other month, or when you can hear their nails on the ground. If your Aussie is anything like mine, then you share the struggle of trimming their nails. A big piece of advice I have is to start young! Your Aussie is much more likely to let you cut their nails if they have experienced it many times before and know it will not hurt them.

Aussies are very hairy…everywhere…even their feet! This can make it difficult to see where you’re cutting. To make sure to not trim their nails too short, causing pain to your pup, use a bag of oranges. This tip requires a bag with holes, like a bag of oranges, and a cellphone light. All you have to do is put your dogs nails through the holes. The rest of the bag holds their hair back for you! The cellphone light is used to show exactly how far to trim so you don’t accidentally cut their nails too short.

Tip 3: Bath Time

How often to bathe your Aussie depends on where you live and what he has been up to. For an outside, active pup, you should wash them anywhere between 4 to 6 weeks. However, if yours is an inside pup, like mine, you can get away with washing him between 3 and 4 months, sometimes longer depending on the weather. I avoid giving my Aussie a bath when its extremely cold outside so he doesn’t catch a cold.

While washing your Aussie, make sure to start from the head down, avoiding the eyes. You don’t want to neglect his belly, behind his legs, and ears. Those are spots where dirt and grease like to build up. When you rinse your pup of the shampoo, make sure to be extremely thorough. Since this breed has a double coat, it will hold on to the soap making them itchy later on. If your Aussie is a puppy, pregnant, or aging, be careful of the temperate after bath time. Some owners use a hairdryer to speed up the drying process.

Many Aussies love water, but others don’t. A trick I have for keeping your Aussie in the tub, is to put peanut butter on the wall. This trick keeps my Aussie in the tub for his whole bath. It also keeps him distracted so I can focus on cleaning his trouble areas, like his legs and belly. Don’t worry about cleanup because any Aussie can clean peanut butter off a surface in no time!

Tip 4: Dental Care

Dental care tends to slip a lot of dog owners minds; however, when it comes to Australian Shepherds, this is a step you don’t want to miss. This breed is more prone to dental deseases than other breeds are. An easy tip to keep your Aussie’s teeth and gums healthy is to buy dental chews.  This is one of the easiest things to do in order to prevent dental desease, and it makes their breath smell better! We all know that stinky dog breath.

To love your Aussie means to take care of your Aussie! Using these simple grooming tips will make the job of taking care of them a lot easier and a lot less stressful.