Australian Shepherd Grooming
A working double coat with feathering, and three places it always mats
About the Australian Shepherd
The Australian Shepherd carries a medium length weather resistant double coat: a dense insulating undercoat under a coarser top coat, with a full ruff at the chest, feathering on the backs of the legs and a plumed tail.
Despite the name it was developed in the western United States rather than Australia, and it was bred to work stock outdoors all day in whatever the weather was doing. The coat reflects that exactly, and like every working double coat it is never clipped.
It is a straightforward coat to maintain and a heavy one to shed. The feathering is where the matting happens, and it happens in the same three places on almost every dog.
The Australian Shepherd has a double coat that regulates its own temperature. Shaving it does not keep the animal cooler, removes the protection against sun and insects, and the top coat often grows back patchy or never returns correctly. A thorough deshed takes out the undercoat and does the job the owner was actually asking for.
What a full groom involves
A deshedding appointment. There is no haircut on this breed at any point.
A rake and slicker through the dry coat first, concentrating on the ruff, the trousers, the tail and behind the ears. Then a bath in a shampoo that swells and lifts the undercoat, plus conditioner to help it release.
Then the high velocity dryer, which does most of the work: it drives water off the shaft and blasts the loosened undercoat out at the same time. On a dog in full blow the quantity is startling.
Then the rake again to remove what has been freed. Then the tidying, which is deliberately minimal: feathering on the legs and tail shaped rather than shortened, the hair between the pads cleared, and a sanitary trim. Nails and ears.
Around two hours, almost all of it bath and dry.
The three places it mats
Behind and under the ears comes first, always. The hair there is finer than the body coat, the ear moves constantly, and a collar or harness strap works against it. On a dog with a full coat a mat can be the size of a golf ball back there before anything shows from above.
Then the trousers on the backs of the thighs, which rub against each other with every stride and are the longest feathering on the dog.
Then the tail, which is heavily plumed on most Aussies and picks up burrs, seeds and whatever the dog has been through.
The armpits and the chest ruff come next but are a distant fourth and fifth.
Check by pushing the coat backward against the lie and looking at the skin rather than running a brush over the top. A brush passes cleanly over a coat that is felted underneath, which is why owners who brush regularly still get caught. Five minutes a week on those three places is worth more than an hour of general brushing.
Working and hiking dogs need the feathering and the feet checked for grass seeds after every outing, because a seed that works into the skin between the toes becomes a veterinary problem quickly.
Merle coats, sun and why the clip question matters more here
Australian Shepherds are commonly merle, and merle coats carry patches of very pale skin underneath the pale areas of coat, particularly around the face, the ears and along the back.
That makes the clipping question more than a coat texture argument. Removing the guard coat from a merle dog exposes skin that has far less natural pigment protection than a solid coated dog's, and pale skin under strong sun is a genuine burn and long term cancer risk rather than a theoretical one.
So the standard rule applies with extra force: this coat is not clipped. A deshed removes far more heat than a clip would and leaves the sun protection intact.
Worth knowing separately, because it comes up in the same conversation: double merle dogs, from two merle parents, frequently have serious hearing and sight problems. That is a breeding matter rather than a grooming one, but a groomer who knows a dog is deaf will work with it differently, so it is worth mentioning when you book.
What moves the price
Drying time, which scales with how much coat the individual dog carries. Aussies vary considerably in coat length and the heaviest coated ones take noticeably longer.
Whether it is a coat blow, second. The same dog in spring and in midwinter is two different appointments.
Coat condition third: a dog carrying a season of retained undercoat takes far longer to clear, and matted trousers have to be worked out or clipped off.
What does not move it is the trim, because there barely is one. This is a mid priced medium dog and good value for the amount of hair the appointment removes.
What to tell your groomer
Ask for a bath, a full deshed and a blow out, and say explicitly that you do not want the coat clipped. Some general salons will offer a summer clip on any long coated dog.
If the dog works, hikes or spends time in long grass, say so and ask them to check the feet and feathering for grass seeds.
Mention the collar or harness if it is worn all day, because the mat underneath is completely hidden.
Say if the dog is deaf, which is not uncommon in merle lines, so the groomer can approach and handle it appropriately rather than startling it.
And say if the dog is reactive to the dryer. Aussies are bright, sensitive and often noise sensitive, and a groomer who introduces the high velocity dryer gradually gets a much better result than one who does not.
Keeping the coat between grooms
Rake the three hot spots
Behind the ears, the trousers and the tail. Five minutes there beats an hour of general brushing.
Twice a week
Check for grass seeds
Feet, between the toes, the feathering and the ears after any walk in long grass. A seed that works into skin becomes a veterinary problem fast.
After every walk in cover
Leave the coat on a merle
Pale skin under a pale coat has little sun protection, so clipping a merle exposes it to a genuine burn risk on top of the usual regrowth problem.
Always
Book at the start of a blow
Not after it, which is when most people call.
Spring and fall
Common Questions About the Australian Shepherd
Can I shave my Australian Shepherd in summer?
No. The coat insulates in both directions and blocks sun, and clipping removes the guard hairs while leaving the insulating undercoat, so the dog is hotter and less protected. On merle dogs it is worse still, because the pale skin under the pale coat has little natural sun protection. Regrowth on double coated breeds is often patchy and woolly. A full deshed removes far more warmth and keeps the coat doing its job.
How much do Australian Shepherds shed?
A great deal, steadily year round, with two heavy blows a year where the undercoat comes out in clumps over two to four weeks. It is one of the heavier shedding breeds and no grooming decision changes that. What grooming changes is where the hair ends up: a deshedding bath two to four times a year plus a rake at home moves most of it out of your house.
Why does my Aussie keep getting mats behind the ears?
Because the hair there is finer than the body coat, the ear moves constantly, and anything worn round the neck rubs it. It is the first place this breed mats, every time. A comb through that area twice a week takes a minute and prevents nearly all of it. Check the trousers and the tail at the same time, since those are second and third on the list.
Similar breeds
Same coat, same schedule, or the breeds this one is crossed from.
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