Old English Sheepdog Grooming

About the Old English Sheepdog

The Old English Sheepdog carries the most profuse coat of any breed in the herding group: a long, shaggy, harsh textured outer coat over a dense waterproof undercoat, covering the eyes and reaching the ground.

The rule about double coats is usually stated flatly: they are deshedded, not cut. This is the breed where that rule meets its most serious real world exception, and it is worth handling honestly rather than pretending the choice does not exist.

A full Old English coat in show condition is a genuine daily job, measured in hours a week rather than minutes. Most pet owners do not do it, and a great many of these dogs are kept in a short pet trim instead. That is a real decision with real costs, and this page sets out both sides rather than issuing a rule the breed cannot live under.

What a full coat actually demands

It is worth being concrete, because "high maintenance" is doing an enormous amount of work as a phrase here.

A show condition Old English coat needs line brushing to the skin, in sections, over the whole dog. That is not a ten minute job on an animal this size with a coat this deep: done properly it is an hour or more, and it needs doing several times a week at minimum, with many owners doing something every day.

It also needs a full bath and blow dry roughly every four to six weeks, and a blow dry on this coat takes hours because the undercoat is dense and waterproof by design.

Between times, the coat picks up everything. Mud, leaves, snow, and on a dog that walks in the countryside a genuinely impressive quantity of burrs and seeds. The beard gets wet at every drink and the rear furnishings need checking after every toilet trip.

People do keep them this way and the results are magnificent. It is a hobby, and it should be described as one.

The pet trim, and being honest about the trade

The alternative most owners take is a short all over trim, sometimes called a puppy cut or a kennel clip, taking the coat down to an inch or two and repeating it every six to eight weeks.

What you gain is enormous: a dog that can be brushed in ten minutes, that dries in a fraction of the time, that does not collect half a field on every walk, and that is comfortable rather than carrying a heavy felted coat because the daily brushing did not happen.

What you give up is real and should be said. Clipping a double coat cuts through both layers, so the texture changes: the harsh outer coat is progressively replaced by softer undercoat, the coat becomes woollier and can mat more readily at length, and the color often lightens. On some individuals the regrowth is patchy or slow. Once you have clipped for a few years, going back to a full show coat is generally not realistic.

So it is a one way door, like clipping a wire coat, and it deserves a deliberate decision rather than a drift.

The honest summary: if you will do the daily work, keep the coat. If you will not, clip it early and keep it clipped, because the worst outcome by a distance is a long coat maintained badly, which ends in a pelted dog and a shave down that nobody chose.

Where it mats, and the parts that need daily attention

Everywhere the coat moves against something, which on a dog this shaggy is a long list: behind and under the ears, the armpits, the trousers, the chest, under a collar, and between the toes.

Three areas need attention regardless of which coat length you choose.

The beard and face furnishings get soaked at every drink and hold food, and on a light colored dog they stain. The coat over the eyes is traditional and it is worth thinking about honestly: it does not appear to trouble most dogs, but it collects debris and many owners tie it up or trim it back for practicality, which is a reasonable choice.

The rear is the one that matters most for welfare. Long coat around the sanitary area on a large dog collects waste, mats solid and can genuinely obstruct. Keeping it clipped short is standard, and it is the single area where a full coat owner should still accept a trim.

And the feet, where hair between the pads mats, collects grit and ice balls in winter, and costs the dog grip on smooth floors.

What moves the price

This is one of the most expensive routine appointments on the site whichever route you take, and for different reasons on each.

A full coat is priced on the brushing and the drying, both of which run into hours on a coat this deep. A neglected full coat is priced on the dematting, which is the worst version and often ends in a clip anyway.

A pet trim is priced on the clipping and the drying, which is still substantial on a dog this size, but it is predictable and it stays predictable if you keep the interval.

The single largest factor across both is condition. The gap between a maintained Old English and a neglected one is measured in hours, and it is the difference between a salon that welcomes the booking and one that quietly has no availability.

What to tell your groomer

Decide the coat question before you book and say which you want, because they are completely different appointments and lengths of booking.

If you want the coat kept, say so and ask what they need from you between visits. A groomer maintaining a full Old English coat is relying on your daily work and will tell you honestly if it is not happening.

If you want a pet trim, say a length and understand it is a long term decision that changes the coat texture.

Ask for the sanitary area and the feet kept short whichever you choose.

Say if the dog is older or has joint trouble, because standing for a four hour appointment is a lot to ask, and splitting it across two visits is normal.

And book ahead. This is a half day and the salons equipped for it have limited slots.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Old English Sheepdog