Tail Fur Question!!!

S

SheltieMom23

Forums Novice
https://imgur.com/a/na0Xwg5Hello!

I had my pup groomed back when he was 1.5 years old and I specifically said to the groomer, don’t touch his tail. The groomer ended up cutting him super short, like almost shaving him, in a puppy cut kind of way. Needless to say, I stopped using her. Ever since then (he just turned 3 on February 5th) I have noticed there’s fur that doesn’t seem to grow back and I’m concerned it will be like this forever and that this was part of his tail fur, not his actual body coat. The area in question is where the tail and body coat meet, hopefully you can tell with my pics...What do you all think?? I’m so sad and I don’t know what to do. I feel like she ruined my baby boy.
https://imgur.com/a/vTNaISi
https://imgur.com/a/PdBrfRs
https://imgur.com/a/na0Xwg5
 
Last edited:
Doesn't that make you furious? I've never used a groomer or cut their fur like that so I hope others with experience can weigh in. Might be helpful if you posted a photo. You can do that by including a link in your post to a photo sharing site like photobucket etc. Sorry about your distress! Their beautiful tails are a nice part of who Shelties are.
 
Yes I just figured out how to get a pic!! Hope it works!
Sharon7 said:
Doesn't that make you furious? I've never used a groomer or cut their fur like that so I hope others with experience can weigh in. Might be helpful if you posted a photo. You can do that by including a link in your post to a photo sharing site like photobucket etc. Sorry about your distress! Their beautiful tails are a nice part of who Shelties are.
Click to expand...
 
I saw someone on YouTube that trimmed a Sheltie. It was quite the response as she defended why she did it! In her defense, she was asked by the owner, so she says, to trim the body all over. Not just sanitary or paw grooming. At any rate, I mentioned a Sheltie should never be trimmed that way. It is astonishing to me that some groomers have no clue about Shelties!
That said, by your pictures it is hard for me to tell! Keep in mind that male Sheltie’s really don’t develop their full coat until after 3 years old!

My Liam is about to turn 3 in April and he still has not developed his full male coat as my other shelties have!

I would wait another year and see how his coat develops. He may be just fine. Glad you stopped using that groomer!
 
I hear these stories all too often when people use "all-purpose" groomers. They definitely do NOT know how to trim a Sheltie, no matter what they tell you. I recommend that people get references from groomers before using them, from Sheltie owners whose dogs they've groomed. Or, even better, find a breeder who is willing to help teach you to groom and trim, or who you can pay to do it for you. Your dog's breeder is the best place to start looking, or you can find one through your local Sheltie club, if your breeder isn't close enough.

From the pics you posted, his tail doesn't look terribly short to me, but as Gloria said, a full body picture would give us more perspective. We don't know how old your boy is now, but his coat will come back in after he sheds and since he's a blue, will likely come in full and lush around age 3 since they are known for big coats! So I don't think you have to worry, it will just take some time. Give him a good fish oil supplement like krill oil to help, and brush him regularly to stimulate his skin. Be sure to spritz his coat with a spray bottle with water first to avoid breaking the hair. Pretty soon you'll have more coat than you know what to do with! :yes:
 
https://imgur.com/a/na0Xwg5

Here he is from the back, it’s been super snowy here so he’s a litttlleee dirty right now lol. But is it possible to tell from this one? If you look at the tail, the hair stops down the tail a little bit and then gets fluffy again

ghggp said:
I saw someone on YouTube that trimmed a Sheltie. It was quite the response as she defended why she did it! In her defense, she was asked by the owner, so she says, to trim the body all over. Not just sanitary or paw grooming. At any rate, I mentioned a Sheltie should never be trimmed that way. It is astonishing to me that some groomers have no clue about Shelties!
That said, by your pictures it is hard for me to tell! Keep in mind that male Sheltie’s really don’t develop their full coat until after 3 years old!

My Liam is about to turn 3 in April and he still has not developed his full male coat as my other shelties have!

I would wait another year and see how his coat develops. He may be just fine. Glad you stopped using that groomer!
Click to expand...
 
I just posted a new pic, hoping that’s better! I’m also going to find a sheltie-specific groomer I think. The new one I have isn’t bad but maybe it’s time to find one who knows best about my pups needs !

Ann said:
I hear these stories all too often when people use "all-purpose" groomers. They definitely do NOT know how to trim a Sheltie, no matter what they tell you. I recommend that people get references from groomers before using them, from Sheltie owners whose dogs they've groomed. Or, even better, find a breeder who is willing to help teach you to groom and trim, or who you can pay to do it for you. Your dog's breeder is the best place to start looking, or you can find one through your local Sheltie club, if your breeder isn't close enough.

From the pics you posted, his tail doesn't look terribly short to me, but as Gloria said, a full body picture would give us more perspective. We don't know how old your boy is now, but his coat will come back in after he sheds and since he's a blue, will likely come in full and lush around age 3 since they are known for big coats! So I don't think you have to worry, it will just take some time. Give him a good fish oil supplement like krill oil to help, and brush him regularly to stimulate his skin. Be sure to spritz his coat with a spray bottle with water first to avoid breaking the hair. Pretty soon you'll have more coat than you know what to do with! :yes:
Click to expand...
 
I don't really know the answer to your question, but I can so relate. Several years ago we took Oberon to a groomer we had used before with no issues. This time she had an "assistant" who misread "sanitary shave" as "cut off the pants" -- which she did. I was doing chemo at the time and just started crying when I saw what she had done. His pants did grow back. Needless to say, we never took him back there again! We now have three groomers that we'll use -- all of whom have experience with Shelties and have done really good jobs. Oh, and promise that they won't let anyone else near him without our express permission! One of them even called to see if it was okay if one of her assistants gave him a cookie :)
 
It looks like he has two different textures in his coat. I think the curl only goes part way to the tail and then the tail is a normal flat coat and that might be why it looks odd. Would be interesting to know if the curl grows out. I recall we had another member with a curly coated sable girl and that never grew out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top