SpurStrap

Here are some quick grooming tips for your Miniature Australian Shepherd. Here are some techniques to transform your pet from rags to riches.

First, make sure you start with a clean, dry dog. After bathing, I use a dog blower to make certain they are completely dry. This speeds up the drying. process. However, if you don’t have a dog blower just crate your dog for a few hours until they are dry. Once they are dry go ahead and comb out your dog. In this article I am only going to focus on the ears, and toes. These tend to grow out the quickest and when groomed properly they make a huge impact on the dog’s appearance.


This photo (A) was taken before bathing and grooming. Notice the hairs on the ears. (B,C)See how they are very long? This adds to a straggly appearance and makes for an untidy head. I start on the outside of the ear and comb the hair opposite of how it is intended to lay. This stands the hair up on end so I can see how long it is. Using thinning shears I trim around the whole ear to shorten all of the hair on the backside of the ear. Don’t forget to go clear to the base of the ear where it attaches to the head. (D) Alternate between combing backwards and using the thinning shears where needed to shorten the hair.

Next I move to the inside of the ear (C,E) and shorten the long hairs on the underside of the ear. Make sure to remove the long hair from the base of the ear. This makes a big difference when viewed from the front. Neat and tidy. (F,G)

Check out this long hair on the topside and underside of the foot. (H,I) Notice the long hairs between the pads. Spring is almost here! It’s time to trim the hair. I start with the bottom of the foot, trimming the hair down level with the pads of the paw.(J) On the top of the foot, use the same method as you did for the ears. Comb the hair backwards and shorten the hair with the thinning shears. (K)Don’t forget to trim toenails while you are working on the foot. Ideally, trim your dog’s toenails every other week. Keep them short, tidy, and healthy. What a difference a little grooming can make!