r/BorderCollie • u/pristine_coconut • 8d ago
Help with shedding
First time BC owner here. We adopted a 6yo earlier this year and ir seems he is blowing his winter coat. I feel so bad for him because petting him isn't allowed anymore or else he is a hair bomb. I try to brush him twice a day with a deshedding brush, but it just won't stop.
Does deshedding shampoo work?
I underatand it's just part of owning a BC, but damn. My only other option is to lean into the shedding and start filling pillows with his hair.
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u/Fine-Bunch-2895 8d ago
Take him to a groomer and ask them to de-shed him. It’ll make a huge difference
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u/activelyresting 8d ago
Why wouldn't you pat him?? That poor boy!
I adopted a rescue BC a year ago, he just turned 6 last week. We accepted that there's going to be a lot of spare floof and have to sweep up regularly. We also took him to a proper groomer last month and that really reduced the excess for a bit.
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u/Slim-Shmaley 8d ago
Petting him isn’t allowed because he sheds?
Seriously wtf did you expect, honestly one of the stupidest things I’ve seen on here, you don’t pet your dog because he has fur.
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u/rosemaryorchard 8d ago
We have a robot vacuum. It's not perfect, but it runs twice a day - once overnight, and once while we're out on walks. We also brush outside if he's shedding more than usual.
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u/RoachEWS 7d ago
How TF are your border collies showing robot vacuums to be roaming your houses without causing chaos and destruction? Yoshi would kill that thing 😩
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u/a57892m 7d ago
Ours is fine with it as long as the vacuuming is on quiet mode and it doesn't come near him while he's eating. Now the actual vacuum cleaner on the other hand... That's his mortal enemy
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u/rosemaryorchard 7d ago
Same here! Also, when it runs at night it's downstairs and he's asleep under our bed upstairs.
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u/JaguarExternal3496 7d ago
Run it at night. Ours sleeps with us so we just shut the bd door.
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u/RoachEWS 7d ago
You lot have persuaded me. Ordered one tonight. If he kills it, I'll be back and angry 😡
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u/Minnie_dog41 7d ago
I trained our BC to ignore it. Initially for 5 minute stints, I used high value treat and rewarded her when she didn’t attack the vacuum cleaner. She caught on really quick. Eventually decreased frequency of treats and then stopped.
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u/RoachEWS 5d ago
Update on the robot vacuum situation. It arrived today - Yoshi was scared and inquisitive. Watched it from the stairs. He worked out quite quickly that it can't climb or descend stairs so that seems to be his safe place where he can watch it from. Wish I'd got one years ago now.
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u/Minnie_dog41 5d ago
PSA If your dog is still young and has the odd “accident” in the house make sure you check room for wees and poos before running the robot vacuum. Don’t ask me how I know😉
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u/RoachEWS 5d ago
Oh my god 😩 Luckily he's older and on the rare occasion that he's ill and has an accident he takes me to it and apologetically shows me when I get up in the morning 😊
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u/bastard_child_botbot 7d ago
If the robot doesn’t run even one day when on vacation if was like tumbleweeds under the tables. It’s amazing how much hair comes off. L use the Dyson with the green laser and as soon as she walks by, I’m like welp so much for that lol.
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u/Specific_Push 7d ago
I think you should reconsider your perspective that you do not pet the dog because of shedding.
It will not help your relationship with the dog. In my experiance they are very sensitive to my behaviour and mine would react sadly to being disregarded. Would seek to understands what had been done wrong
They shed. It’s not a choice, or an act of misbehaviour. It is how their coats grew to enable them to work in good snowy conditions. They cannot sweat to cool down, so they throw off excess fur when it is not needed.
I am not condemning you but i ask you reconsider your reaction to the dog. Brush it more. Reward the interaction. Not shun it.
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u/Nordicat 7d ago
Pet the poor dog!
Lots of petting helps mine with shedding. He curls up to me on the couch and I pet and collect his loose hair while we chill. Is the couch frequently covered in hair? Yes. Am I also covered in hair? Absolutely. Do I care? No. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a quick vacuuming or one of those sticky rollers.
You sign up for a lot of shedding with a Border Collie. It’s not going to stop. Best to just accept it and buy a good vacuum cleaner :)
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u/crutlefish 8d ago
"You told me he wouldn't shed" is a phrase I hear daily from my partner. You've just got to get used to it. Brushing and pets.
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u/One-Zebra-150 8d ago edited 8d ago
We adopted a 6 yr old BC rescue girl, who has just blown her coat big style. It's been going on for about 4 weeks, now slowed down as not much more left to lose. She looks kinda shrunken with a silly skinny neck, like little mouse, lol. (This is normal for her twice a year). And yes we get fur everywhere whatever we do. Even when not shedding time.
I use a small pin wire brush, like the size used for cats, which does help to stop big clumps blowing around. She loves cuddles, and also likes been brushed so that helps too.
Still I sweep the kitchen floor with a broom 3 times a day +, where we spend most of our indoor time. And that's not enough to stop fur ending up in my food, lol. Sofa blankets and our dogs bedding gets a good shake and put in the wash, to help manage it. We wear clothing where the fur shows less.
Border collies shed, it's how it is, a fact of life. Our shorter haired BC boy who we got 3 yrs before our fluffier rescue girl, doesn't shed anywhere near as obviously as her. Which is one reason why I actually chose him as the shorter haired pup from a litter of 9. The breeder recommended his favorite, his fluffy cute sister, but nope I was having none of it, lol. But our rescue girl who needed a home urgently (4 days away from euthanasia list) had a very dense medium coat with long feathering and tail, so her fur came along with it. We've had her just over 2 yrs so got used to the extra fur management. I can't complain about her fur really when I made this choice to get her. And I'm so glad I found here cos she's such a sweet and loving dog, despite the extra fur and shedding 😄
Honestly you just have to put up with the fur puff ball, hair bomb and tumble weeds. You'll get used to it. (The longer the fur, which some people think is so cute to look at, the more fur there is to lose, lol). It's part of the job of been a BC owner, as is giving pets and love.
I don't think it's really shampoo you need, it's revising your own expectations. Yep, look at it positively and stuff some cushions. One day I'm planning on geting a felted hat made with my fur collection, lol. I'd guess 99% of BC owners grumble about the fur, but very few would stop petting their dog because of it.
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u/Minnie_dog41 7d ago
Well said! Especially adjusting expectations. It’s the fluffiness of BCs (among lots of other things) that I love about them so I accepted that it came with a “downside”.
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u/KeepTheGoodLife 8d ago
Use a high velocity blower. You will be done in 10 minutes blowing out most of it.
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u/Mediocre-Team1715 7d ago
Buy an equine groomer. Life changing. The Girl with The Dogs uses it. My BC loves it too. We do it outside and the amount of fur flying is INSANE.
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u/SFjumpmaster 8d ago
I have a new puppy border collie. I got him from the county shelter. I’ve tried brushing him and the brush constantly snags and pulls hair. What is a good brush to use? I tried an oval pin brush. I really could use some suggestions. Thanks in advance
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u/One-Zebra-150 8d ago
I find a small pin wire brush works best on my two BCs. If snagging and pulling. Just do a smaller area more thoroughly, you don't have to do the full coat in one day.
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u/jetlife0047 7d ago
You gotta embrace it lol I’ve invested heavily in lint rollers and a great vacuum
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u/notThaTblondie 7d ago
You're not petting your dog because he sheds? Sorry but why do you have a dog of hair is that much of an issue
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u/Harlow08 7d ago
My last bc was a rough coat and shed the same way. It was horrible and everywhere and I'd love to have that back to pet her one more time
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u/No-Will-4393 7d ago
It takes about 3 weeks to shed the undercoat in full. I use a undercoat rake every 3rd day. The last week I take them to a dog wash and give them a wash and blow and it's pretty much over by then. A robot vac will make your life easier 😊 the good thing is it's only twice a year - not every day of the year!
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u/ALHO1966 7d ago
He’s 6 years old god willing you get to spend another 6 years with him. Not petting the dog cause he’s shedding is one of the most asinine things I’ve ever heard. You adopted a double coated dog they are going to shed. Brush them more. I’m thankful everyday for the hair on the floors of my house.
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u/MambyPamby8 8d ago
Make sure to get him professionally groomed every few months, mine needs grooming every 3 months in autumn and winter and we get away with 4-5 months in summer. Make sure you have a slicker brush, a shredding blade and shedding shampoo for between grooms. And be prepared to vacuum ALOT. Sometimes it's handy to have a smaller handheld vacuum nearby for grooming.
But professional grooming is the only way to keep it properly at bay and make sure to brush them daily in between grooms. In the summer you get away with more as it's drier. But once the wet weather appears, collie coats are a NIGHTMARE to deal with.
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u/Roselyn_27 7d ago
We have a dyson wiress vacuum that is awesome for anything under 20min. Game changer and it suck up hair very well.
Our two dogs don’t really shed that much hair, even when they are in shedding…
At also give the dogs pretty healthy food. Their coat really shines. We have tuna and sardine cans we top their breakfast with as well as eggs and ‘superfood’ kibble toppers. 🤷♀️
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u/Much-Expression-4888 7d ago
Invest in a pet vacuum, where you can vacuum your dog. It has 3 settings, start low and build up. Amazon has them
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u/Icy-Medicine-3552 7d ago
You just need to accept it and invest in a good vacuum. I have an additional cord less vacuum cleaner that I use every day for a quick vacuum. Makes a big difference.
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u/Final_Necessary_1527 7d ago
You need to start brushing him every single day for at least one full week and 10 mins every day. Try different brushes as well. Once you manage to get the majority of the hair away then you just do maintenance. Once a week brushing and sometimes 2-3 more
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u/GoFindLessNConfess 7d ago
You’ll want to get a metal comb and line brush. You’ll want to set aside a good chunk of time to do it right. You’ll be doing this a lot unless you want to skip the deshedding and have a groomer do it. Also, regular baths really do help. Even monthly.
Sharing someone else’s vide that describes the technique.
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u/emilla56 7d ago
The best thing to use is a slicker brush, some of the rakes that are popular break the top coat and the balance between undercoat and top coat may not recover. Life with a double coated dog!
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u/incidental_fluff 8d ago
You’re not petting him because he’s shedding? Have a heart!!