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We brush our girl out in the spring… she has a shorter coat though
that coat really protects them from the weather
we also take her several times in the summer to be bathed and all the dead hair removed…but what she has in the winter we leave alone
edit
in the real flock guardian world.. sometimes the farmers do not see their flocks for an entire season..the dogs are with them every step of the way…no one feeding them…no one grooming them!
I will say our girls coat does not get matted…it looks really good just super thick
Hi offlights
I brush my Pye for 2 mins a day and then a good brush out twice a week, but there’s a Pyre near to me who never gets brushed and his coat got really matted.
He ended up at the groomer and he/she sheep-sheared the dog and he’s never been the same since.
However, to answer the question, there would be around 60 of these Pyre’s guarding sheep in the olden days so I doubt very much that they ever got brushed.
Depends on the dogs’ situation, LPD that work far away from people rarely get brushed and I known of a few that get shaved when the sheep do..lol. But the ones on small ranches that have regular handling do get brushed and examined for their best health. Long coats cover a multitude of problems, cuts, parasites and mats can injure a dog so they are brushed or clipped short to minimize problems.Nails rarely wear down on a small farm/hobby breeder so need attention. My g/f has 1 that came from a small hobby goat breeder and his were groomed some but obviously not as well as a total housedog. Hers, now 2, get groomed some as well, but since they have a pond and plenty of dirt they don’t look too groomed but do get flea preventative and heartworm preventative reguarly. (Monthly grooming is important for the guardian dog who spends most of its time outdoors. Grooming also provides an opportunity to check the dog for health problems such as fleas and ticks, weight loss, and dehydration. )
We brush our girl out in the spring… she has a shorter coat though
that coat really protects them from the weather
we also take her several times in the summer to be bathed and all the dead hair removed…but what she has in the winter we leave alone
edit
in the real flock guardian world.. sometimes the farmers do not see their flocks for an entire season..the dogs are with them every step of the way…no one feeding them…no one grooming them!
I will say our girls coat does not get matted…it looks really good just super thick
Yes they brush them if they didn`t they would get sores from the matts, matts when left uncared for will go to the skin.
Hi offlights
I brush my Pye for 2 mins a day and then a good brush out twice a week, but there’s a Pyre near to me who never gets brushed and his coat got really matted.
He ended up at the groomer and he/she sheep-sheared the dog and he’s never been the same since.
However, to answer the question, there would be around 60 of these Pyre’s guarding sheep in the olden days so I doubt very much that they ever got brushed.
Depends on the dogs’ situation, LPD that work far away from people rarely get brushed and I known of a few that get shaved when the sheep do..lol. But the ones on small ranches that have regular handling do get brushed and examined for their best health. Long coats cover a multitude of problems, cuts, parasites and mats can injure a dog so they are brushed or clipped short to minimize problems.Nails rarely wear down on a small farm/hobby breeder so need attention. My g/f has 1 that came from a small hobby goat breeder and his were groomed some but obviously not as well as a total housedog. Hers, now 2, get groomed some as well, but since they have a pond and plenty of dirt they don’t look too groomed but do get flea preventative and heartworm preventative reguarly. (Monthly grooming is important for the guardian dog who spends most of its time outdoors. Grooming also provides an opportunity to check the dog for health problems such as fleas and ticks, weight loss, and dehydration. )