Care and Grooming for Terrier Borders

The Border Terrier has traditionally lived in the rugged countryside, working alongside pack hounds in hunting parties. It has features that make it an excellent working terrier and its coat reflects this. A Border Terrier typically has a very wiry kind of coat on top and a soft, almost velvety undercoat to protect it against the weather. You will also notice that the skin though thick is fairly loose – a trait carried over from its hunting days – which protects it from insect and fleabites.

A Border Terrier can have coats of many wonderful colors – plain wheaten, red or a combination of blue and tan or even more impressive grizzle and tan – with some sporting an interesting patch of white right on the chest.

Unlike some other terriers, Border Terriers do not shed seasonally but their coat tends to die the whole year round and as such do tend to break off. The best way to groom a Border Terrier is by hand stripping.

Brush the rough coat of your Border Terrier every week and strip it every five to six months so that the coat is kept clean and looks tidy. You may want to keep a natural bristle brush as well as a fine comb for brushing the coat. You can always get a professional groomer to handle the stripping of the coat or you could do it yourself, in which case, you may want to keep a stripping knife at home.

Stripping a dog’s coat just means removing the dead hair from the coat by hand or as is more usually done with the help of a knife. This can be completed in a very short period of time, usually in about 30 minutes. Many dog owners love to sit down with their pets to watch some television show together while at the same time carrying out the stripping operation. While stripping is not difficult, you may want your dog’s breeder to show you how it is done the first few times. By stripping your terrier’s coat regularly, you will find less hair lying around in your house.

Of course, to make grooming a little easier, you may consider clipping the coat but this will definitely result in the color and texture of the coat changing and also in reducing the resistance of the coat to the weather.

You may be happy to hear that Border Terriers do not have to be bathed often. Do so only when they have gotten themselves really dirty. Their coat is designed to naturally repel dirt and by just wiping the coat with a wet cloth, you will manage to keep it fairly clean. If you do decide to bathe him, make sure that you use a shampoo especially meant for rough terrier coat.

It is best to start grooming your Border Terrier when he is just a puppy so that he gets used to the idea of regular grooming. Keep checking his paws, mouth and ears. If you make this experience a positive experience, your dog will be more co-operative and make the task of grooming much easier for you.