Grooming a Border Collie Dog's Legs

There are two types of border collie coats, as there are with collies: rough and smooth. Smooth-coated border collies require only minimal grooming of the legs since they don't have feathers -- longer, wispy hair that extends from the back of the legs. Rough-coated border collies have leg hair similar to collies. They are feathered and require combing to avoid knots and mats and trimming to keep the feathers neat. Rough-coated border collies also have guard hair on their legs and chests, while smooth-coated border collies do not.

Things You'll Need

Pin brush
Comb
Scissors
Nail trimmer

Instructions

- 1
  Use a pin brush with medium-length pins to brush through the hair on your border collie's legs. Brush first in the direction the hair grows, then up, against the growth, to remove any loose fur and check for mats. If your border collie is a smooth-coated variety without feathers, skip to Step 5.
- 2
  Comb the leg hair out with a greyhound or wide-tooth comb if your border collie is a rough-coated variety with feathers. Gently remove any knots or mats that may be in the feathers.
- 3
  Use straight shears to trim the hair on the hocks of the hind legs. Trim a line from the top of the leg to the hock joint. Border collie legs should be smooth below the hock joint and follow a straight line to the ground.
- 4
  Trim the forelegs to leave full feathers, but neaten the hair line so it makes a natural line on the back of the leg from the top to the lowest joint near the foot. Feathers should not touch the ground, so trim any hair to above that point.
- 5
  Trim the hair on the bottom of the dog's feet between the pads with blunt-tipped shears. Shape the hair around the foot so it is an even oval, like a cat's paw.
- 6
  
  Teach your border collie to let you trim its nails and paws.
  
  Trim your border collie's nails at least once a month with a grinding tool or a pair of clippers designed for dog nails.