Grooming-intensive Dog Breeds

Listed here are breeds that need regular grooming, whether professional grooming or just intensive, usually daily, grooming at home. In these breeds grooming represent an important investment, whether time-wise or financially, that should be carefully evaluated before buying or adopting one of these breeds. When neglected these breeds will be prone to infectious skin problems and parasites.

Afghan hound: the long, impressive coat must be groomed daily, if not it will rapidly mat (tangle).

Airedale: a hard, wirry and dense coat that requires consistent, regular grooming.

American Cocker Spaniel: the slightly wavy coat with long hear and dense feathering on the legs must be groomed daily to prevent matting. The long hair on the ears can get messy after eating.

Bichon Frise: the flully coat requires regular grooming, otherwise it rapidly forms mats. More about the Bichon frisé>>

Bouvier des Flandres: the coat is best kept short to avoid matting. For dog shows the coat is slightly trimmed.
More about the Bouvier des Flandres >>

Cesky Terrier: the dark, wavy hair is clipped, except on the legs and head, leaving prominent beard and eyebrows.

Chinese crested dog: the Hairless variety needs careful maintenance of its skin that should be oiled regularly to prevent it from becoming dry and scaly.

The Powder Puff's coat needs thorough grooming once or twice a week. More about the Chinese crested >>

Chow Chow: the plushy, thick coat needs regular brushin to avoid the building of thick mats.

Cocker Spaniel: the silky coat requires daily brushing and combing to avoid matting.

English Cocker Spaniel: the coat needs regular brushing and combing.

English Springer Spaniel: daily brushing and combing is recommended to keep the feathers and long hair from tangling and matting.

Kerry Blue Terrier: a soft, silky and dense coat that should be cut with scissors.

Great Pyrenees: the double coat needs regular brushing, two or three times a week.

Lhasa Apso: the coat requires daily brushing and combing, even when trimmed shorter for ease of care.

Maltese: the coat must be brushed daily with a pin brush to get through the dense coat.

Old English Sheepdog: when the soft puppy coat becomes harder and shaggier, it needs a weekly, extensive grooming to prevent the hair from matting.

Polish Tatra Sheepdog: coat must be brushed two or three times a week.

Pekingese: the coat needs to be brushed thoroughly several times a week to prevent it from tangling.
More about the Pekingese >>

Poodle: the poodle's coat needs either regular home-grooming or professional grooming sessions. The modern show ring only allows three clips: the English Saddle Clip, the Continental clip, with the pompons, but with full-lenght body hair requiring constant attention, and the Puppy clip (for puppies under one year of age). The show clips require so much care to keep the hair in show condition that it is nearly impossible for the average person to keep the trim in perfect condition. The Kennel (or sporting) clip and the Dutch clip are much shorter and popular among pet owners because they are easier to maintain.

Poodles kept shaggy, with a fuzzy face and fuzzy feet (a popular trim among Toy Poodle owners) still need to brushed out daily.

Even though the show clip may look a bit peculiar to the novice eye, it does have a history in the breed. Standard Poodles were originally bred as water retrievers. The long "lion mane" and puffs on the feet were designed to keep the dogs vital organs and feet warm when they swam in cold water. The puff on the tail allowed the owner to spot the dog while it was swimming in the water. The rest of the hair was shaved to keep the dog from getting water logged and to prevent sticks from catching in the hair.

Puli: the puli's coat hair form a corded pattern. The long cords should not be brushed out but regular bathing is advisable to preven the dog from developing a strong odor. From an early age, the coat is trained to form the traditionally corded pattern.

Rough Collie: the abundant coat needs daily, thorough brushing sessions, right down to the skin to prevent the hair from matting close to the dog's skin.

Schnauzer: the coat needs constant attention and should be trimmed regularly. The bushy beard catches food and needs to be cleaned after eating to prevent infections.

Scottish Terrier: pet dogs are usually clipped, while show dog coats need to be stripped.

Sealyham Terrier: the long-wiry coat requires expert preparation for the show ring.

Shih Tzu: the long, double coat should be brushed daily.

Silky Terrier: the coat of the Silky Terrier should be shorter than that of the Yorkshire Terrier and should not feet and pasterns. Regular brushing will keep the coat in good condition.

Welsh Terrier: the coat requires stripping four times a year. Hand-stripping performed by an expert will make the breed look at its best.

Yorkshire Terrier: long hair needs daily attention.

External links:
Grooming your Poodle