How to Groom a Shetland Sheepdog for the Conformation Show Ring (Part 1 of 3)

There is a big difference between show grooming and pet grooming. In this lesson, award-winning stylist, Michell Evans, gives you a wealth of information on show grooming.

Earlier this year Michell groomed the pet Sheltie our L2GD members. In this lesson, she shows you how to prepare a Shetland Sheepdog for the confirmation ring. As Michell says, ‘This breed is really dolled up.’ There are lots of different products used to get a very fancy look for the show ring. In this lesson, Michell takes you through the process of preparing a show dog. She talks about the variety of products typically used to get a dog ready for the confirmation ring. Michell discussed how to apply them and why they are important. She also shows you which tools work the best to get the correct look in a Shetland Sheepdog.

There are many great take away tips from this lesson regardless of whether you’re working on a show dog or not. Many of the techniques Michell talks about can easily cross-over into other breeds with similarcoat types. We have broken this lesson into three segments.

In this video you will learn:

• how trim the feet of a show Sheltie.

• how to build body in a coat.

• why you do not want to remove undercoat from this breed.

• how to hold your thinning shears to get sharp or well blended lines.

• reference points that correspond to the breed standard.