# Hey long haired dog owners...



## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

Do your dogs get poop stuck in their butt fur? I've had to wipe a dog butt three times in the last 24 hours, and two of those times ended in a full bath. Has anyone tried a hygiene trim? Does it look weird? I'm thinking they'd have to trim an awful lot of fur away to clear a path for my shelties, and I don't want it to look strange. Plus I hear so many groomer horror stories about dogs coming back shaved and whatnot....any other ideas?


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

Shippo's got long hair, but he only gets poop stuck in his "pants" area if he's sick and has soft stools. I also find that it helps if I brush that area every day, because it can get all "clumpy" looking and catch things easier.


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## TeddieXRuxpin (Sep 11, 2007)

If you've seen any of my other posts about Teddie; he doesn't like grooming. I finally found a wonderful groomer that does a good job cut and not cuting what I want. 

A month ago when I had him groomed he cleaned up his anal area, called a sanitary clip. I can't wait until he goes back to get groomed. He's never had a huge problem with poop sticking in his fur, but it's much nicer looking. One because he looked like an actual breed and not a mutt dog, but also because of the sanitary clip. It helps sooo much even though we don't have a big problem it keeps it from getting bad.!

I dog walk a Sheltie and she goes to the groomers every once in a while. When she comes back she's had a sanitary clip and looks a lot better. They cut them different depending on the breed. They're not going to trim your Sheltie like my Shih Tzu.. it would in deed look funny if they did.


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## Lorina (Jul 1, 2006)

Same as with Shippo. Beavis only has problems if he has very loose stool.

My short-haired cat gets poo stuck on her butt if she doesn't have a food with high enough fiber.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

Yeah, this is the pants area, but close to the butt. It's not runny poo, just regular chunks of poo and when I go to grab it to pull it out, it smooshes into the fur. I brush twice a week, I'll try brushing the pants daily and see if it helps, if not I may try a trim.....I'll tell them only the butt and feet, and not to touch anything else.


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## TeddieXRuxpin (Sep 11, 2007)

sheltiemom said:


> Yeah, this is the pants area, but close to the butt. It's not runny poo, just regular chunks of poo and when I go to grab it to pull it out, it smooshes into the fur. I brush twice a week, I'll try brushing the pants daily and see if it helps, if not I may try a trim.....I'll tell them only the butt and feet, and not to touch anything else.


I'd ask them how they do a sanitary clip before you tell them not to touch anything. If they know what they're doing they can tell you what is cut and what is left alone. A lot of people will say "ok" even if they have no idea what you're talking about. That's how you come back with a funny looking dog.


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## Dieselsmama (Apr 1, 2007)

A sanitary clip really does help. It should involve clearing the hair around the anus, and a "path" trimmed along the inside of the pants to allow poo a clear shot with nothing to get stuck in. You shouldn't be able to tell that any hair was trimmed unless their tail is up and they're going poo, the outside of the pants looks the same


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Both of our papillons and our pom have that issue now and again. I have my own clippers and grooming scissors so I do a sanitary clip myself. I have one pap that seems to get the runs more often than the other two dogs. So she gets a bit more cut away than the others. And since paps hold their tails in an upward position normally, with her it is a bit more obvious from the rear view. The other two I just trim a bit of the inside of the pants and a bit of a close shave just under the anus. And I only have to do that every 3-4 months to keep them in good shape. 

And just for the daily oops! that might occur I keep a box of baby butt wipes in a basket by the back door, where they come and go from the outside.


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Snoopy used to get poop stuff to his fur when he was on purina and one time it got stuck pretty close to the butt hole that I was afraid to cut it out myself so luckily he had a vet appointment that day for shots and the vet was able to cut it out. But he doesn't have that problem anymore.


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

If you read any grooming books or good sheltie books they will all say that you NEED to do sanitary clip on your sheltie. I do a sanitary clip on my sheltie, just trim up around the anus, a bit under the base of the tail, and inside of the pants. I only have to do it about every 6 months and the hair grows back same as it has before. If your not comfortable doing it your self then take him to a professional groomer to have it done, if they give you the whole bit about the hair not growing back properly then find a different groomer to do it.


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## NeedleNoseLuvR (Sep 19, 2007)

I keep Soo's (chow/austrailian shepherd) anal area trimmed and brush out the pants a couple of times a week (more if it's needed). I also keep a spray bottle of Bio Groom Waterless Shampoo on hand to clean up the worse messes.


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## cascabel (Sep 25, 2007)

Sometimes my sheltie does get little bits stuck. I mean it's pretty much inevitable with all that hair! I do keep her hair around the anus trimmed down though and this has helped somewhat. Every 2 weeks when I clip nails and trim pads I just give the bum area a little trim with scissors. 

I haven't actually cleared a 'path' in the fur since it would require removing a lot of hair as you are certainly aware of. What I have done though is cut off little snips of fur if something gets caught in it that isn't easily cleaned using baby wipes.


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

cascabel said:


> I haven't actually cleared a 'path' in the fur since it would require removing a lot of hair as you are certainly aware of.


Unless your dog poops standing up you don't need to trim that much fur, most every dog I know squats when they are going to the bathroom. I only need to trim the first 2-3 inches directly under my dogs anus to prevent anything from sticking.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

Well it happened again this morning. I'm afraid to cut any hairs myself, I'm going to take them to the groomer next week and see if they can trim just a very small amount. It seems to be getting stuck in the same general area, so I think I can show them where to trim without it looking funny.


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## Betty (Apr 15, 2007)

I have to trim Carolina's fuzzy butt, otherwise she'll end up with an occasional bit of poo stuck to her. I trim while my husband holds her. I carefully trim closely around the anus, and then shorten the hair around her bottom in layers. Since a pom has a curly tail, she shows her butt all the time.  It doesn't look bad when finished.


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## Harmonybear (Oct 24, 2007)

I've had to clip off bits of poo stuck to her fur twice, I believe. Once when she had soft stools, and once when she sat in it. I have a pair of kid scissors (with the blunt ends), and I do my best to cut off the bits of poo. More frequently (although not all that often) I'll wipe her bottom with a damp paper towel. Otherwise, I just wait until we get to the groomer. So far there's been nothing serious enough to warrant a bath or an early groom.

I don't know about shelties, but I know with non-shedding dogs it can be a real health issue if the hair gets matted around the anus. You can end up with a blockage that can cause serious issues. A clean backside is a must.


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

Harmonybear said:


> I don't know about shelties, but I know with non-shedding dogs it can be a real health issue if the hair gets matted around the anus. You can end up with a blockage that can cause serious issues. A clean backside is a must.


Same thing can happen with shelties, which is why any good grooming or sheltie book will say that you NEED to trim that area. Another thing since they are double coated, even though they do shed most of it gets stuck in the second coat and has to be manually removed. The hair doesn't just natrually fall out and fly all over the place as much as it does with single coated or shorter coated breeds.


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## Lulilgus (Nov 27, 2007)

Vaseline: a little around the little bum and baby oil down the sanitary clip line: provides a slip slope!


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