Greetings FARMCOLLIE list folks....

I need some opinions about clipping my elderly Rough Collie TahTay.  The 
past few months he had been blowing inner coat like crazy, and at the 
same time developing a sensitive skin such that he REALLY complains when 
trying to brush it out.  It has become the worst I have ever seen, with 
mats developing that have no hope of brushing out. I have taken to just 
cutting them off, especially around his rear and thighs. He cannot hunch 
over to poo any more, nor can he lift his leg to do the other duty...he 
just stands on all four and does what needs doing. This has led to 
keeping his rear pretty well clipped to aid in dropping of scat.  With 
so much of his underside and legs becoming more matted all the time, and 
his discomfort with our brushing it out, to the point of yelping and 
trying to jump away, I have started to consider clipping him down. He 
has never been clipped before, and he would for a while look like a 
smooth collie!!  but it may be a good way to give his skin some air and 
freedom from snarl stress. He spends most of his time inside these days, 
so having a thick coat for outdoor weather is not much of a concern. 
What is of concern, to me at least, is improving his comfort by getting 
rid of snarled hair, and improving his cleanliness. Matted hair cannot 
be bathed properly.  If we do end up clipping him we will likely do it 
here at home. I have a Yorkshire Terrier breeder just 3 doors up....she 
has power clippers with attachments for grooming, and knows TayTay well. 
We would clip him at home in a safe surroundings. I do worry a little 
about his living long enough to grow out a full coat again, but the real 
motivation is making him more comfortable and his skin healthier, as he 
is NOT going into any show ring!

I am looking for opinions about clipping ....yea or nea, and reasons for 
or against. If there is a significant reason not to, I will be doing my 
level best to scissor trim and hand brush a little more each day to try 
and get all the way around him, and to stay ahead of it from there, but 
it will be LOT of discomfort for him, and in his lowered condition due 
to age and stroke, I don't really want to stress him. I can't help but 
think it will be easier for him if he give him a haircut and then make 
sure we keep up on brushing out the bushiness as it grows back.  Ever 
since last summer, his coat has been a difficult problem....blowing 
inner fur like mad out of season, then stopping, then doing it again. 
Poor boy has been all confused about hair, and his skin has become very 
sensitive to hair tug or pulling such as occurs with brushing and worse 
when de-tanging or de-matting.

_______________

On another note: I saw a special on TV about giving fish oil to human 
patients that had suffered brain damage from either trauma or stroke, 
that lead to coma...and in 2 experimental cases, the people given large 
doses of fish oil came out of their comas and have regained the ability 
to talk and walk. I thought that I would try it with TahTay, though not 
in a coma, he has suffered some brain dysfunction that was causing his 
rear to walk over to one side, and to have much weaker muscle control. 
We have had him on fish oil about a month now, along with pure 
unhydrogenated coconut oil. After about 2 weeks he started walking less 
diagonal, and has been up and walking about many more hours in the 
typical day. He is still lower strength, but has regained enough to 
climb stairs again, something he became unable to do about 4 months 
ago.  a few days ago when we had some sunshine, we even went outside and 
walked up the mound of dirt we have for the dogs. He had not been able 
to do that since autumn!
At least we are seeing some small improvements in his overall condition.

Thanks in advance for thoughts on the clipping subject...
Jennifer Crock