How to Groom Your Maremma Sheepdog
(Or other double coated Livestock Guardian Dog.)
In order for your Maremma Sheepdog to stay healthy he will need to be groomed occasionally. Maremmas are double coated breeds, which means they have a fluffy undercoat and a slicker, smoother topcoat. This coat acts as insulation against both cold AND heat, and for this reason you should never shave down your Maremma, unless it’s medically necessary. Dogs don’t sweat to cool off like humans and horses do. Instead they pant, like goats do. 🐶🐐 If you shave their coat you are actually taking away the insulation and making them hotter so just don’t do it! Shaving them also can ruin the coat, often making it grow in curly and coarse. It is ok to trim under their tail and their belly to help keep those areas clean, but otherwise it’s best to leave that amazing double coat alone.
However, a dirty, matted coat is not the best insulation against heat or cold and can lead to uncomfortable skin conditions. Maremmas that live outdoors will shed their undercoats in the spring and fall though it’s most noticeable in the spring. Sometimes the loose hair gets trapped and tangled and this can cause uncomfortable matts. Therefore you should help your Maremma by grooming him to help get all the loose hair out. Grooming him regularly will prevent problems before they start. If he’s already gotten matted it might be a bit more work to get the tangled hair out but it can be done. Read on below for our recommended tools to make grooming your Maremma easier. You can click on the hyperlinks and photos to purchase these items.
However, a dirty, matted coat is not the best insulation against heat or cold and can lead to uncomfortable skin conditions. Maremmas that live outdoors will shed their undercoats in the spring and fall though it’s most noticeable in the spring. Sometimes the loose hair gets trapped and tangled and this can cause uncomfortable matts. Therefore you should help your Maremma by grooming him to help get all the loose hair out. Grooming him regularly will prevent problems before they start. If he’s already gotten matted it might be a bit more work to get the tangled hair out but it can be done. Read on below for our recommended tools to make grooming your Maremma easier. You can click on the hyperlinks and photos to purchase these items.
Tools for Removing Loose Undercoat and Brushing Your Maremma
Removing loose undercoat requires two things - the right tools and lots of elbow grease!
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Bathing Your Maremma Sheepdog
You may have noticed that Maremmas absolutely love water and mud, so they can get really dirty sometimes. Luckily their double coat does repel dirt so usually once they dry most of the dirt comes off, therefore they don’t need to be bathed very often. But an occasional bath is good for them, especially if they have fleas or ticks. Also, if they do end up with a matted undercoat bathing them will help to loosen that hair so it will let go. And if you blow dry them with a force blow dryer you can actually blow most of the undercoat right out in record time. We have a professional grooming tub installed in our milking parlor to make grooming easier. But you can bathe your Maremma outdoors with a garden hose and a good spray nozzle if the weather is warm enough. Below are some of the products we use for getting our Maremmas squeaky clean and tangle free!
Our Favorite Shampoos & Conditioners
- Tropiclean Hypoallergenic Puppy Shampoo - our favorite shampoo for puppies & adults
- Lillian Ruff Whitening Shampoo - our other favorite, whitens & brightens our dirty dogs!
- Lillian Ruff Oatmeal Conditioner - conditioner & detangler, helps with brushing
- Lillian Ruff Shampoo & Conditioner Combo Pack
- Tropiclean Natural Flea & Tick Shampoo - our favorite natural flea shampoo
- Adam’s Flea & Tick Shampoo - stronger flea shampoo for really bad infestations
- Tropiclean Shed Control Shampoo - helps loosen undercoat
- Tropiclean Shed Control Conditioner - helps loosen undercoat
- The Stuff detangling Spray - must have for detangling
- Curaseb Chlorhexidine Medicated Shampoo - great for hot spots & other skin conditions. Not for daily use. We actually use this on our goats more than our dogs!
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Useful Equipment for Bathing and Grooming Your Maremma
These are some other useful items for grooming Maremmas. Some are big ticket items but we love them and they sure make the job easier! But you can also improvise with cheaper alternatives. We installed a professional dog grooming tub in our milking parlor but you can always use a garden hose. We also splurged on a electric grooming table so we don’t have to lift these heavy dogs up onto the table. You could use a regular grooming table or improvise some other way. One item I do highly recommend, though, is a force blow dryer. It truly makes the job of getting the loose undercoat out so much easier. We have two different models, which are both listed below.
- Flying One High Velocity blow dryer - economical force blow dryer. Ours is purple, of course!
- K-9 III Dog Grooming Dryer - more high powered force blow dryer. Also comes in purple. ☺️
- Flying Pig Electric lift grooming table - save your back with this table! This is the one we have and we love it!
- Flying Pig Grooming Table - more economical grooming table if you’re strong enough to lift your dog. We might need to buy this as a second table, just because it’s purple. 😆
- Flying Pig Professional grooming tub - outstanding professional grooming tub. We love ours!
- No Sit Haunch Holder - better than the grooming noose that comes with the tables.
- Hose spray nozzle - if bathing outdoors.
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Nails and Ears
No grooming is complete until the ears & nails are done! In fact, your Maremma will probably need his ears cleaned and nails trimmed more often than he will need a full grooming. Once a week would be great, but at least every couple of weeks or once a month is recommended. It’s really not hard and the more you practice the easier it will be for both you and your Maremma. Below are the tools to get the job done.
- Ear cleaner - this is the best all around ear cleaner. Squirt in ear and massage to loosen dirt.
- Baby Wipes - after squirting ear cleaner in the ear we wipe out the excess and the dirt with a baby wipe.
- Dog Nail Trimmers - these are our favorite nail trimmers for adults and bigger pups. Don’t cut too short so you avoid cutting the quick. On white nails you can see the pinkish area where it starts. On black nails you just have to guess. It’s about where the nail starts to curve. Start longer than you think and take off more if needed.
- Puppy Nail Trimmers - these are our favorite nail trimmers for little puppies. We trim our puppies’ nails regularly so they don’t scratch mom and us, and so they get used to having it done.
- Blood Stop Powder - if you get a nail too short no worries, blood stop powder to the rescue!
- Vetwrap - If you REALLY get a nail short you can wrap it with gauze and vet wrap until the bleeding stops.
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