Originally posted by BCBlondie
Miksy, my Sheltie, isn't TOO bad, but he's gotten a lot more grumpy and sensitive to his skin as he's gotten older
My RB Cody got a lot more difficult to brush as he got older. His skin was always sensitive, but it seemed to be ultra sensitive as he got to be elderly. He wouldn't bite me, but he would cry out and pull back his lips in a grimace if I hit a little snag. I got a fairly cheap clipper set and just clippered his coat until it was a lot shorter length, he looked more like a 1 year old collie that hadn't grown the length and thickness of an adult yet. It being shorter made it much easier to brush out, while still leaving him unshaved and less vulnerable to sunburn and bug bites. They sometimes would lay right in the sun outside. If you put your hand to the top of their coat, it would feel hot. But if you pushed in and felt their skin, it would still feel cool.

Any mats that developed, I just cut them out, it wasn't worth putting him through trying to brush or comb them out. Might have looked a bit odd/messy but at least he was not put through the pain of trying to untangle it. He always had a finer coat that matted easier than a rough collie should really. Willie's coat was more rough (the way it should be) and didn't tangle and mat too easy.