Scout
4 years old · Arundel
A black-and-white rough coat who herds the leaf blower with total conviction. Holds still for carding as long as there's a tennis ball in view.
Breed Grooming Guide 5.0 · Southern Maine
Border Collie Dog Grooming.
A Border Collie is built to work all day in Scottish weather, and the double coat that lets it do that is the same coat that fills a Maine mudroom with fur every spring. K-Pup grooms Border Collies mobile — one dog, one trailer, parked in your driveway — because a breed this smart and this busy does far better without an hour spent waiting its turn in a loud shop.
Rough Coat, Smooth Coat, Working Dog
Grooming for every kind of Border Collie.
Most Border Collies carry the classic medium-length rough coat with feathering, but the smooth-coat variety and plenty of farm-worked dogs need their own approach. For breed background, see the AKC Border Collie breed page.
Rough Coat, Full Feathering
The feathering on the legs, chest and britches mats first, usually where a harness sits or where the dog lies down on wet grass. We line-brush the whole coat to the skin before the bath, then card the undercoat out with a high-velocity dryer so the topcoat lies flat and sheds cleanly for weeks.
Smooth Coat Border Collies
Shorter and flatter than the rough coat but still fully double-coated underneath. Smooth coats blow their undercoat just as hard as their fluffier littermates, and a rubber curry plus high-velocity air pulls out far more loose hair than a home bath ever will.
Working & Farm Dogs
Dogs that spend their days in fields, brush and livestock pens arrive carrying burrs, ticks and matted feathering behind the elbows. We check thoroughly for burrs and hitchhikers before bathing so nothing gets sealed in wet, and we flag anything embedded in the skin.
Puppies & Coat Change
The soft puppy coat gives way to the coarser adult double coat between eight months and two years, and that transition is prime mat season around the ears and collar. Regular brushing through the changeover keeps the adult coat coming in clean instead of matted underneath.
Built For Working Coats
Undercoat, energy and a busy mind.
Carding beats clipping
We rarely clip a healthy Border Collie's body coat. Carding — combing dead undercoat out by hand and with a dryer — keeps the weatherproof topcoat intact so the dog stays protected from both a July heat wave and a January nor'easter.
Sand, mud and salt marsh
Dogs that run the flats at Goose Rocks or wade the marsh near Cape Porpoise track home mud packed into the feathering. Left to dry, that mud binds hair into felt. A thorough rinse and full dry-out at each visit stops that before it starts.
Working the schedule around energy
A Border Collie that's had no outlet that day is a hard dog to groom still. We ask owners to run their dog before a visit when possible, and we keep the pace efficient and calm so a smart, restless dog isn't standing around bored.
Eyes, ears and nails
Herding dogs squint into wind and sun and can pick up debris in the eyes and ears while working. We check both at every visit, along with nails that rarely wear down evenly on a dog that's mostly running rather than walking pavement.
The Border Collie Society of America keeps breed health and working-dog resources worth a look between appointments.
Services
Border Collie grooming services.
01
Full Deshed & Groom
Bath, full undercoat carding, high-velocity dry, feathering brushed out, feet and sanitary trim, nails and ears.
02
Field-to-Clean Bath
A thorough rinse-and-dry for dogs coming off farm work or a beach run, with a burr and debris check built in before the tub.
03
Maintenance Tidy
Feet, sanitary, ear hair and nails for Border Collies between full grooms, plus a quick brush-through of the feathering.
Our Process
How we groom a Border Collie.
Every border collie appointment follows the same order, start to finish, in the trailer in your driveway. Typical appointment time: about 1 hr 45 min, one dog at a time.
Coat and debris check
We run hands and a comb through the feathering, collar line and britches to find mats, burrs or ticks before anything gets wet, and check nails, ears and pads.
Line brushing to the skin
The full coat is brushed in sections from the skin out, with particular attention to the feathering behind the elbows and britches where mats form first.
Deshedding bath
A coat-conditioning shampoo worked in fully, followed by a thorough double rinse so nothing dries stiff in that dense double coat.
High-velocity carding dry
Warm high-velocity air combined with carding pulls loose undercoat out at the root while drying, which is the step that actually controls shedding.
Scissored tidy
Feet, hocks, ears and sanitary area tidied with scissors; the body coat is left natural rather than clippered.
Nails, ears and finish
Nails clipped and ground, ears checked and cleaned, and a final brush-through before your dog is handed back calm and dry.
This is the full step-by-step process K-Pup Dog Grooming uses for border collies in southern Maine.
Client Spotlight
Our favorite border collies.
A few of the border collies we look forward to seeing on the schedule — regulars from around southern Maine who hop up on the table like they own the trailer.
Nell
2 years old · Kennebunk
A smooth-coat farm dog who still blows undercoat like a fluffier breed. Comes off the trailer noticeably lighter every visit.
Fly
9 years old · Saco
Retired from sheep, not from opinions. She supervises every step of her own groom and lets us know when we're behind schedule.
Fun Facts
The best things about border collies.
We groom a lot of border collies, and every one of them reminds us why the breed has such a loyal following. Here's what we love about the border collie.
Ranked smartest breed alive
Border Collies routinely top canine intelligence rankings, with some individuals learning over a thousand object names.
Bred for the eye, not the bark
The breed's famous 'eye' — a low, intense stalking stare — controls sheep more than barking or nipping ever did.
A coat built for the Scottish borders
That weatherproof double coat evolved to shed rain and block cold on open hillsides, which is why we never shave it down.
Frisbee dogs by accident
The same drive and reflexes that make a great herder also happen to make an unbeatable disc dog — the sport barely existed before Border Collies took it over.
Needs a job, any job
A bored Border Collie will invent a job you don't want done. Regular exercise before a grooming visit makes for a much calmer dog on the table.
Related Breeds
Similar coats we groom.
border collies share brushing, drying, and trimming needs with these breeds — each guide covers coat care, timing, and pricing for mobile grooming in southern Maine.
Services
Services for your Border Collie.
The visits border collies book most often, and what each one includes.
Where We Groom Border Collies
Border Collie grooming across southern Maine.
Looking for a Border Collie groomer near you? The K-Pup trailer runs southern Maine every week — pick your town and book a driveway appointment. See all our locations →
Kennebunkport Border Collie GroomingKennebunk Border Collie GroomingCape Porpoise Border Collie GroomingGoose Rocks Beach Border Collie GroomingArundel Border Collie GroomingBiddeford Border Collie GroomingSaco Border Collie GroomingWells Border Collie GroomingOgunquit Border Collie GroomingYork Border Collie GroomingOld Orchard Beach Border Collie GroomingScarborough Border Collie Grooming
Border Collie Grooming FAQ
Questions border collies owners ask us.
How often should a Border Collie be groomed?
Every 6 to 8 weeks for a full deshedding groom, with brushing two or three times a week at home. During the spring and fall coat blow, an extra deshedding visit in between makes a real difference.
Should a Border Collie's coat be shaved for summer?
No. The double coat insulates against heat as well as cold, and shaving it risks the coat growing back patchy or discolored. Regular carding and deshedding keeps a Border Collie comfortable without removing that protection.
Why does my Border Collie shed so much in spring?
Border Collies blow a heavy undercoat twice a year as daylight changes. A high-velocity dryer removes far more of that loose undercoat in one session than weeks of home brushing.
My dog is anxious around the clippers. Can you still groom him?
Most Border Collies barely need clippers at all — the body coat is scissored or carded, not shaved. We keep tools quiet and introduce anything new slowly, which suits a breed that notices everything.
Do you groom farm and working Border Collies?
Yes, regularly. We check thoroughly for burrs, ticks and matting from field work before bathing, and we're happy to talk through a schedule that fits a dog that's outside all day.