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Bergamasco Sheepdog
Puppies for Sale
Grooming the Bergamasco
It's not as hard as it looks, very easy in
fact. No brushing, No Shedding and virtually no bathing -
Courtesy of
Silver Pastori Bergamascos and
Artos Bergamascos
When people first see a fully coated,
mature, Bergamasco their initial reaction usually is, (How do you take care of
that coat, and do you really sit there and weave the hair to make it look like
that?)
Actually, the Bergamasco coat requires very little care, except for the
occasional brushing and bathing. You can even brush The Bergamasco, when the dog
is mature and the hair has flocked together!
The Bergamasco coat is forever changing, from the adorable, soft, fluffy, puppy
coat to the beginning flocking stage which may start as early as 8-9 months -1
year old. When this flocking starts, (which I call the tangled, messy look), it
lasts till the dog is approximately two years old. At approximately three years
old, the look that everyone has been waiting for, has finally arrived!
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Luzio |
Ugo |
Nerea
The Bergamasco's coat is made up of hair, not fur and
is considered to be non-shedding. I would like to make it clear that the
Bergamasco hair does not cord, (cording is the twisting of hairs together to
create a spiral strand). The Bergamasco coat is very different, in that the
strands of hair weave together creating flat layers of hair, (called
flocks). The definition of a flock is (a tuft or lock of wool or hair). Each
flock of hair ranges in width anywhere from inch and half to three inches
wide.
 
Before we can discuss each stage of coat
development, one must first understand the formation of the coat. The coat is
made up of three types of hair: 01. The Undercoat, fine dense and oily (not
greasy) to the touch which forms a waterproof, protective layer. 02. The Goat
hair which look like thin gray strands is strong and harsh similar to coat of a
goat. 03. The Woolly top coat, which is finer and softer to the touch. The
combination of the wooly hair mixed with the goat hair weave together to create
the flock.
Different Stages
Of Coat Care
Birth To Approx. 1 Year
Young Zeus from Sweden
Each dog develops at their own rate
depending on the dogs genetics. Whether you have a gray or black coated puppy,
coat care is still the same. It is okay to wash your puppy once in a while or
when the need arises, however, frequent bathing will dry out your puppy's skin
and coat by removing the protective essential oils that keep the skin healthy
and the coat clean. It is also important to keep your puppy free of any tangles
or matting especially in the beginning, when the puppy coat is still present and
the change over has not occurred. A monthly brushing with a pin brush will
remove most tangles and debris. At around 8-10 months you will begin to notice
the development of the longer smooth gray goat hair. This is the age the coat
begins to get thicker especially around the base of the tail. You will begin to
notice thin smooth strands of gray hair along the back and base of the dog. This
is what we call the goat hair. Now the beginning stages of flocking can occur.
The goat hair together with the under coat
and the wooly coat come together to form shapeless clumps of immediate concern
for the first time Bergamasco owner. All of a sudden most Bergamasco owners
panic at this initial matted, flocking that can be felt near the skin, more than
seen by the eye.
Most owners have found these initial flocks by having their brush no longer
usable in the hair. From this point on it is very important to put aside the
brush and manually groom your Bergamasco by running your fingers through the
dog's coat while relaxing in the evening.. Your dog usually prefers your touch
over any hand held tool and is an excellent way to form a close bond with your
Bergamasco.
Sometimes in the early stages of the development of the flocks, there can be
more wooly hair than usual, causing the softer finer puppy hair to matt close to
the skin. This type of matt should not be at this stage. It is important to
separate these areas by hand as though true flocks are taking shape so the skin
is not pulled. When the flocks begin to take shape, you will notice the base of
the flock at he skin is never woven, but is straight non woven strands of hair.
This naturally creates a space between the dogs skin and the beginning formation
of the flock so as not to pull the skin and also allows air to the dogs skin.
This is the reason the Bergamasco Sheepdog
is not plagued with skin problems. (It also important to note at this stage one
must limit bathing to necessity only, when the coat gets wet the hair will
become tighter and tighter to the skin almost like a wool sweater shrinking),
which makes it very difficult to separate into smaller groupings. What one must
do to the clumps of hair, (new flocks) if larger than 2-3 fingers wide, of if
there are different areas of hair binding together,( literally creating matting
and skin pulling), is to simply tear the flocks by your fingers from the loose
end, (hair not attached to the skin) down to the skin.
It is not important to worry about the shape or direction of the mats when
tearing, but simply to avoid the coat from forming a solid matt over the body.
It is important however at this stage not to make the flocks to thin, for
eventually the thin flocks can break and fall off. It is better to have larger
width flocks than smaller ones. As the Bergamasco flocks get longer with age,
the shear weight of a too thin flock will cause it to break off or it can also
be pulled off through typical dog play.
During the 1st year to almost 2nd year old your Bergamasco looks unkempt and you
may hear some pleasant comments, why don't they groom their dogs.
Luna
A Bergamasco with a lot of wooly coat can
be a quite an adventure, constantly splitting and re splitting the coat to help
set up the initial flocks. Many Bergamascos have coats that require minimal
initial or ongoing care. Believe it or not once you have set the initial flocks
they are taking shape everyday as your dog matures. Remember each flock will be
different in width and texture depending on how the ratio of the three different
type of hairs intertwine together.
On a typical Bergamasco's body you will notice the distribution of various types
of hair is not constant. On the base of the tail, rear section of the trunk and
the limbs, there is a vast amount of woolly hair. You will generally notice
woolly hair throughout the dogs coat with the exception of the shoulders to the
thorax where there is only goat hair and the hair in this region has a smoother
texture.
Potential Trouble Spots
Generally speaking when The Bergamasco is starting to flock, check throughout
the body, down to the skin, by separating the hair with your hands to make a
visual inspection. During the first year large mats can develop behind and
underneath the ears and need to be torn into smaller flocks by hand. The limbs
and chest need to watched carefully as well. We also check underneath at the
front and back arm pits to make sure there aren't any mats pulling the skin. The
same method applies, tear too large groupings into thinner flocks by hand.
Two - Three Years Old
This is the period when the dog's flocks
begin to appear separated and will have a flat fan like appearance in shape and
are visibly noticeable on the top line, although short in length. One must watch
carefully for the flocks not to become to thick or wide or to thin. If the
flocks become to wide it is important to separate them into the chosen width
using the previously discussed method of tearing from the loose top end, down to
the skin. The splitting of the too large flock should always be done by the
hands, however, if need be a scissors will work as an extreme last resort.
Three Yrs Old +++
Lindoro
Someone may actually come up to you and
comment, is that a Komondor or a Puli, Ah you say to yourself finally my
Bergamasco is becoming a Bergamasco!
Once you have reached this period, it is home free, so enjoy and watch as the
flocks continue to grow throughout the dog's life. As your dog matures, length
and multi layers of flocks will magically appear before your eyes. The
Bergamasco coat at this stage should now be Bergamasco™s own with the flocks
well developed, beginning from the top line and eventually settling on the sides
of body. If you find a flock a little to thin you should do nothing eventually
it may attach itself to another one next to it. It is important though, to keep
a watch on the coat and split any flocks that become to too wide in width. One
should be aware that generally the flocks are not the same size everywhere on
the body of the dog. Generally, the flocks on the saddle and base of the tail
are thicker and wider due to the abundance of the wooly coat,
However, in areas around the shoulder and neck there is very little wooly hair
only goat hair creating a smooth saddle.
On the chest the wooly coat is not as
thick, therefore the flocks should be thinner and not as wide as those on the
trunk of the dog. One must remember that the amount of wooly coat and goat hair
various on different parts of the dog creating different size flocks throughout
the dogs body as well as the dogs limbs, where the flocks should all be
uniformed in size hanging loosely to the ground. On the head area around the
eyes and muzzle, the hair is softer hanging loosely over the eyes. The hair
should always cover the eyes creating a visor which protects the eyes from the
sun rays. It usually takes up to five years for the Bergamasco coat to fully
develop into layers upon layers of flocks that extend from the dogs shoulders to
their paws.
Brio dell Albera in Italy
Bathing, Brushing.
The Bergamasco is generally a very clean dog, therefore it is only necessary to
bath 2-3 times a year. The hair has natural oils which create a protective layer
that help make the coat, water and dirt resistant. Without oil as natural
protection the hair becomes dry and absorbs water as well as dirt more easily.
The natural skin oil protect against dryness of the dogs skin. When the need
arises you can spot bath your dog in areas more frequent such as the whiskers,
and under the mouth where food particles can accumulate. Other areas where dirt
may be are the paws, fronts of lower limbs, underneath the dog and behind the
tail area where you may find dry feces.. When washing your Bergamasco it is
important to use lots of water and gentle shampoos. There are now some excellent
soap free shampoos on the market today, the advantage to a detergent based
shampoo is that no residual detergent is left in the hair.
Ugo
When washing the coat use plenty of warm
water wetting all the layers of the coat especially the underneath layers. While
rinsing, it is important not to leave any cleaning residue in the coat by
constantly flooding the flocks with water while squeezing or twisting the flocks
to help remove as much water as possible. The flocks, like a sponge absorbs a
lot of water, the more water you can squeeze the faster the drying process will
be. It is always best to bathe your dog on a breezy warm day, so drying time can
be kept to a minimum, otherwise it can take two to three days to dry a full
coated Bergamasco. If you use a hair dryer, never use a dryer designed for
humans, the heat is too hot for dog hair and can severely damage the coat. It is
best to use a commercial grooming dryer that offers different air flow
attachments and have various temperature ranges.
Brushing
Many people ask, can you brush that coat? The answer is yes. An adult
Bergamascos as well as a puppy can be brushed.. A puppy should have a monthly
brushing to help remove small tangles and debris. A pin brush should be used to
brush the puppy coat. A pin brush will not harm the coat or take out the
undercoat. A slicker brush can be used during on a fully flocked and coated
Bergamasco. The slicker brush will not damage the dense adult flocks, it will
only remove the surface dirt that settles on the outside of the flocks. . It is
also very healthy to brush the adult coat occasionally, at this stage the adult
dogs seem to enjoy the brushing and it helps keeps the coat nice and tidy.
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There is nothing more beautiful then the watching the movement of the Bergamasco
with all it their flocks flowing through the air. I have always said that the
Bergamasco unlike other breeds is always changing year after year, from the
adorable, fluffy puppy stage, to the tangled youthful rebel stage, to the
Beautiful Mature Majestic Bergamasco, as we have come to know and love. |
Lazy leg lifter and boys who urine over their long flocks:
The preventive technique: first get some thick human hair elastics.
Each time we go on walks we pull the flocks (the ones that are in the trajectory
of the urine) towards each side of the body and make ponytails (1 to 3 elastics
each side depending of the stage of the coat), from the belly, the side and some
from the leg.
The ponytails are made high enough so when the dog lifts its legs there is no
(or a minimal) hit on the flocks. Since the coat on the top of the body is long,
it hides the ponytails and the dog looks as if he had a sporty hair length (at
least he does not look too ridiculous).
You can buy the elastics at any drug store or hair accessory department, the
best ones come from afro-hair web sites where there have some specialized for
people with braids or dread locks.
I use the same elastics one the rear pulling the hair in side pony tails
whenever any of the dogs have diarrhea.
- Spot cleaning or flocks that have been
sprayed: I have a technique that works amazingly (it's also the best think to do
if the dog is sprayed by a skunk), and it does not require repeat as other
shampoos might:
Mix baking soda with a mild dish detergent and some peroxide (the external use
one that you can find at the drug store).
Use enough baking soda powder so the texture is a thick paste and not too soft.
Cover the flocks that are soaked in urine with the mixture (avoid getting too
close from the skin as it can absorb chemicals from the soap). Let it sit for 10
minutes.... the mixture will absorb the urine. Rinse thoroughly with warm water
making sure you get rid of all the soap... The Rinsing is the most difficult
part because you have to keep doing it over and over until there is no more
foam.
The peroxide acts as an accelerator if used in a small amount... Dr. Liisa D
Carlson, DVM and Dr. James M Griffin, MD recommend the following amounts in
their book: "Dogs Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook" :
- 1 quart (3%) hydrogen peroxide
- 1/4 cup baking soda (sodium carbonate)
- 1 teaspoon liquid soap (Ivory, Dawn...)
Personally, I use very little peroxide compare to them because I was concerned
with discoloration of the coat... but I have never had any problems so far.
A groomer in Boston uses it without the peroxide but much more liquid soap on
silky longhaired dogs... Which does not really work for the Bergamasco coat, the
soap rises up the flock and touches the skin, and just as soap on a sponge, too
much of it is very hard to take off.... I would recommend either way to only use
it on the lower part of the flock to avoid any skin reaction to the mixture. And
If you use more baking soda powder, the solid consistency of the paste travels
less up and down the flock.....
Make sure to discard the solution from the container when you are done, the
release of oxygen caused by the chemical reaction could make the container
explode if closed.
Reference and Credits:
Books: Bergamasco (Kennel Club Dog Breed Series) by Maria Andreoli and Donna
DeFalcis
The Bergamasco Alpine Sheepdog by Maria Andreoli
Web sites
Silverpastori Kennel, Dell Albera Kennel, Bergamasco Sheepdog Club of America,
International Bergamasco Sheepdog Association
Bergamasco Sheepdog Info
Bergamasco Sheepdog Pictures Page
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