Working flock protection dogs: do you brush them?

Hello everybody. Ever since I found out about flock protection dogs I have wondered if the owners ever brush the dogs. Like the Great Pyrenese, it requires a lot of grooming. Does someone who is raising 500 sheep and has 5 of these dogs have the time?

I am not wanting a Great Pyrenese(don't like brushing long hair)and I know every pet dog needs grooming, so don't worry about that! :) Thank you to all who answer.

Working flock protection dogs: do you brush them?

Depends on the dogs' situation, LPD that work far away from people rarely get brushed and I known of a few that get shaved when the sheep do..lol. But the ones on small ranches that have regular handling do get brushed and examined for their best health. Long coats cover a multitude of problems, cuts, parasites and mats can injure a dog so they are brushed or clipped short to minimize problems.Nails rarely wear down on a small farm/hobby breeder so need attention. My g/f has 1 that came from a small hobby goat breeder and his were groomed some but obviously not as well as a total housedog. Hers, now 2, get groomed some as well, but since they have a pond and plenty of dirt they don't look too groomed but do get flea preventative and heartworm preventative reguarly. (Monthly grooming is important for the guardian dog who spends most of its time outdoors. Grooming also provides an opportunity to check the dog for health problems such as fleas and ticks, weight loss, and dehydration. )

Working flock protection dogs: do you brush them?

We brush our girl out in the spring... she has a shorter coat though

that coat really protects them from the weather

we also take her several times in the summer to be bathed and all the dead hair removed...but what she has in the winter we leave alone

edit

in the real flock guardian world.. sometimes the farmers do not see their flocks for an entire season..the dogs are with them every step of the way...no one feeding them...no one grooming them!

I will say our girls coat does not get matted...it looks really good just super thick

Working flock protection dogs: do you brush them?

Yes they brush them if they didn`t they would get sores from the matts, matts when left uncared for will go to the skin.

Working flock protection dogs: do you brush them?

Hi offlights

I brush my Pye for 2 mins a day and then a good brush out twice a week, but there's a Pyre near to me who never gets brushed and his coat got really matted.

He ended up at the groomer and he/she sheep-sheared the dog and he's never been the same since.

However, to answer the question, there would be around 60 of these Pyre's guarding sheep in the olden days so I doubt very much that they ever got brushed.