A border collie doesn’t need a haircut, which surprises owners coming from a poodle or a cavoodle. Border collie grooming is a brushing job, not a clipping one – the work is keeping a heavy double coat from matting and shedding all over the house, not styling it. We’ve groomed plenty of these dogs, working and pet, and the coat mostly looks after itself once a routine is in place. If you’re still shaping good habits on the table, pairing grooming with border collie training early makes the brush and the dryer a non-event.
Brush a border collie 2 to 3 times a week, and daily through the spring and autumn coat blow. Bath every 6 to 8 weeks and dry the coat down to the skin. The breed needs no body trim and never a shave – just a tidy of the feet and feathering. And in Australia, check for grass seeds and ticks after every run through long grass.
Rough or smooth: the two border collie coats
Border collies come in two coat types, and both are double coats. The ‘rough’ coat is medium to long, with feathering on the legs, chest, tail and the backs of the thighs – it’s the look most people picture. The ‘smooth’ coat is shorter and flatter all over. Here’s the catch: they shed the same amount, the rough coat just shows it more on the couch. Both have a dense, insulating undercoat beneath a coarser, weather-resistant outer coat, a similar build to the close-cousin Australian shepherd. Whichever you have, the job is the same: brush the undercoat out and keep the feathering free of mats.
Why a border collie needs almost no trimming
This is where the ‘trim tips’ get short. A border collie’s coat is meant to be left long – it doesn’t keep growing like a poodle’s, so it never needs a body clip to hold a shape. The only trimming worth doing is tidy work: neatening the hair around the feet and pads, a light trim of the feathering on the backs of the legs, and a sanitary tidy underneath. That’s the lot. Resist the urge to even out the feathering with scissors every few weeks, because regular brushing keeps it looking sharp and over-trimming a working coat does more harm than good.
Your border collie grooming routine
Most of the upkeep is brushing, and reaching the undercoat is the whole game. Start with a slicker brush over the coat to lift loose fur and debris, then use an undercoat rake through the dense areas – the neck, the hindquarters and behind the ears. Use line brushing for the thick spots: part the coat with one hand, brush a small section from the skin outward, then move down a strip. The fine coat behind the ears mats first, so start there. Two to three sessions a week is the baseline, and a steel comb is your check – if it runs clean, you’re done. A young dog that’s happy to be handled all over makes this far quicker, so a little cooperative care goes a long way.
Coat blow: the spring and autumn shed
Twice a year, in spring and again in autumn, a border collie ‘blows’ its undercoat and the shedding goes from steady to everywhere. Brush daily through it, ideally outside, and a warm bath with a thorough dry helps release the dead coat faster – a groomer’s force-dryer does in 20 minutes what takes a week of brushing at home. If the dryer worries your dog, build it up slowly with desensitise your puppy rather than holding them still. And whatever the heat does, don’t be tempted to shave for summer – shaving a double coat makes the undercoat grow back faster than the guard hairs, leaving the coat patchy and sometimes changed for good, with less sun protection rather than more.
Bathing and drying
Bath a border collie every 6 to 8 weeks, or when they’re properly filthy – the coat has natural oils that frequent washing strips out. Brush it through before the bath so loose fur isn’t pressed flat against the skin. Use warm water only, around body temperature (about 37°C), with a dog shampoo rather than human shampoo, which sits at the wrong pH. Drying matters as much as washing: a double coat traps water in the undercoat, so towel firmly then dry on warm – not hot – down to the skin, especially the chest and behind the legs. A lick mat keeps a busy-minded collie occupied while you work through the thick bits.
Grass seeds and the working-dog life
If your collie runs in paddocks or long grass – and most do – grass seeds are the grooming hazard that matters most here. Those barbed seeds work into the feathering and between the toes, then burrow through the skin. The University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Sydney notes a seed can track deep into a foot and create a draining sinus, or lodge in an ear and need sedation to remove. After any run through dry or seeding grass, check the feet, between the toes, the armpits, the ears and the belly feathering, and clip the paw hair short over summer so seeds have less to grab.
Working dogs cop this worst, and the same goes for the kelpie alongside them on most Australian farms.
Paralysis ticks: a daily check in tick country
On the east coast, grooming is also tick patrol. A border collie’s coat hides a paralysis tick easily, a single one can be fatal, and the ticks are most active in the warmer, wetter months. Research from the University of Queensland found ticks turn up on the head, neck or ears in close to three-quarters of cases, so run your fingers slowly over the skin – not just the fur – every day in season, checking the face, ears, neck and chest first and then the feet. Keep the dog on a vet-recommended tick preventive as well, because checking and prevention work together rather than either-or.
Costs in 2026: groomer or DIY
Plenty of border collie owners never use a groomer – the coat doesn’t need cutting, so brushing at home covers most of it. Others book a groom every 8 to 12 weeks for a de-shed, bath, blow-dry and nails, especially around the coat blow. Realistic 2026 metro bands:
| Service | Typical 2026 price (metro AU) |
|---|---|
| Full groom + de-shed (salon) | $80 to $130 |
| De-shed treatment add-on | $20 to $50 |
| Mobile groomer (comes to you) | $100 to $160 |
| Nail trim only | $15 to $30 |
| Home kit (slicker, undercoat rake, comb) | $50 to $140 one-off |
A mobile groomer costs a little more but saves bathing a shedding 20kg dog in your own laundry. Whoever you use, ask that they won’t shave the body – it’s a working coat, not a style.
When grooming becomes a vet visit
Some things are past a brush. Book a vet if you notice:
- A grass seed you can’t easily remove, or a swollen, weepy or oozing spot between the toes or in an ear
- A tick, or sudden signs of tick paralysis such as a wobbly back end, a changed bark or trouble breathing – this is an emergency
- An ear that smells, looks red or has discharge, with head-shaking or scratching
- Mats tightened to the skin behind the ears or under the legs, with sore skin underneath
Dental care belongs here too. Periodontal dental disease is the most common health problem vets see in dogs, so regular tooth-brushing matters alongside the coat. And the hard nevers: don’t shave the body coat, don’t use human shampoo, and don’t poke a cotton bud into the ear canal.
FAQ
How often should you groom a border collie?
Brush 2 to 3 times a week, and daily through the spring and autumn coat blow. Most border collies only see a professional groomer occasionally, if at all, since the coat doesn’t need cutting.
Do border collies need haircuts or trimming?
No body haircut. The coat is meant to stay long, so trimming is limited to tidying the feet, the feathering on the legs and a sanitary trim. Brushing does the rest.
How do I manage border collie shedding?
A slicker brush plus an undercoat rake a few times a week, daily during the blow, and a bath with a good dry clears the most fur. You manage shedding rather than stop it, and shaving only makes it worse.
Can you shave a border collie in summer?
Better not to. The double coat regrows patchy and damaged, and it actually helps a dog stay cool and shields the skin from sun. Brush out the undercoat instead to keep them comfortable in the heat.
A border collie’s coat asks for time, not talent. The dogs who look their best aren’t the ones given a summer shave – they’re the ones whose owner spent ten minutes with an undercoat rake on the verandah, and checked the feet for seeds every time the dog came in off the grass.
American Kennel Club – https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/how-to-groom-a-double-coated-dog/ – why double-coated dogs should not be shaved and how the coat regrows.
University Veterinary Teaching Hospital Sydney – https://www.sydney.edu.au/vet-hospital/general-practice/preventative-health/grass-seeds.html – grass seeds tracking into feet and ears and needing veterinary removal.
University of Queensland – https://news.uq.edu.au/2025-10-paralysis-ticks-prefer-heads-and-necks-pets – paralysis ticks most often found on the head, neck and ears of pets.
Australian Veterinary Association – https://www.ava.com.au/policy-advocacy/policies/companion-animals-health/guidelines-for-dental-treatment-in-dogs-and-cats/ – periodontal disease as the most common canine health problem.