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Thankyou for posting, it is very interesting.

Iknow this sounds a sily question, but do you brush the puppies, and if you do, does that stop the maps forming?

my old english mastiff used to be scared of one of these over the park we used to walk in i have always been fascianted by these

The puppies are brushed every day. It doesn't stop the maps forming because when the adult coat starts to grow it actually weaves through the undercoat at an angle, which is what froms the maps. You can't brush them out - it would be like trying to brush out a piece of woven cloth.

i'm amazed at their coats..and interested..do you have to have them trimmed?and do they need lots of grooming?

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Gorgeous pic's
I've never seen your breed before just out of curiosity do they get dry skin at all with fur like that? xx

The maps have little fluffy bits on the end that we trim off for shows - we don't for the ones that don't show. We also trim the hair between and under their pads if necessary, just as you would for any dog. For showing, we aren't allowed to alter the actual shape of the maps in any way; the judge will be looking for natural maps of all shapes and sizes and will mark you down if you have tampered with them in any way.

Gabby, our black girl, has retired from showing and we've trimmed the maps around her head, because she was treading on them when she walked along sniffing the ground.

In addition, some people with elderly dogs have trimmed the maps quite short to help with old weight-bearing joints.

As for grooming, it's virtually non-existant - a quick brush with a soft brush is all there is to it! Bathing is also easy, because we don't use shampoo as it would interfere with the natural oils in their coats - we just stand them in either the bath or on the patio and hose them down! However, drying takes two or three days ..............

Absolutely stunning dogs, stunning pics. Thank you so much for sharing I have learnt something new today!!!

No, their skin is normal and healthy. There is about half an inch of unwoven hair at the base of each map, which makes sure that nothing gets matted onto the skin. And because the purpose of the coat is to trap air to keep the bergies warm in winter and cool in summer, the skin gets a good supply of fresh air all year round.

In fact, it was much harder to keep our cocker spaniels free from mats and tangles than to look after the bergies' coat.

Thank you!