Mathildas Hundar

I got a question from Daga:

Thank You for sharing this old pictures. Change is very big, sometimes hard to believe different they are now. But it was lass work with coat :). How where they groomed in this times, do you know maybe?

My answer:
These pictures are taken in the 60s, which is way before my time. So I asked mum and I will try to summarize what she said.

There is a big difference overall how people take care of their dogs nowadays in compares in the 60s. Bathrooms with showers had recently become a standard in the 60s household. People became more hygienic but they didn't think much about their dog's hygien. If the dog had mats (which they didn't not have often, because most dogs had a harsh coat) they brushed it out with a comb. They didn't shower the dog very often, if they did, they used soap. They didn't use schampoo or conditioner. They didn't use soft brushes and hair dryers. That worked at that time, because that was how the Bearded Collie was supposed to look.

There were no such thing as dogfood. The dogs ate the leftovers and trash. So they didn't have a well balanced meal, like nowadays. That might have affected the dog's coat.

We do also think that breeders were more strict about the fact that the Beardie should have a harsh outer coat. Because if they didn't, they would be wet and cold when they were outside in the rain.

Nowadays it doesn't matter if a Beardie has a soft coat, because they live indoors as a familymember. They doesn't have to be outside while it rains.

I think that we need to look beyond the trend "biggest and longest coat wins" and realize that this is how the early Beardie did look. Shouldn't we try to maintain this look?