German Shepard

Question
I have a long haired german shepard. She has long white britches and my son says I have to keep her trimmed to keep feces from getting on them. I trimmed them once with scissors, but when they began growing back the hair was really brittle. What is the best way to trim them and is there any website I can find photo's t see how they are supposed to look?

Answer
I am not sure what you mean by "britches". If you are referring to the furnishings under her tail on the top of the leg it it perfectly acceptable to trim them for sanitary reasons. We usually use thinning shears to do this in order to give a softer look. Doing small amounts at a time and not just chunking out big globs is the secret. Follow the shape of the dogs legs.
As far as a website is concerned you might want to try youtube.com and see if there is a short video that can help you. The real trick is the equipment. Putting the dog up on a surface where you can eyeball the finished product is certainly important to achieve the desired visual effect. Comb the hair up and out. Stand back and look at how much you want to remove then thin it with good thinning shears pointing straight up.
hope this helps,
good luck!