Home Grooming Tips
Covid-19 hit us fast. Stopping us from being able to groom your dogs. Although we wish we could groom your dog, it may be necessary for you to give your dog its spring grooming to ensure they are comfortable. It is expected to be Jan 23, 2021, that We will be able to return to work and start scheduling appointments. We hope that this does not go on longer.
It will be necessary for owners to be diligent in their home care during these times. You should perform the basic maintenance procedures more frequently as the coat grows. We will cover the basic steps and equipment used. If you feel that you dog cannot wait for our return and you decide to shave them yourself, we urge you to take caution and move slowly. Tools are very sharp and accidents can happen. Be aware of how and where your equipment is placed. Do not have the points of scissors aimed towards the dog, hold them away. Use scissors with rounded tips.We have some very basic equipment economic available to get you through this time. If you need any additional guidance, please feel free to contact us!!! Although there are many DIY videos online, not all show safe practices. We will try to add some helpful links to good educational videos.
It will be necessary for owners to be diligent in their home care during these times. You should perform the basic maintenance procedures more frequently as the coat grows. We will cover the basic steps and equipment used. If you feel that you dog cannot wait for our return and you decide to shave them yourself, we urge you to take caution and move slowly. Tools are very sharp and accidents can happen. Be aware of how and where your equipment is placed. Do not have the points of scissors aimed towards the dog, hold them away. Use scissors with rounded tips.We have some very basic equipment economic available to get you through this time. If you need any additional guidance, please feel free to contact us!!! Although there are many DIY videos online, not all show safe practices. We will try to add some helpful links to good educational videos.
Although Covid made it necessary for owners to groom their own dogs, it is always necessary for owners to maintain the grooming of their dog. Just like you maintain your own hair, it is necessary to maintain your dogs hair/coat. The time spent grooming your dog at home will help you bond with your dog as well.
Daily Maintenance - Brushes, Combs & Rakes
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For Medium to long coated breeds, such as ShiTzu, Bichon, Doodles, Goldens, or Shepherds, for example, you will need a slicker brush & a metal comb. The slicker brush will help remove any matting and the comb ensures there are no knots left. It is important to brush your dog to the skin. When you part the hair you should see the skin & no knots. Once you brush your dog out completely, be sure to pass the comb through the coat. The comb should not snag on any part of the dog. If it does, brush the area again. Pay special attention to the legs, feet, behind ears, neck and chest. Please do not try to force all matting out. If they are too tight they will need to be shaved. Please don't torture you or your dog over it.
*Tip-If you find you just can't get the knot to come out try brushing in a different direction, or add a little talc. (not for heavy matting)(repetitive brushing of this matted area can cause skin irritations) Lit hair and brush underneath to ensure you are getting through the whole coat. For double coated dogs like Shepherds, Huskies or Goldens, We would suggest also investing in a rake. This will help remove a lot of that undercoat that they tend to drop. For the short coat breeds, like labs, beagles, or pugs, that drop hair like crazy a rubber curry brush is a wonderful tool, followed by combing. Many people are familiar with a "Furminator" tool. If this is used we recommend using it lightly. These tools have been known to damage coats, as they do cut the coat as you use it, or irritate skin. We have inexpensive slicker brushes, combs, and curry brushes for sale in store. (Online Soon) |
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Other Daily Maintenance
Brushing of the teeth, cleaning of eyes and ears, or washing bums are all things that should be done on a regular routine. They help prevent irritations in sensitive areas and the dog health benefits over all. We do have an excellent tooth paste or oral spray that help soften and remove build up on teeth. Eye, ear and bum cleaning can be done with warm water, soap and a cloth.
Nail Trimming
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Nail trimming can be nerve wracking, especially on those black nails! Please be careful when attempting this. Dogs can tend to be fearful and jump around at the wrong moment. Get an assistant to hold the dog. Just tip the nails if you are uncomfortable clipping nails. If a little braver try to take slivers off, especially if you can not see the quick. If you do catch a quick, don't feel bad. It does happen. If you do not have "Quik-stop" to stop the bleeding use cornstarch or icing sugar. If you are totally scared of doing this, please look at your dogs feet often and watch how they walk, to ensure they are not growing into their pads or causing their feet discomfort. If this is the case please see you vet. We recommend "wrench" style clippers over "Guillotine" style. We feel that you can see the nail better and judge the amount coming off better.
You can also use a nail file to gradually file them back, or a dremel tool to grind them. Using a dremel tool does take some skill. We have small or large nail clippers available in store, as well as, cat nails clippers.
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Bathing Your Dog
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Bathing your dog seems like a simple task but your dog knows better than that. We recommend Earthbath Shampoo. There are many formulas to help with specific issues. It is a gentle shampoo that we use everyday. Its what gets those whites so white, drops the shed and gets them smelling sweet.
Available online or in store. |
Drying Your Dog
It is very important to dry your dog after they have been wet. This is especially important for double or curly coats. With double coats, any moisture left at the skin can cause hot spots and irritation. Curly coats will matt easily if left to air dry. Coats with wave need to be completely dried to ensure a longer cut. We have professional dryers with variable speed and heat settings. If you choose to fluff dry your dog using a hair dryer, please ensure that the heat is low or take breaks to prevent the dog from over heating.let the dog cool and feel through them. ensure you are not leaving them damp. Fluff drying is essential in ensuring a curly coat does not matt. If your dog is afraid of the sound of your dryer, try to hold the ear closed to muffle the sound.
Light Trimming & Basic Maintenance
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If you are brave enough to attempt to trim feet or faces, we suggest using safety scissors. The point is dulled and there is less risk of injury. We also urge you to watch your tools and be aware of their position. Do not aim point to the dog. Do not use pointed end to trim. There is a greater chance of injury.
We have safety scissors available in store. (Online soon.) |
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This Clipper set has a 3 in one blade. These blades include a 10, 30 & 40. We would recommend using the 10/30 blade on feet, groins, bums. This would also be a good tool to spot shave heavy matted areas. It would be possible to shave your dog completely on the 10 setting, but we would not recommend it. This blade is very short and can cause skin irritations. This kit comes with blade attachments that allow a longer coat length, if you wished to try to remove the whole coat. It is very important to remove all matting from the coat as the attachment needs to run smoothly through the coat to be able to clip it. We would not recommend using the 40 setting without an attachment, as that is a surgical length. This is a very economical set that will do basic maintenance or get you through a couple of haircuts until we are back.
We have this kit available in store (ONLINE SOON) |
Hair Cuts
Although we would prefer that you left the grooming up to us, we understand the necessity of this being done at home. Please be sure to take extreme caution if you have never attempted this before. Blades are sharp. Pay special attention not to catch arm pits and leg tucks. ears, lips, tongues!! Wrinkles or warts. or Nipples!! Dogs do move. Go slow. You have weeks to remove the coat. Take photos! Make Gifs of the coat coming off in chunks. Have some fun with it. Share your experience with us! Let us know if you need help! & Don't worry what it looks like. We can always shave it off and start fresh in June. (It will be hot by Summer anyway!! lol) We would suggest investing some money and purchasing a set of clippers similar to what we use in the salon. To ensure safety and lessen a chance of injury we suggest using a 10 blade (Which comes with most clippers) and a blade attachment set. This is a blade guard set that will ensure that you can get a little fluff left, but not allow skin to get caught in the blade as easily. These can be tricky to use as the coat needs to be perfectly brushed out to be effective. We can order these clippers in for you or you can find them at many of the large pet store corporations.
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You should clip the coat in the direction of growth. The above photos shows the direction that you should clip the coat. Be very aware of the direction you are going on some areas. Loose skin can be cut by the blade. Running your clippers off the edge of the skin flaps, instead of along them, will prevent cutting the dog. For example, If you had hairy hands and needed to shave them. To get the area between your pointer finger and thumb, you would run the blade from the top of your hand and off the light webbing on your thumb. Running the blade along the inside of your hand, from pointer finger tip to thumb tip, you would catch that webbing. (I hope this makes sense. lol)
Trimming The Eyes, Ears and Face
Trimming the face and head can be difficult as dogs may be nervous and move suddenly. We would prefer that you did not attempt this, but if you feel it is absolutely necessary, and you are confident enough to try, We would like you to be aware of a few things. Be sure to run blades off ears. do not trim hanging off ear with clippers. Trim that back with scissors. Do not aim the point of your scissors towards the dog. Try not to trim any hair with the point of the scissors. Watch for their tongue! It tends to slip out from time to time. Do not trim as "short as you can" with scissors. It is easy to catch these areas with the tools. Unless, the hair on the face is really causing your dog distress, we would prefer if you left this until you can see us. It can be a scary procedure even for a professional, if the dog does not cooperate and moves suddenly. Even We have had to return dogs to owners, without their heads being done, for their safety. Having hair in their vision is better than an injury.
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