(106) Primping Dog style

We use to take the dogs to get groomed at a Dog Stylist. Back when we had Belle and Beau, our AKC dogs. We took them to a friend of a friend that would take all day working with the dogs, bathing them, air drying them and then combing them out. When they returned them, Belle would have a bow in her topnotch, and Beau would have a scarf tied around his neck. Cute huh? Yea, a little too cute for us. We asked them to only put scarves around their necks, if anything. They got really good personal attention and they knew our dogs well enough that they would keep them together or in view of each other so that they would be comfortable. Once when they were trying to get Belle into the bath tub by walking her up a ramp (she would often come up lame for a day after grooming), Beau chewed up the leash he was tethered on and jumped into the tub with her. In those days we didn’t think anything of spending the money to get a professional grooming because we could afford it and the work was done by people we “knew” and liked their work. Fast forward to the present; and our move here, where we knew no one who was knowledgeable about grooming Newfoundlands. You might think that grooming any dog would be similar. Wrong! Newfoundlands have double coats (meaning two layers of different types of hair) and both need to be treated differently. We took our chances a couple of times with disastrous consequences. One time I actually took both dogs in to be groomed and when I returned at the given time (8 hours later) I was told that one dog was “almost” finished and the other dog wasn’t started yet so could I please bring them back the next day? Another time, we took them to one of the larger pet stores where they have an assembly line of groomers. When we picked up the dogs later, it wasn’t evident that anything had been done with the dogs and Belle was lame for three days afterward. Enough of that!

We quickly figured out that we didn’t have show dogs, we had family dogs, and that the important part of grooming was their comfort and our relationship. Therefore, we (me sometimes but mostly Brad) started taking the time to groom the dogs ourselves. When I groom the dogs, I use the under rake, and the rubber tipped Zoom Groom by Kong. It is also important to have a matt splitter if you have a long haired dog, like Max. We also use a nail clipper for dogs (heavier than the one for cats) and Brad uses a clipper set that use to be used for our boys’ haircuts. He uses this for clipping the hair away from Max’s hind quarters (sometimes called a sanitary cut). Brad cuts the hair around Max’s paws and up his ankles somewhat so that the feathering does not get stuck with dirt, weeds or sticks. Last night was a typical night of grooming for Brad. He starts after dinner and finishes about 11:30. It takes him a long time to groom Max but we see the benefits from doing this ourselves. Brad gets to spend quality time with his dog. Max is an exceptionally patient dog. He loves being with Brad and so is tolerant with all of the moving and manipulation that takes place. We start in the front and then slowly move backward toward Max’s rear and tail. Max almost has a filled out tail now. When we first got Beeker, he use to pull and chew Max’s tail so that for a long time Max had no hair on the end of his tail. When all is said and done, there are usually two or three plastic grocery bags full of Maxie hair. This is no exaggeration. I wish I had taken a picture of the pile last night but I didn’t. Brad tries to groom Maxie every week but in reality it is usually every two to three weeks before he can get to it. In the Spring and Fall both dogs and Chez the cat will blow their coat and the hair will be twice as much. Then we really have to keep on top of it. When I groom Beeker I don’t get much off of him compared to Maxie but when I just use the Zoom Groom or my hand I get a whole bunch. He sheds differently than Max and has a denser coat. After grooming them, Brad then clips their nails and cleans their ears. Here again, Max is more tolerant than Beeker. In fact, Beeker will hunker down and try to look invisible. He knows he has to obey Brad and be patient when he is getting his nails cut or his ears cleaned but he HATES it. When my sister was teaching Jesse James to get use to the clippers (he hated them and would cower at the sound) she started to give him dinner with the clippers turned on so that he would get use to the sound of them. Then there is the tooth brushing that I have learned to do. I don’t do it regularly but every month or so I get the brush and the toothpaste out and go to it for each animal.

When we get the three animals all primped up they look pretty good. Max’s coat shines! When we let them go and they start blowing their coats they look like wild abandoned animals. When I think of the work that goes into keeping them looking good, say nothing of the healthy benefits of a good grooming.
These are the benefits for grooming the dogs ourselves I have figured out… We notice any bodily irregularities, so can then talk to the Vet, we can teach them how to relax, we can cut/comb/ treat their hair the way we want it to be, we can catch ear infections or hair mats earlier so hot spots don’t start.
I am glad that we have decided to do it ourselves. We all love the quality time together.

P.S. As I am writing this post the little red fox came into our side yard to see if it could get any of the bird seed. I just sat here and watched it. As soon as I started to get up to get the camera, it turned and walked quickly away back into the woods! How cool is that?