In This Chapter
In this chapter, I cover the
proper techniques for brushing, combing, bathing, and drying your dog. You can
find out about other grooming basics like clipping your dog’s toenails and
cleaning his ears and teeth in Chapter Giving
Your Dog a Great ’Do: Clipping Basics.
The key to a successful grooming
session is making it a fun and enjoyable time for you and your dog. Read on for
advice on how to do just that!
Brushing and Combing Basics
Brushing and combing form the
foundation of good grooming. Most dogs don’t actually need baths all that
frequently. They usually need them only when they get noticeably dirty or have
to go to a show. However, they must be brushed and combed often — usually twice
weekly or more often, depending on the breed and coat (check out Part III of
this book for specifics). Brushing and combing are great for your dog’s skin
and coat, because they distribute oils from the skin throughout the coat and
get rid of bits of dirt, tangles, and loose hair. This aspect of grooming is
the one thing you really need to do, even if you don’t do anything else and
decide to hire a groomer.
Always brush and comb a dog
before you bathe her, because doing so helps prevent tangles and keeps your dog
cleaner. See the section called “Rub-A-Dub-Dub: Washing Your Dog” later in this
chapter.
Beyond pulling hairs: Making the experience pleasant
Brushing and combing can be an
enjoyable experience or one that ends up as a total nightmare. Usually, dogs
who hate to be brushed and combed are the ones with long hair or thick coats
that tend to mat easily. Owners often don’t tackle the thick coat early or
often enough, and these sessions wind up being much more painful than they have
to be. Brushing and combing don’t have to become a hair-pulling event.
Tip
Here are a few tricks to brushing and combing your dog:
- Start young. When your dog is a puppy, get her used to the procedure. In many cases, dogs love the attention, and you’ll enjoy working on her. However, even if you do start early, some dogs never quite take to grooming entirely. In many instances, you may have to work through some bad behaviors, and in other rare cases, you may need to muzzle or sedate the dog. (See Chapter Mastering Brushing and Bathing Basics for more information about handling a difficult dog.)
- Stick to a routine. Where on your dog you first start brushing, combing, and grooming doesn’t matter, but being consistent when you work does. By following the same routine every time you groom your dog, you won’t forget to do anything, and your dog will be happy there aren’t any surprises.
- Relax with your dog. Taking time to relax — both dog and owner — goes a long way toward calming your dog’s fears. Your dog may get nervous when she senses it’s grooming time, regardless of whether you’re breaking out a grooming table (which I highly recommend using) or simply reaching for a brush and comb. Giving her treats, a good massage (see the “Massaging your dog” sidebar for advice), or just talking to her in a soothing tone helps relieve your dog’s tension before and during a brushing session.
Warning!
If you use a grooming table to groom your dog, never leave her unattended. She can hurt herself jumping off or even strangle herself if she’s hooked into a noose.
- Brush your dog after she’s exercised — when she’s a little bit tired. She’ll be calmer.
- Never hurry, and always be gentle whenever possible. One bad experience can be traumatic and turn your dog off grooming entirely.
- Use the right tools. The right tools make the job not only easier but also less stressful and less painful. Use the wrong tools and you’re likely to pull on your dog’s hairs — ouch! Chapter Training Your Dog for Grooming introduces you to common grooming tools, and the section that follows suggests specific brushes and combs to use when grooming each type of dog.
Massaging your dog
Massaging your dog may sound a little odd, but it’s
a great way to bond with him and get him to relax. If your dog has never been
massaged, he may find it a little strange at first. The first goal when
massaging your dog is to get him to relax. Start with gentle stroking
movements in areas where he’s normally accustomed to being petted. Don’t
touch areas that your dog isn’t quite comfortable with you touching, and don’t use
a lot of pressure until your dog gets used to it. Pick up a copy of How to
Massage Your Dog by Jane Buckle (Wiley, 1995) or Dog Massage by Maryjean
Ballner (St. Martin’s Press, 2001) for the basics of massaging your dog.
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Gathering the tools you need
Before you get started with
brushing or combing your dog, gather all the tools you need for the session.
Having everything you need in one place and within reach makes the brushing and
combing session go much more smoothly; it can make all the difference between a
pleasant experience and one that’s not so pleasant.
Tip
If you live in a flea-prone area, make sure that you have a flea comb handy, especially during flea season. (Flea season often begins in spring. If you live in the U.S., www.nofleas.com/Flea-Index.asp can give you a general idea of when to be especially on guard.)
If your dog has a long coat, you
need the following tools (Chapter Training
Your Dog for Grooming includes some illustrations and
descriptions):
- An undercoat rake or long comb: To remove the loose undercoat hairs. Some groomers prefer using wide-toothed combs first and then changing to progressively narrower or finer-toothed ones. This strategy is good whenever your dog has really snarly hair. However, if you’re simply maintaining your dog’s coat, you can choose to go over her with a fine-or medium-toothed comb and then a slicker brush.
- Detangler solution and a mat splitter or mat rake: For tangles and mats (electric clippers can be used in extreme cases).
- A shedding tool: For removing the soft undercoat when the dog is blowing coat (shedding profusely).
- A slicker brush: For removing dead hair and stimulating the skin and coat.
If your dog has a shorter coat,
you need these grooming tools:
- A Zoom Groom or short curry brush: For removing dead hair and polishing the coat.
- A short-toothed comb: For removing dead hair and getting through any tangles.
- A slicker brush: For removing dead hair and stimulating the skin and coat.
Brushing up on basic techniques
Some groomers like to work from
tail to head, but others prefer to work from head to tail. No sensible reason
exists for doing it one way over the other, except to say that you need to work
whichever way is more comfortable for you and your dog. Nevertheless, you do
need to start at one end and work your way to the other so you can be sure that
you don’t miss anything in between.
Various methods of brushing
include line brushing and combing — that is, parting the fur and combing
and brushing out each section (which works well on long coats addressed in
Chapter Poodles:
A Breed Apart) — and spiral brushing, in which the dog’s hair is brushed
and combed in a circular pattern. Spiral brushing works well on any coat.
Remember
Regardless of the method of brushing and combing you use, you need to brush all the hair and not just the top coat. That means getting down to the skin and brushing upward.
You can brush out your dog’s coat
in a variety of ways. One common way is to brush backward against the lay of
the fur and then brush it back into place (see Figure 5-1). Brushing that way
usually loosens and removes dead hair and stimulates your dog’s skin. Some
breeds have hair types that won’t allow the use of this method. Breeds with
corded hair, in particular, just can’t be brushed backward, so make sure you
remove all the tangles as you go. For more about specific breed coats, check
out the chapters in Part III of this book.
Dealing with the dreaded mat
Figure 5-1: Brushing against
the grain to remove dead hair and stimulate the dog’s skin.
1. Spray the mat with
detangler solution and use an appropriate comb to slowly work the hairs in the
mat free.
Work from the outside of the mat (where the hair isn’t tangled) and slowly untangle the hair. Hold the base of the mat (closest to your dog’s skin) as you work to avoid pulling your dog’s skin.
2. If the mat doesn’t come out
with the comb, try using a mat rake next.
Mat rakes are equipped with sharp teeth that work at cutting through the mat. You use the mat rake the same way you would a comb but simply rake along the lay of the hair. The teeth will cut through the mat.
3. If the mat rake doesn’t cut
it (so to speak), try using a mat splitter — but don’t put away the rake just
yet.
Start by splitting the mat of hair in horizontal or vertical strips and then using either a mat rake or a comb to tackle those smaller pieces individually. Watch to make sure no skin is pulled up into the mat as you work.
Be careful when using mat rakes or mat splitters. They’re quite sharp and can cause cuts if used improperly.
4. In the worst conditions
(that means the rake and the splitter have failed), use electric clippers (any
blade should work) to slowly shave away the mat.
Be aware that this step should be considered as a last resort and that it can leave a bare patch that will ruin a show coat until it can grow out again.
Short of that, you can also ask a professional groomer or veterinarian to help you get rid of the mat.
Whatever you do, don’t use
scissors to cut out a mat! No matter how careful you think you are,
accidentally cutting your dog’s skin is all too easy, and that means a trip to
the emergency vet for a suture.
Heading down the right grooming path
If your dog’s coat or the hair on
her face is short, use a soft slicker that’s made specifically for the face,
and even then, brush gently. The skin and hair around a dog’s face are
particularly sensitive.
Be especially careful when
working around a dog’s eyes. It’s easy to scratch a dog’s eyes with a sharp
implement like a dog comb or brush.
On the other hand, if your dog
has long hair on the face, such as the fall (hair over the eyes) or beard found
in breeds such as Old English Sheepdogs or Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers, put
your fingers behind the long hair and gently comb it out. You need to place
your fingers behind these long facial hairs to protect your dog’s sensitive
skin and face from the sharp, pointed teeth of the comb.
Tip
If you find mats or tangles around your dog’s face, don’t spray them with detangler solution, because you risk getting some in your dog’s eyes. Instead, dip a washcloth into the detangler solution, gently rub it into the hair, and then gently comb out the tangle, starting from the bottom of the hair. If the mat is really serious — yes, they sometimes have minds of their own — use an electric clipper with a guarded blade to clip out the mat while also guarding your dog’s face and skin (and keeping her reassured and still) with your other hand.
When your dog has long hair on
her ears, you can use a comb to hold the hair so that your hand is between the
comb and your dog’s tender skin. If the ear fur is matted or in knots, use the
washcloth dipped in detangler solution to slowly try to comb out the tangles.
If the knots of ear fur are too big, (many dogs get them behind the ears), use
electric clippers (sliding your hand between the skin and the clipper) to
remove them or just ask a professional to do it for you to avoid cutting the
skin.
Warning!
Never use scissors to cut out a mat or a knot, because you can seriously injure your dog, even if you are careful about it. If you don’t have grooming clippers, ask a vet or a professional groomer to remove the mat for you. Most are happy to remove the mat or knot at little or no charge.
Smoothing the ruff-les on the nape of your dog’s neck
Brushing and trimming feathered forelegs
Short hair on a dog’s forelegs
usually doesn’t need to be brushed, but if your dog has feathering —
that is, long hair on the backs of the legs that runs from armpit to paw — you
have to comb it out. Feathering, like the hair behind the ears, has a tendency
to tangle more so than the rest of your dog’s coat, so use a detangler solution
whenever the feathering on your dog’s legs is tangled and comb it out
carefully, or use a mat splitter or mat comb.
If your dog isn’t a show dog but
nevertheless has feathering that’s either too matted or too much of a pain to
brush out all the time, consider using a guarded clipper to remove the
feathering on each side for a cleaner look. Be sure to keep your fingers
between the clippers and your dog to protect his skin, trimming the hair so
that it looks neat.
Belly-rubbin’ for laughs
The next step is to brush out
your dog’s chest and belly. Use a slicker to brush against the lay of the hair
(if appropriate — otherwise, brush with the grain), remaining keenly aware that
your dog’s underside is sensitive, especially around the belly and private
parts. If you can get your dog to lie down on one side — as explained in
Chapter Mastering
Brushing and Bathing Basics — do so. Be gentle while brushing around your dog’s privates — she
will appreciate the care taken.
Warning!
Don’t pull on any mats on your dog’s sensitive underbelly, and don’t use a mat rake, because one slip can cause problems in these sensitive regions. If you find any mats, take your dog to your vet or a professional groomer who can use electric clippers to carefully remove them.
Sidewinding and backing up
Your dog’s sides and top are
probably the easiest areas to brush and comb. Take the slicker and brush
backwards against the lay of the fur (if appropriate — otherwise, brush with
the grain) and follow up with a comb. Use detangler and mat splitters as
required for removing any mats.
No butts about it
Like the belly and underside,
your dog’s the rear end can be particularly sensitive, but it’s also often the
first area from which a dog may shed. Use a
Handling those hind legs
Like the forelegs, your dog’s
hind legs shouldn’t require much brushing, but if your dog has feathering, you
have to comb it out. Feathering, like the hair behind the ears, tends to tangle
a lot, so use a detangler solution if needed and comb the feathering out
carefully or use a mat splitter or mat comb.
If your dog isn’t a show dog and
has feathering down her back legs, you can trim it just like you trim the front
legs in the earlier section “Brushing and trimming feathered forelegs.”
Removing the feathering makes your job easier when it comes to grooming. Don’t
forget to use an electric clipper with a guarded blade, and carefully trim the
feathering back so that it’s nice and neat.
Tweaking that dratted tail
Depending on what your dog’s tail
is like — smooth and sleek or furry or like a plume — you may need to carefully
comb it out. If it’s short, fuggetaboutit! Otherwise, if it’s long and furry,
you need to use a comb. If you find mats in your dog’s tail, use detangler
solution and a mat splitter or mat rake.
Shedding time
Some double-coated breeds shed
profusely once or twice a year. Others shed year-round. If your dog has little
tufts of hair that look like pieces of cotton candy scattered throughout his coat,
he’s blowing coat, or shedding. You can pluck these tufts of hair out, but most
dogs find that annoying. A better solution is to use a shedding blade or an
undercoat rake.
The shedding blade looks like
something you’d use on a horse. It’s a flexible piece of steel with little
saw-like teeth that catch the hairs. You can operate the blade in a one-handed
U-shaped configuration, or you can keep the blade straight and use two hands.
The undercoat rake is a rake with either long sets of teeth to pull the dead
hair out or a dual set of teeth that work both the undercoat and top coat.
Be forewarned that shedding
blades need to be used carefully on thin-coated dogs because the blades can
scratch the skin. However, if you own a thick-coated dog, you’re not likely to
have this problem.
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Getting pesky fleas to flee!
During flea season, which varies from one region
to the next, you’ll be using a flea comb in addition to the other grooming
implements. After you brush out your dog’s coat, you want to go over her
again with a flea comb.
At one time, I would have recommended that you
use old-fashioned flea control substances such as flea dips and powders while
grooming, but no longer! Unless you have an extremely bad flea problem (and
even then, the following recommendations hold true), you need to talk with
your veterinarian about putting your dog on a systemic flea-control product,
which is what the name implies — a flea-control product that’s distributed
throughout your dog’s system either in topical (spot-on) form or pill form.
The topical products are usually applied between your dog’s shoulder blades
and at the base of her tail; you feed products in pill form to your dog.
These systemics have rendered other flea-control substances virtually
obsolete, except when a dog exhibits undesirable side effects from using systemics.
Ask your veterinarian what’s right for your dog.
When using any systemic, read the directions thoroughly
and follow them carefully. Otherwise, the product may be ineffective. For example,
some topical systemics can be ineffective if you wet your dog shortly after
you apply them. Use common sense, and if you’re not sure, ask your vet. Also,
dosages and the amount of time the systemic is effective vary, so always have
a clear understanding of the product you’re using.
These flea products likewise often control ticks.
Talk to your vet for other possible tick-control solutions as needed. See
Chapter Grooming
Emergencies: Knowing Doggie First Aid for more information concerning ticks.
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Rub-A-Dub-Dub: Washing Your Dog
One of the old wives’ tales about
grooming dogs is that you shouldn’t bathe your dog unless he’s really dirty or
stinky. The story goes that if you do, you’ll remove essential oils and dry out
his coat.
This story is so prevalent among
dog people that it’s repeated as a mantra by folks who should know better,
namely breeders and dog experts. Even I used to prattle on about this nonsense.
At one time, dog shampoo really
was pretty harsh stuff that could strip a dog’s coat, leaving it feeling pretty
icky. However, show people (and groomers) needed to be able to bathe dogs
frequently to get them ready for dog shows without ruining their coats.
Today, dogs enjoy some pretty
decent shampoos, conditioners, cream rinses, mousses, gels, detanglers, and
just about any other hair-care products that humans enjoy, only formulated for
dogs. Although I think bathing your dog every day probably is a bad idea
(plenty of work, to say the least), don’t think that you’re hurting your dog’s
coat just because you’re bathing him.
Bathing, like brushing, doesn’t
have to be a pain, but it tends to be a pretty traumatic experience for many
dogs. Most dogs try to avoid a bath when they’ve had bad experiences with it.
Again, patience is the key.
Just (rubber) ducky: Making bath time a pleasant experience
Because most dogs hate baths,
getting your dog to a point where he actually likes them can be rough.
Tip
Here are a few tricks that can help you smooth over those rough spots when bathing your dog:
- Start young. Get your dog used to bathing at an early age, when he’s just a pup. Like with brushing and combing, experience is key to preventing bad bath-time behavior. In many instances, you may have to work through the bad behavior. In fact, in some rare cases, you may have to muzzle or sedate the dog. Sound familiar? It is; I say the same thing about brushing and combing.
- Use the right tub, and give your dog easy access. If you’re using your bathtub, putting your dog in it may be as easy as walking him in. With a groomer’s tub, you may have to use a ramp or stairs to walk a big dog into it, especially if you have a bad back (or if you have a good back and don’t want to have a bad back). Use the sink only for small or toy-sized dogs. Don’t use the shower for any dog.
Although you may be tempted to use an outdoor hose for bathing, resist the temptation. It isn’t ideal because the water is usually too cold, and the dog will get dirty all over again from being outside.
- Keep your dog in one place in the tub. Most dogs don’t like to stay still in the tub, so you may want to use a special tub or bathing noose that attaches to the tub to keep him in place (see Chapter Training Your Dog for Grooming).
As is true of the nooses used on grooming tables, you should never leave a dog restrained by a tub noose alone.
- Don’t hurry, and be gentle whenever possible. One bad experience can be traumatic.
- Make bathing as comfortable as possible. To prevent a painful experience, gently put some cotton balls in your dog’s ears — don’t shove them into the aural canal at the base of the ear, mind you. The cotton balls merely help keep water out of your dog’s inner ears. You can also protect your dog’s eyes by applying an optic ointment before bathing him.
Gathering the tools you need
Before you start to bathe your
dog, make sure that you gather all the tools you need. (Chapter Training
Your Dog for Grooming describes the
necessary tools in more detail.) Having everything in one place makes the
bathing process much smoother and makes all the difference between a pleasant
experience and one that’s not so pleasant.
When bathing your dog, you need
the following supplies:
- A pH-balanced shampoo for dogs (and possibly a pH-balanced conditioner for dogs)
- Cotton balls for ears
- Bathing noose (if required)
- Washcloth
- Blow-dryer
- Towels for drying
Tip
You may want to look into the tearless variety of shampoo if you’re not used to bathing dogs.
Scrubbing bubbles
No, I’m not recommending that you
use a toilet bowl cleaner to wash your dog, but before you think about wetting
down and lathering up your pooch, remember that you need to thoroughly brush
and comb your dog’s coat. If you don’t brush dogs out before you bathe them,
most dogs end up with nasty tangles and mats from those scrubbing bubbles. The
same is true for a dog who’s shedding heavily. Although warm water loosens the
hair, clumps of shedded hair tend to mat and make for a grooming nightmare.
Some dogs’ coats require a
prebath clipping. After thoroughly brushing out your dog and getting rid of all
the tangles, you may need to use the clippers to lop off frizzy or flyaway
split ends so they don’t become a tangled nuisance during the wash. You can
find out more about taking just a little off the top with the clippers in
Chapter Spiffing
Up Short- and Medium-Coated Breeds.
The following steps explain the
basics of bathing. Before you begin, you may want to place sterile cotton balls
inside your dog’s ears to keep water out while bathing. Just don’t forget to
take them out when you’re done!
2. Wet down your dog’s hair
thoroughly with tepid water (that’s a fancy way of saying lukewarm water); use
a washcloth to gently wet your dog’s face.
You may like a hot shower, but that temperature is too high for your pooch!
Some bathtubs nowadays come equipped with sprayer attachments that enable you to focus the flow of the water. They’re great for soaking your dog’s coat and for being gentle around the face.
Tip
While your dog’s wet but before you apply shampoo is as great a time as any to express your dog’s anal sacs, if you were planning to do it as part of your grooming routine (see Chapter Giving Your Dog a Great ’Do: Clipping Basics). Who said dog grooming wasn’t fun . . . ? Yuck!
3. Apply enough pH-balanced
dog shampoo to lather up your dog’s coat thoroughly except around the face and
sensitive eyes — which you must do separately with a wet cloth (see Chapter Giving
Your Dog a Great ’Do: Clipping Basics).
4. Rinse thoroughly sliding
your fingers along your dog’s skin so that you get out all that soap.
Soap attracts dirt, and a dog with dried soap in his hair is prone to those dreaded mats.
5. Apply a good pH-balanced
conditioner or cream rinse for dogs.
Using a conditioner that prevents tangles and also keeps the coat from drying out is a good idea for most coat types (see Part III).
6. Thoroughly rinse away the
conditioner.
With regard to attracting dirt and causing mats, conditioner residues are equally as bad for your dog’s hair as soap residues, so rinse even better than you did in Step 4.
7. Get out those towels and
start drying.
As you squeeze the towels into the coat, look for soapy water. If you find any, go back to rinsing. The next section provides addition advice about drying your dog.
Drying
Some professional groomers like
to use cage dryers. They’re devices that attach to the outside of a cage or
crate and force warm air inside to dry off your dog. Cage dryers can be
efficient, but watch your dog carefully when using them. A dog can quickly
overheat in a warm area he can’t escape.
Warning!
Whenever you use a cage dryer, never leave a dog unattended in it. Dogs have overheated and died because the groomers forgot to watch them. Unless you’re planning to open a grooming shop (or you care for several dogs), I suggest you skip the cage dryer and work with the hand-held blow-dryers only.
Tip
When using a blow-dryer, make sure you use one that’s made specifically for dogs (see Figure 5-2) or one that doesn’t use any heat. Hot air from human blow-dryers is much too hot and can hurt your dog’s skin and frazzle the fur. You can use a human hair dryer on the no-heat setting to dry small dogs, but blow-dryers intended for humans don’t have enough power to handle drying a larger, long-haired dog.
Always thoroughly dry your dog
before you let him outside.
After your dog is dry, you need
to brush him again. At this time, you can use mousse or other leave-in coat
conditioners if you’re getting him ready for a show.
Figure 5-2: The epitome of
a drying dog. Use a blow-dryer that has a no-heat setting, like this one made specifically
for dogs.
by Margaret H.Bonham
Fantastic Post! Lot of information is helpful in some or the other way. Keep updating.pets bathing brush
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