Cleo Shedding Update

In case you thought I was exaggerating about Cleo's unholy shedding, here we are with Round Two.

Where can I groom a dog at home?

As much as I am enjoying my Mardel table and as easy as it is to carry, do you know what is even nicer? Not carrying a table. I’m still trying to master not bringing absolutely everything that I’ve ever owned with me “just in case”, so having one less thing to carry is terrific. Fortunately what I have been telling dog owners for years is true; one of the best places to groom a small dog is the top of the clothes washer or dryer. Chest freezer height is also very comfortable. I am about 5’ 7” so if you are a little bitty thing or Andre the Giant you may disagree with me. The laundry room usually provides a power source that is equal to any equipment I use.

I have also used a few workbenches, bathroom counters, and kitchen counters and they were all quite convenient. Obviously the goal is to find a raised surface that is a comfortable height. I bring a bathmat with me to provide a non-slip, easy to clean surface, but the whole area that you are working in should be easy to clean as well. You don’t want a lot of doodads that can get knocked over by the dog or the blow dryer. Make sure there is adequate light so that you aren’t squinting in the dark.

Brushing, combing, and trimming the nails on any sized dog is much easier if they are raised up on a non-slip surface. Grooming on the floor or in your lap provides too many avenues of escape. It also can be difficult to see what you are doing and awkward to reach all the areas you need to reach. Those with larger dogs could try a picnic table. Make sure you do not leave your dog unattended while he is on the raised surface. You don’t want them jumping off and possibly causing an injury.

A Comb that Combs

I worked with a young groomer who was struggling to improve her finishing work. She had trouble with her blades snagging when she was using clipper combs or getting a smooth finish when scissoring curly coats, and her straight coats often looked choppy. “Comb up!” I would tell her when she asked me for help, and I would go over with my comb and show her. My comb would catch in the coat, indicating that she needed to comb the coat out more thoroughly before she could proceed.

“But I did,” she insisted. I would go back over the coat again with my comb and show her how to properly comb out and comb up the coat. I was confused because she was a good groomer, not sloppy at all, but she didn’t seem to be able to comb a dog properly. It didn’t make any sense.

One day when I went over to help her, I forgot to grab my comb. “Here, use mine,” she said. I picked hers up from the table and tried to run it through the coat. To my surprise, it sort of slid over the top of the hair instead. No matter what I tried, the comb didn’t seem to, I don’t know, comb! I looked at it closely and it resembled my own in many ways. It was metal, sturdy, with a combination of fine and coarse spaced teeth. Very normal. It just didn’t bloody work!

Since then I have encountered mysterious combs like this a few more times from different manufacturers. There is nothing that outwardly distinguishes them from other combs, but there must be something about the finish. The poor victim who is trying to use the dud comb has no idea that life could be so much easier.

Many people believe that coat care is a one step process and consists of one tool: The Brush. This is incorrect (and often they are using the wrong brush anyway). The brush and the comb are used together, and it is the comb that tells you if you have done a good job. If you can not get a comb through the coat, all the way to the skin, brush and comb again. I like to use a combination comb with fine and widely spaced teeth because I find it to be efficient. The wide teeth are used to find and pick apart matting, and also to fluff the coat. As my combs age the outside teeth on either end bend because of the way I use them to break up a tangle. The fine side of the comb is for finishing, making sure that all the tiny matts are out.

A combination comb can also be used effectively on a shedding dog, and with some coats are more useful than any brush. The coarse side cards through the coat, pulling out the bulk of the undercoat. The fine side can find any thick patches that remain and remove the finer fluff. I offer as Exhibit A, Cleo and the product of three minutes with my combination comb. (Cleo is blowing her coat right now and we will repeat this process every couple of days until she looks like a smooth coated dog. No kidding. Every year, twice a year, she does this and every time I am shocked. My other two don’t do this.)

I highly recommend the Chris Christensen Buttercomb #000. It seems expensive for a comb, but it is very effective and lasts for years. Compare it to your current comb and you will probably switch. Any comb that is comfortable in your hand and effectively passes through the coat will do though, whether it costs $2 or $40. Make sure you can hold it comfortably or you won’t use it and will have wasted your money anyway. I have another comb that looks identical to the Buttercomb but its back is squared off. It makes it very uncomfortable to grasp and gives my hand a cramp. Some cheap plastic handled combs will also break apart leaving you with a handle and an impossible-to-hold-on-to remainder.

Remember when you are combing to stretch the skin of the dog slightly and to support in your hand any matts that you may be trying to break apart. You do not want to yank and pull on the coat of your dog and have them suffer a miserable experience. Brush, and then comb, then repeat. Use the tools together and use them often. You will find it much easier to maintain your dog’s coat.

Audiences

One of the biggest differences between in-home and traditional salon grooming is the potential for your work to have an audience. Most traditional salons gently refuse the owner who wishes to stay during the groom. This is for many reasons, including distraction, litigation and time constraints. Corporate groomers are well aware of the challenges of an audience during the grooming process. They don’t call those salons “fishbowls” for nothing. (Please folks, do not let your kids bang on the glass. And don’t you do it either. Seriously, it’s not appropriate anywhere.) Often the behaviour of a pet is influenced by the presence of the owner, much like kids at kindergarten who kick up a holy fuss while Mom is there and happily run and eat sand in the sandbox the moment her foot crosses the threshold to leave. A refusal to allow the owner to stay can seem suspiciously secretive, but it is not intended to be so. When I owned my salon I often told people that they were welcome to watch me groom any dog but their own.

Working in homes is quite different. While I do ask for a little space if the dog becomes distracted, one of key advantages to having the groomer come to the home is the opportunity to observe. Often owners have told me how much difficulty they have bathing or brushing or even medicating their pets, and express disbelief when I tell them how well-behaved I find Fluffy. They finally get to see how the magic happens. Although so far most people have insisted they don’t need to stay, not one has been able to resist peeking at least once.

In households with children I have suddenly found myself both workman and entertainment. Fascinated by the process, the kids unleash their questions, hardly pausing for the answers and interjecting their own tales and commentary. After listening to my explanation of the bath I was giving her dog, one adorable poppet kept popping her head around the corner to tell me about her My Little Pony who also suffered terribly with seasonal allergies and not only required a medicated bath with a measuring cup, but also a mysterious purple lotion. After watching me dry the dog with my high-velocity dryer, she opted to allow Pony to air dry.

Since often it is children who most desperately wanted to explore the grooming salon, in-home grooming has proven to be ideal. Magic is proven instead to be practise, patience, confidence and elbow grease. And I have had someone to keep me company and prevent me from singing off-key disco to the dog. But more about that another time.

Artwork trademarked by Christopher Cowley, Windchill Studios

De-shedding

To me, de-shedding is a fancy technical term for what we used to call brushing. They have several tools and conditioning solutions out now that are supposed to reduce the amount of hair in your home by a significant amount should you follow their program, and in a way this is completely accurate. That is because their program recommends regular bathing and brushing of the dog every two to six weeks. Many dogs who are considered to be high shedding are also otherwise low maintenance and groomers are lucky to see them every three to four months. The tools that are used certainly have their place and card the coat, pulling out undercoat. However they can be very abrasive to the skin, and extreme care must be used not to irritate the dog.

My tricks for de-shedding depend on the coat of the dog, but are fairly simple. For a smooth, short coat, such as a Boxer, Dalmation, or Boston Terrier, I prefer to use another of my secret weapons:

I have tried any number of rubber curry combs over the years. For some reason, the Kong Zoom Groom beats them all, hands down. It is easy to hold, easy to clean, removes a ton of hair (so much that you get a little worried the dog will end up bald - trust me, it won't), and is pretty cheap.

The Kong Zoom Groom also works well on the shorter double coats, such as the German Shepherd or Labrador Retriever. With heavier coats of that type or longer, like Malamutes, Shelties and Collies,  my preference is to slather them in a conditioner that has a bit of silicone in it, let them sit for a bit and then, before rinsing out the conditioner, use a grooming rake (a wide tooth comb that exactly resembles a little rake) to comb out as much of the undercoat as possible. Hopefully you will have groomed your dog more than once a year and this will not be too difficult. If it should be seriously packed in there, you might need professional (grooming) help.

Once you have removed as much of the coat as possible, cleaned out your tub, and rinsed the dog, you will need to get them dry. Many folks at home just let their dogs air dry but, to remove as much hair as you can, I recommend using a High-Velocity dryer. You can find one at any professional grooming supply company, and also at most dog shows. In a pinch, take a look at your Shop-vac. It probably has a blower feature. If it isn't too stinky, you can use that blower as a dryer. Stay away from the eyes, ears, genitals and backside please. An HV dryer will get down to the skin, and loosen all of the remaining undercoat. Once the dog is totally dry, follow up with the rake again, a slicker brush, and possibly a finer comb.

This process will absolutely make a mess. Fortunately, you already have your Shop-vac handy. These suggestions are meant for pet dogs only, so don't do this to your show dog or your handler will kill me.

For those who are concerned about their dog's reaction to the dryer and who are convinced that all dogs live in fear, I leave you with this video of my dogs.