What does grooming involve at your house?

pinkspore

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#1
Are your dogs wash-and-wear, or do they require more upkeep? How do you handle nails? What sort of tools do you use? What tools would you have if cost wasn't a factor? Do you use anything for ears, eyes, tearstains? Favorite shampoos/conditoners/sprays/topicals/ointmets? Favorite fancy shampoo?
 

Paviche

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#2
My dogs are pretty wash and wear, but I like them to be soft and clean smelling, so we do baths on a fairly regular basis, every two to four weeks or so. I don't have any fancy shampoos but I would like to get some nicer stuff in the future. I've got Nature's Miracle Tough Dirt & Odor shampoo for when they're muddy/Riff's been swimming in a creek and stinks/etc. I have GNC Itch Relief Medicated Shampoo if they're especially itchy. Lately I've been using the Furminator Deshedding Shampoo (and the conditioner) for their regular shampoo. I've also used the Magic Coat 2-in-1 Shampoo Plus Conditioner. I'd like to get some Buddy Wash and some Isle of Dogs. I have a regular ear cleaner from PetSmart that I use if their ears start looking a little dirty, but I don't use it regularly. Both of them have pretty healthy ears so it mostly just sits in a drawer.

I use a regular corded Dremel for their nails, but it's started making an impossibly high pitched squealing sound after a couple of seconds of use, so I have to turn it off and then back on after every nail. It's a pain and I don't know how to fix it, so I might be getting a Dremel Mini Mite soon to replace it.
 
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#3
I don't get too carried away with any of mine. I have a container of brushes and tools I went through on my adventure to find what works best, but it came down to a rake and slicker brush most the time. Every so often I'll pull the deshedder out during a blow, but usually just to get around the short hairs on Ro's legs that are hanging on. Rip is simple, mostly wash and wear. Knar for most part too, I give him short/medium clip around twice a year.

I have been using an oatmeal shampoo, though I can't say it's real important what I use. I some times use a bath/rubber brush to help with shedding during bath time, depending on my mood. I give coconut oil once a day, do notice it helps Ro's coat...he use to have a tiny tad of powder from dry skin on top of his head that vanished after I started using it. Some times I skip days, I don't get too bent out of shape over it and it seems to suffice.

Nails, just clip. Use to dremel, but I hate mine [cordless, battery life doesn't impress me]...probably go get another someday, we'll see.

PS What grooming tool would I have if money wasn't a factor? A built in doggy wash count? And maybe a personal groomer to go with it. :p
 

Paviche

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#4
Oh, I forgot to add: I want a forced air dryer to dry the dogs off. Soon (maybe.) I just can't justify the money yet.
 
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#5
My grooming equipment consists of a slicker brush and a pair of nail clippers.

A couple weeks ago I worked myself up to start clipping Fable's nails at home (black nails terrify me). No one has died and she actually does incredibly well with the clippers. So I give her nails a trim and brush her out about once a week. And I take her to the u-wash about once a month for a bath.

She's pretty easy. :cool:
 

Elrohwen

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#6
Grooming is a little bit of an event. I could be lazier and let him look scruffier, he wouldn't get out of control scruffy, but once I start trimming I might as well make him look as neat as possible.

Bath time is about once every 4-8 weeks. I switch around shampoos and conditioners, but I'm currently trying out Chris Christensen products. After the bath he air dries, and then I groom. For grooming I have straight shears, thinning shears, brush, comb, stripping knives, and clippers with #10 blade. I just brush/strip out undercoat, trim up his feet, shave top third of ears and blend, shave his neck, and do a tiny bit of trimming around his tail, etc. It's not that hard and I'm getting much faster at doing a good job.

In between I brush him out maybe every 1-2 weeks unless I see a mat, trim nails every couple weeks (with regular nail trimmers), and I will touch up his ears and feet every few weeks if he's looking scruffy and I'm feeling bored. I also spray his feathers down with waterless shampoo every day because he pees on himself.
 

Dekka

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#7
JRTs are very wash and wear. No brushing required. And they are naturally dirt repellent. Its hard to make a JRT with a good coat dirty. Dekka gets a bath when I feel like annoying her or if I want her to smell pretty.

Schen on the other hand needs to be brushed daily/every other day and bathed once or twice a week. He gets his face and neck shaved once a week as well.
 

Stingr69

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#8
Not much grooming required. Baths are toss in the laundry room sink every couple of weeks and we use Pure Paws H2O shampoo & some times the conditioner. I picked up an old school Superduck blow dryer and it works well enough. So far, so good. :D The nails and feet are another issue all together. They do not like the nail clippers at all and I can't imagine they will tolerate the Dremel. We are on the fence as how to proceed. The bottoms of the paw pads need to be kept free of hair. I have been leaving the hair dryer blower turned on to cover up the sound of the electric clippers and that is actually working pretty well. Otherwise, hair trims are maybe once a year or as needed. Brushing is not a requirement but it does help to pay careful attention to the delicate ear fringe. You want to untangle any mats as soon as you can.

The Paps are easy "wash and go" for the most part. ;)
 
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#9
what is this "grooming" that you speak of. I pet my dog, that's like brushing, right? I do trim his nails, but not as often as I should. Yesterday he got a nail trim/dremel. He wasn't super impressed.
 
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#10
Baths every month or 2. I have a furminator that I use on Ryker sometimes, but very rarely. Gypsy sheds like 1 fur a day so I don't need to brush her. I clip Gypsy's nails with clippers. Ryker won't let me near his ATM. I use Epi-Otic ears flush every couple of weeks.

Does anyone know of a shampoo that lathers a lot? All the ones I've tried hardly lather so I can't tell where I actually put it or if I used enough.
 

Doberluv

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#11
Matisse and Maurice get a bath about once a week or 10 days. They must be dried with the dryer as there's a lot of hair and it would stay damp for a very long time. Well...Maurice just got clipped down short but Matisse really has a lot of hair.

Every day they get brushed and with Matisse, my show boy, all the bands come out, then go back in. That long pointy thing that looks like a knitting needle is a hair parter to divide the hair into the pony tails. Every square inch gets brushed with the pin brush (slicker for places that get clipped often but the top of him, only the pin brush) and then the comb goes through to make sure there aren't any tangles or mats forming. I use Angel Eyes for his tear stains. (forgot to include in picture) Actually, Maurice, when he's clipped short can go a few days. Matisse's shaved body areas are growing in here. I'm not sure when we'll be showing next as he has a pulled ligament which is taking forever to heal...so I'm letting his Continental sort of get blurry.






All brushed out:



Checking to make sure band is not on ear leather:



Done:



For shows he looks more like this except the wind was blowing:



Just one picture of Maurice because grooming him is as simple as this:


Before a show, Matisse goes to a professional show groomer. In between I do him and always do Maurice. (not so well, but we get by...about every month for scissoring and once every two weeks or so for the shaved areas (face, feet, sani)

It's time consuming but I've got time. I thought about the grooming requirements of a Poodle long and hard and went for it. It's actually turned into sort of a hobby.

Because they're groomed so much and have been since they were tiny babies, they're very well behaved on the table and with anything I must do. They hold perfectly still for a very long time while I'm scissoring them, clipping etc.


Hope you enjoyed my pictures.
 

meepitsmeagan

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#12
I have an undercoat rake and a Dremel.

I Dremel the ACDs about once a week, maybe less if I'm lazy. Harlow needs it like 1x a month. Everybody gets flipped on their back and off we go.

I bathe somewhere around 3 months. At work, so I just use their oatmeal shampoo and forced air dryer. Haha. In between I brush the ACDs every few weeks with the rake.

I would like a much higher powered dryer because the cattle dogs do still shed too much for my liking.
 
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#13
I take both dogs (shih tzu and Bouvier des Flandres) to the groomer every 6 weeks. In between I do nothing with the shih tzu, maybe a brush every few weeks. She never mats anymore.

I comb the Bouv every few days at home. Takes about .... maybe 10 minutes.

And that's it.
 

lancerandrara

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#14
Lancer takes a bath like twice a year. His furs are made of silks or something and magically clean themselves in a couple hours if there's dirt stuck to them. The dirts just fall off. I don't know why.

He gets brushed every three days for about 20 minutes though.

Rara is a magical dog and smells like some elegant, expensive perfume the longer she doesn't bathe. I swear it's not the smell of my perfume or lotion. The day we brought her home from the breeder at 7 weeks old, she had this same smell. When she takes a bath, it goes away. When she exercises, the smell comes out. :yikes: Perfume body odor.

At first I thought the perfume smell was a thing with all Aussies, but then I got Lancer and he just smells like dog food.
 

Finkie_Mom

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#15
Mine hardly ever get bathed/blown out except when they are blowing coat and/or right before a conformation show. So maybe twice a year LOL. Once a week they get brushed with a pin brush, their paw pads trimmed, and their nails dremeled. Might brush more during coat blowing season. Super wash and wear and no doggy smell even when they are wet. It's awesome.
 
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#16
Grooming is completely nuts at my house. It involves luring a dog into the bathroom while keeping the others out so they don't help their clearly drowning companion escape, praying to stay dry even though I know that resistance is futile and generally a change of clothes for me. Shampoo, conditioner, anal glands, a detangling spray for Bridget, brush blow outs for all four, nails cut and ground, ears cleaned, bows for the girls, bananas for the boys, and a haircut for Bridget. All four get a smell good cologne or perfume. Sometimes the boys need the slippers on they're paws trimmed up. Also, treats afterward or they all more around like I best the crap out of them.
 
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#17
Papillon and Labby coat

Are your dogs wash-and-wear, or do they require more upkeep? How do you handle nails? What sort of tools do you use? What tools would you have if cost wasn't a factor? Do you use anything for ears, eyes, tearstains? Favorite shampoos/conditoners/sprays/topicals/ointmets? Favorite fancy shampoo?
I just bathed my Papillon last night. Breed is considered wash and wear but....his breeder says weekly baths are necessary for show coat condition. Is that wash & wear? :rofl1: Luckily he's retired :p.

For baths:
  • Tropiclean and Bed Head shampoos. Whatever I find on sale or want to try.
  • Isle of Dogs or Pantene Pro V (breeder recommended) conditioner
  • Absorber towel
  • Metro Air Quick Draw dryer
He has tear stains. I blot the tears daily. If they get hard, I work on em with my fingernails or a flea comb. I am gradually working up to soaping his face. I did a great job last night using reg shampoo. I have baby shampoo if I'm feeling nervous.

For brushing the Papillon every 7 - 10 days:
  • different "greyhound combs" of various teeth width
  • soft slicker
  • mat splitter
  • The Stuff
  • Millers Forge nail clippers every 10 - 14 days
  • corner of my t-shirt to blot tears
  • shears: 6" straight, 3" blunts, two thinning shears don't remember # of tines.
  • horsey face clippers

For brushing the Lab-like coat during shedding season:
  • rubber curry
  • pin brush (I got for Pap, tines are too short)
  • Dremel every 14 days
  • wipe out ears with cotton round
If price was no option, well I'd have a dog room with a grooming section! In the real world, I'd have Chris Christensen brushes and Pure Paws products, I think.
 
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Red.Apricot

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#18
Today we took Elsie to a self-serve dog wash and it was the greatest. $16, they provided everything (including an HV dryer), it took an hour, and I got to leave all the hair and mess behind.



Money well spent haha.

Normally it takes me about two hours at home, but most of that's the drying. She gets bathed once ever month or two, and brushed once a week or so.
 
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#19
Hahaha grooming.


I try to check nails once a week and do them as needed.

Baths as needed for dirty dog catastrophes, as needed to keep Pip's allergies under control in the summer, or when coats are blowing.

I don't brush regularly, tbh, unless coats are blowing.

Occasionally trimming Pip's butt feathers or any little dreads that form in his tail. He usually doesn't get tangles and we both despise combing/brushing so I just trim the few that come up.
 

BostonBanker

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#20
Mine are pretty wash and wear. 15 years with a Bedlington terrier taught me that I am not made for high-maintenance dogs.

Mine get baths maybe every 4 or 5 weeks in the summer (ideally) and more like every 8 weeks in the winter. Sometimes they happen more often if someone rolls in nasty. If I have to do one, the other usually gets washed as well. They get toweled and then air dry.

Gusto really never gets brushed. He has no undercoat. Meg does get brushed with a slicker or a curry comb once a week or so, to try and cut back on the shedding.

Teeth get brushed nightly, as Meg has terrible teeth and Gusto thinks it is a treat. Gusto gets his nails dremeled about once a week; Meg gets hers clipped maybe every 10 days.
 

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