Category Archives: Grooming Tips

Dog grooming tips

Clipper Alopecia

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I worked on a dog two days ago who had clipper alopecia.  A border collie mix who got shaved  by their old groomer for the heat and now the hair isn’t growing back.  The owner was shocked that the no one told her about the possibility of it not growing back nor the fact that it had exposed her dog to more heat being bald with no protection from the sun.  Now her dog’s black hair is growing back grey and in patches.

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This does happen when a dog with a double coat gets shaved such as pomeranians, huskies, border collies, australian shepards, chows, among other breeds or mixes that have top and undercoats .   It may never grow back the same in texture, thickness,  in patches and peach fuzz like.  I plan to get some before and after pictures and for now I will post a helpful link to explain more in detail.

Here is a Pomeranian that gets shaved constantly.  The top coat is no longer growing just patches of the undercoat. Original black color is changing to a brown color.

Below: Chow mix after being shaved for years

Tear stains & mouth stains? What can I do?

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Unfortunately there are many many factors that cause tear stains.  Everything from minerals in water, excessive tearing, genetics, health, diet, fleas, allergies, blocked tear ducts and the list goes on.  Most people can try to get a professional opinion from their vet or try different things to rule out.  A premium food with no fillers, corn, dyes including treats is an option.  Most recently I have seen great results with Angel Eyes, a supplement used with food.   Two maltese I groomed had the worst stains and after this product, no more stains with their next visit.   The other product is Eye Envy, the only downfall is applying a solution then apply a paste two or three times a day which most owners  do really well for the first week and then cut back over due to busy schedules.  Through the years, groomers have tried many over the counter topical eye stain removers with little to no results.  On the Angel Eyes Website, there are over 23 pages of success stories.  You can get this product at most pet stores  but keep in mind it may work for some not for others.

Always check with your vet before using Angel Eyes due to an antibiotic in the ingredients.   Prolong use of antibiotics could cause a resistance to antibiotics in need of a medical issue.

A newer non-antibiotic eye stain remover formula is called Tear Stain Supplement by Vet Classics.  It’s also a powder supplement given as needed or until stains are gone.   I found this widely on the web on different sites as well as Ebay and was referred this product by one of my clients given to them by their vet with good results.  Another similar product can be found at PetFoodExpress called Naturvet Tear Stain which has mix reviews working for some and not for others.

Grooming Truth for a Tibetian Terrier

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This breed of dog is a smart family dog with a very high maintenance hair not fur. Just like people hair, its has to be combed daily from root to tip. Can you imagine what your hair would look like it you only combed the tips once a month–avoiding the roots?

Here is a pelt of Tibetan hair matted fused together at the roots with nice straight stands on the right side in photo where, owner was brushing without metal comb. The hair should never come off in one piece. It’s a haven for fleas, fungus, ticks and hotspots.

It seems to be a secret to prospective new owners not knowing what they are getting themselves into for the next 12-16yrs. Monthly I get stories from new clients in frustration not being told the TRUTH of coat care by their breeder. Unfortunately despite the benefits of low dander and low allergy does come at the cost of the the home grooming involved to keep your Tibetan’s hair unmatted over ½ inch long. Some say that the adult coat is easier than puppy coat to keep up but its lots of work regardless.

Here is the TRUTH:

Fine tooth metal comb, root to tip daily to three times a week depending if your dog mats in a day or a in couple of days. Using a brush alone will NOT keep mats away especially if using the wrong type of brush.

Most harnesses, clothing, flat collars, choke chains, burs, and outdoor activity will cause matting if hair is not dealt with daily.

Food and water need to be combed out of beard daily to prevent a sour mildew smell around the face area.

Grooming every 4-6 weeks will not avoid matting. Only daily home coat care will prevent this.

Common areas that I educate about matting are:

Armpits

Ears flaps inside and out

Jaws

Beard

Throat

Chest

Flanks

Inside all legs

Base of tail

Backs of legs

Ribs

Undercarriage

I wanted to blog the truth of this type of hair and know that if you are having problems with this that there is a solution that involves LOTS of daily care and detail along with the right tools. This coat care is also needed for ANY low shedding/low allergy type dog with over 1/2 inch of hair.

Labradoodle “inventor” regrets decision

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Man who ‘invented’ the labradoodle regrets decision to breed world’s first designer dog

BY Rosemary Black
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Original article found on NYDailynews.com

Wednesday, May 5th 2010, 1:57 PM

Labradoodles, a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle, have become a popular 'designer' breed for pet owners.

Kazmierski/Getty
Labradoodles, a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle, have become a popular ‘designer’ breed for pet owners.

The creator of the popular labradoodle wonders if he was barking up the wrong tree when he came up with the idea for the world’s first designer dog.

The 81-year-old Australian man says he’s not sure he made the right decision to cross a poodle with a Labrador retriever back in the late 1980s. Since then, designer mixed-breed dogs have proliferated, giving pet owners the choice among groodles, snoodles and spoodles, among others.

”Today I am internationally credited as the first person to breed the labradoodle,” 81-year-old Australian resident Wally Conran told The Australian. “But I wonder, in my retirement, whether we bred a designer dog – or a disaster.”

While working for the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia in the early 1980s, Conran was contacted by a vision-impaired woman in Hawaii. She needed an allergy-free guide dog since her husband had allergies to dogs. Though no breed is completely hypoallergenic, Conran decided to try crossing a poodle with a lab. Once he found a trainable poodle with a good temperament, he mated it to the lab and three puppies were born. The vision-impaired woman’s husband learned that just one puppy was allergy free.

The new crossbred dog was a good fit for allergy sufferers who were vision-impaired, but the world’s first designer dog didn’t really catch on until Conran came up with a great marketing idea.

“I decided to stop mentioning the word crossbreed and introduced the term ‘labradoodle’ instead to describe my new allergy-free guide-dog pups,” he wrote.

The name caught on and interest in the labradoodle soared, but he began to worry about “backyard breeders producing supposedly allergy-free dogs for profit,” Conran wrote. He felt that he had opened up a Pandora’s box.

“Were breeders bothering to check their sires and bitches for hereditary faults, or were they simply caught up in delivering to hungry customers the next status symbol?” he wrote.

And, Conran added, “It’s not something I’m proud of. I wish I could turn the clock back.”

I know its matted but I don’t want it shaved….

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I recently had this happen with a terminally ill standard poodle.  The owner was firm that shaving was not an option but to put the poor sick dog through hell was something I didn’t know how to address?

I will not torture dogs for vanity regardless of money.  Dematting can be safely done within reason.  This poor dog was in bad shape with foxtails embedded in mats, nails that looked like cashews, ear lobes covered in wax and so on.  This pet was in the same condition on its last visit except it got shaved.

Example of matted hair at roots which can cause fungus, skin sores, hide pests, among other problems.  (pet used as an example only)

Dogs need a voice and when they need help its our duty to speak up.  I knew I couldn’t do this job in its entirely without inflicting more pain onto the dog plus go against my ethics.  I also make it known in my price sheet that I will only do a maximum demat of 1 hour, this dog needed 3 or more.  After3 baths and trimming the hair out of the eyes I decided to do what was good for the pet and let the owner continue the work at home to achieve the results they are looking for and to bring back those results after they were achieved.

There are many tips to getting the look that you are trying to achieve with your pet so that you don’t run into these same scenarios.

Fine tooth comb, nose to tail, every other day.   If you are using a brush of any kind without a comb, there is a huge percentage that mats  at the roots and will limit the outcome at the groomers.

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Groomers are like hairstylists, if you don’t comb your hair in the morning for months and go to your barber/stylist and want a fancy hairstyle.  They might not get you the exact look but will get you started into the direction that you are trying to achieve.