Dog Grooming Hints

by windygig

There are many aspects of Do It Yourself Dog Grooming that are easy to perform, and learning how to fluff dry your dog is one of the easiest ones to do. There will be times when you want your pet to have that “just came from the groomers” look, but you don’t have the time, or the money, to get her to a professional dog groomer. Depending on the size of your dog, and assuming she is on the smaller side, you can “neaten up” your dog in about half an hour.

The only items you will need to fluff dry your dog is a tub, shampoo, a blow dryer, and a dog brush. It is really important to wash him first, unless he was just washed in the last week or so. His coat will respond to the fluff drying process much better if it is relatively clean. If you don’t normally wash your own dog, the most important thing to remember is that you need to rinse him thoroughly. Leftover shampoo isn’t good for his coat, and will also make the fluff drying process much harder, if not impossible, because the areas of leftover shampoo will feel oily to the touch.

Once you have thoroughly rinsed the shampoo off your dog, you can towel her off to remove excess water. It is important here to not dry her too much with the towel, as you want the hair damp once you start the fluff drying process. This is especially true if she has curly hair and you are trying to straighten it out by fluffing.

After you have toweled off the excess water, put his leash on your dog and loop it on a door handle or heavy piece of furniture. The object here is to not allow him an avenue of escape! Most dogs don’t like the blow drying process, although if they are regular visitors to the grooming shop your little household blow dryer will seem tame compared to the dryers we use on them.

The heat and force setting you use on the blow dryer is really dependant on the amount of hair your dog has. The more hair that’s there, the higher the force setting you should use. Watch out for the higher heat setting, as you may dry her coat too quickly, and could actually irritate her skin if she has an extremely thin coat of hair and sensitive skin.

Now all you do is dry the dog with the hairdryer and brush it at the same time against the grain. If you start at his rear end, brush and blow dry toward the head. Basically, you are going to brush up, or towards the top of the dog. Use short, quick strokes, and do this all over his body. In most cases you can do some of the drying without the brushing, as long as you continue to dry against the grain. Once you have finished drying, brush him all over, still against the grain. If you find any areas that look out of place, or funny (too fluffy), just brush it back with the grain.

When you have finished, your dog will have that just been to the groomer look!

Learn tips and techniques on how to shave your dog in this free video. Expert: Anne-Marie Forde Bio: Anne-Marie Forde and Jon Fless have owned and operated The Sudsy Dog Grooming Shop for 8 years. Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso
Video Rating: 4 / 5

More Dog Grooming Articles

Grooming your Pomeranian

The Pomeranian is a high spirited little dog that a great companion. I have enjoyed each and every one that ever came into my grooming shop over the last 15 years. They have such great personalities that easy to care for and great for people with little experience of dog ownership. They can be a bit bossy, but they are very friendly and bright. They love to be pampered and don’t require much grooming to feel top dollar.

They are dainty and can have a fragile build. Their coats are long, straight and have a bit of a coarse texture with a dense and fluffy undercoat. This double coat is great protection from the elements and will shed during the spring and autumn months.

This dense coat requires that you brush them at least twice a week, with more needed during the months of shedding. Use a slicker and pin brush and then an undercoat rake. If matts have formed use a splitter comb to break them up and brush out the matt. Brush from the back to the neck away from the body to achieve the lion like mane around the head.

Hold the matt from the skin and work the splitter from your fingers moving forward keeping pressure in the back. It will be less painful. After breaking up the matt, use the comb to loosen the cut pieces until the matt is gone.

Debris can gather between the pads of their feet, about once a month clip the hair between the pads and around the paw. If they are not kept clean it can lead to health problems with lameness being a result. It is best if you can use clippers with a #10 blade between the pads for a more even result.

You will need to trim his coat about once a month all over the body. Just scissors will do follow the contour of the body to give an even appearance all over. Comb the fluff along the legs away from the body and trim evenly down the leg the length you desire.

Urine and feces being caught up in the fur is best handled by keeping the stomach and rear area cut with a #10 blade. Pomeranians are not shy, and should take to grooming well. They relish in the attention. If you do not feel confident with the clippers, find your local dog groomer saloon and set up an appointment. It helps with their general health and you will enjoy the sanitation.

Bathing should be done at least once a week or every two weeks; depending on their level of activity during walks. You will have to work the shampoo into that dense undercoat to reach the skin. Make sure that there is no leftover residue in that coat that can lead to skin irritation and infections. The breed usually has no problems with the use of a high powered hair dryer to reach the undercoat.

After all grooming is done you will now see your little joy shine. They usually parade around with head held high and each step exaggerated. It is like the royalty has arrived on the scene and they know they are special.

Think grooming a dog involves washing it in the bathtub? Think you don’t need a groomer?

Dog groomers do far more than just fluff and dry; they address several vital health practices regarding your dog’s eyes, ears, and anal glands. Of course, it’s not impossible to take care of these grooming concerns yourself, but in many instances it’s safer and more practical to let a professional handle these sensitive areas.

Proper ear car requires periodic ear cleanings. Veterinarians and professional dog groomers use an agent that dissolves earwax, or saline solution to clean dogs’ ears. These cleaning agents are usually put into the ear before bathing. It is crucial for the groomer to keep the dog’s ears dry. If water runs into a dog’s ear during the bath, a drying agent containing isopropyl alcohol, acetic acid, or boric acid must be put into the ear. Professional dog groomers recommend using a wash rag instead of Q-tips to help dry out the ears. Using Q-tips increases the chance of injuring the dog’s eardrum. If the cleaning requires reaching places that are out of a wash-rag’s reach you should seek professional help.

Dog groomers usually apply an ointment to the dog’s eyes before bathing in order to protect the cornea. However, the trend is to move away from these practices because some professionals believe the ointment may trap irritants that run into the eyes during the bath. Closing, redness, squinting, and excessive tearing are good indicators of eye problems.

Another part of proper dog grooming that the professionals see to is expressing the anal glands. Have you ever noticed your dog dragging its bottom across the carpet? If you have, you know how important it is to take it to the dog groomer. What it is trying to do is release the fluid that has built up in tiny sacs located under the base of his tail. If he is successful, you will know it by the rank smell. Since the sacs are fragile (and discoloration of the fluid could indicate infection), this part of grooming should be left to a professional or a veterinarian.

Adequate grooming is absolutely necessary to maintain your dog’s health. If it’s something you want to do personally, educate yourself on the finer points. But using a professional dog groomer will be the most beneficial to you in the long run.

Grooming your dog is very important to his hygiene. Grooming your dog involves bathing, combing, drying, and cutting the coat. Proper drying is an important to make sure the coat looks its best. Even with a good haircut, the coat can still look messy if not properly dried.

There are a couple different ways that are used to dry the dogs coat. The most popular way for at home grooming is the towel dry. The towel dry is very easy to achieve. This is also the most practical way to dry at home. To towel dry just use a towel to briskly dry the dogs coat. This method is used with short haired dogs.

If you have a long haired dog, or show dog other methods should be considered. The next method used is the cage dry. This takes slightly more time, and equipment. To cage dry the dog is place in a cage with a cage fan. This fan or drier is clipped onto the cage, and blows into the cage to dry the coat. When doing this a towel needs to be placed in the bottom of the cage. If your dog is too big for a cage a table can be used instead. The only problem may be keeping the dog on the table. A leash to keep the dog on the table may be needed. Keeping an eye on the dog to make sure they still dont try to get off the table and get hurt is also a good idea.

Another method that is most often used at a grooming center is the fluff dry method. This method is used for long haired dogs. This method takes time and patience. Show dogs are very popular breeds to have this drying method used. Most often the hair is not only dried, but straightened as well.

To fluff dry a high speed floor dryer is used. The dryer is pointed at small sections at a time. The purpose of the small sections is so that each area can be thoroughly dried and straightened. The warm air dries the hair as the groomer, whoever it may be, uses a brush to brush the hair upward. This upward stroke with the brush will fluff and straighten the coat. Once one section is completely dried and straightened the dryer is moved to the next section, and the same process is repeated. This method takes time to learn the special technique.

The breed of dog you have will have a big effect on which dry method you can use. If you have a dog that needs the fluff dry method a dog groomer is usually the best bet, as not all these methods can be used at home and still have a good looking coat.