triming hair around butt
 dried poo in the hair at her butt. so my question is how doyou stop that but not have a scalped butted dog. can you trim the hair instead of shaving it? |
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| I trim Barkley's bum about every couple weeks or if I notice that a little bit of poop has stuck in it - a sign that it needs to be trimmed.
I use scissors, and since I don't have nice thinning shears which are preferred for this job, I just use big kitchen scissors (wash them afterwards!). Trim the hair at and immediately around the anus very short but not so short that you can see skin - maybe about 1/4-1/2" (I have difficulty thinking in metric). Then you work on trimming in a circle outwards (centred around the anus) but not at a perfect 90' angle to the floor. Angle the cuts slightly towards the head of the dog - so that the hair above the bum is slightly shorter than the hair below the bum. Also trim a little bit further around to blend it. Refer to the link in this topic for the angle I am talking about. We do the show-dog type angle on the bum when we're able to. http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=10809 Here's a picture of Barkley's bum - certainly doesn't look bald.  |
| If you feed a good quality food there shouldn't be poop soft enough to get stuck very often....
Even if you are feeding a good quality food, if it doesn't produce firm enough stools so that poop doesn't always get stuck on the fur, then maybe it's just not agreeing with your dog in particular. My dogs are trimmed where necessary, but since Panda and Sky are being shown, their bum coat is not short. The coat around Panda's bum is currently about 6 inches long actually. It does need to be trimmed, but not a whole lot. Sky's is shorter because she is not yet in full coat, but even hers is about 3-4 inches. Here is a pic of Panda's butt after bring trimmed.  |
| Toby and Suzi only have about an inch of hair around their "vent" and it increases like a gradual bullzeye from there. |
| Agreed that it shouldn't be soft enough to get stuck most of the time. Thankfully we've never had to deal with diahrrea.
Barkley tends to poop a lot on walks so even though he's fed a high quality food, occassionally if he poops 3 times on a walk (which ends up being much more than a normal day's worth), the 3rd one is pretty soft. Even still it's infrequent for anything to get stuck - even when it's softer. This article on grooming is pretty good. The pictures captioned "RING PRESENTATION" show the circular, angular bum trimming I was talking about. We trim shorter than we could if we were showing of course. http://www.oesocc.org/index.php?page=5.1 |
Maxmm wrote: Toby and Suzi only have about an inch of hair around their "vent" and it increases like a gradual bullzeye from there.
Yes, that's a better way to describe it. Though I don't even trim it that short.... (not that confident with the scissors yet  ) |
Willowsprite wrote: Maxmm wrote: Toby and Suzi only have about an inch of hair around their "vent" and it increases like a gradual bullzeye from there. Yes, that's a better way to describe it. Though I don't even trim it that short.... (not that confident with the scissors yet )Yes, the bullseye description is great. That reminds me.... be very very careful with the scissors. Shield the "sensitive area" with your hands if need be to make sure you don't accidently knick the skin when trimming. If your breeder or someone in the area who shows OES is available you could set up a visit with them to demonstrate/teach you hands-on. |
| Best time to do it is when they are sleepy! Someone described it very well for me...make a shoot. |
| Holly (bestdogsx4) once described it to me like a fan, which works well combined with the bullseye description. Put your hand around the vent area and fan the hair out around that area and trim all the pieces that stick out. Gradually move your hand down and follow the trim that you started toward the center. I'd suggest thinning shears because it'll keep you from making big chunky cuts-- you can do a lot less damage. Once you get better with scissors, you'll get the hang of the wispy snipping with regular haircutting scissors, too. |
O BOY THANKS FOR THEADVICE. NOW I WILL GO HOME AND TRY...TO TRIM AND NOT CUT HER. I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER NOTICED THE POO ON HER FUR, BUT JUST WOUNDERING WHAT KIND OF FOOD DO YOU GUYS SUGGEST? I HAVE BEEN USING BLACKWOOD, (I THINK) BECAUSE I WAS TOLD IT HAS NO FILLERS AND STOPS EXCESSIVE POOPING AND IN GENERAL THE VET SAID IT WAS A GOOD BRAND. eVEN OVER SCIENCE DIET. BUT MAYBE HE HAD AN AGENDA OR GOT A KICKBACK FROMT HE SALE OR SOMETHING.  |
| My guys eat Nutro (Annie is on Senior, Fozzie is eating Adult variety). Fozzie's poops had been consistently messy so the vet suggested switching from Puppy to Adult. I guess the puppy food can be richer. |
| Everyone has their own opinion on what is the best food so it'll be different for every person who answers that question.
We feed what our breeder recommended which is a Veterinary Formula and is also what our vet recommended. Our vet has actually visited the research facility of the food company and was so impressed that they changed the brand of food they exclusively carry at their office (I mean, they only sell one brand of Veterinary Formula food). Go with what your vet recommended. If you're not happy with that, maybe ask your breeder what they recommend. |
| Good luck with the trimming. It is like a 45 degree angle - halfway between vertical and horizontal. We just fluff and clip - over and over. There is a few pictures of Chewie on the pictures page that his breeder did 2 weeks ago - it may help you. We just use a regular hair scissors. The long blades help keep the clipping in a straight line, with fewer gouges. |
i never had a breeder...olive was a rescue puppy,, and an accident at that. she was sick when she showed up but no she is 86 lbs and finally starting to calm down a bit. she will be a year in december, but this grooming thing is becoming a big problem. she just will not sit still and let me brush her. i found a groomer who will do it for 20 dollare and its almost worth it to pay that every 2 weeks and not have the headach. i love my girl though and want her to have a clean bum  |
LAURENALICE wrote: i never had a breeder...olive was a rescue puppy,, and an accident at that. she was sick when she showed up but no she is 86 lbs and finally starting to calm down a bit. she will be a year in december, but this grooming thing is becoming a big problem. she just will not sit still and let me brush her. i found a groomer who will do it for 20 dollare and its almost worth it to pay that every 2 weeks and not have the headach. i love my girl though and want her to have a clean bum
Sorry hun, didn't know (or forgot) she was a rescue. At almost a year she should probably be on adult food by now, unless your vet would like her to be on puppy for for health/weight reasons. We feed Purina Veterinary Large Breed Pediatric (only available at vet's office). Purina Veterinary also has an adult food called "Joint Mobility" which we will be switching Barkley to when the time is right. |
O NO WORRIES...SHE IS STILL AS BEAUTIFUL AS IF SHE CAME FROM A BREEDER  I WILL LOOK INTO OTHER FOODS BUT SHE IS ON ADULT FOOD BECAUSE THE VET WAS WORRIED ABOUT HOW BIG SHE WAS. I ONLY WANT THE BEST FOR HER THAT IS WHY I ASKED, SO THANKS FOR YOUR HELP. I WILL POST A PIC WHEN I GET HER BUTT TRIMMED AND YOU CAN GRADE MY WORK |
| Well, I wouldn't be an expert but I'm sure others on the forum could critique your haircut.
Most of the time my bum-trimming job looks a little choppy, but it's functional and Barkley doesn't mind that mommy gives him bad haircuts - he can't see it anyway! Good luck with your trimming! Don't worry - hair grows back. |
o my, i trimed and then trimmed a bit more and well... it looks like she has a mustash. i guess i am not the best butt trimmer. i tried to get a photo but she keeps sitting down before i can take the pic. anyway picture a thick mustash strairht across. o well i guess its better than nothing.  |
| What I have found works well for trimming my dogs is kids fiskars. They're small, sharp and even the pointy ones have somewhat rounded tips so you aren't as likely to accidently poke your dog. I have small hands, so it really does work well for me. I used to use regular people hair scissors, but found them too long bladed. For hair between pads, I use manicure scissors. |
| I have kids fiskars too somewhere... thanks for reminding me! they'll be perfect for trimming paw pads with the rounded tips and I do remember them being sharp, good quality scissors.... |
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