Grooming the Area Around My Dog's Mouth
The groomer that Fred sees has been very helpful, explaining about removing long hair from inside of his ears, clipping the hair between his paws and suggesting to give him a bath once every three weeks to maintain the oils in his coat. She only grooms one other OES and that sheepie is a nudist. (Please note: I stopped attempting to bath Fred at home when he was four months. His final home bath resulted in more water outside the tub, than inside. He was saturated, I was saturated, you get the picture.) Does anyone have suggestions as to grooming tools for the area around the mouth? Can anyone provide any insight into what type of shampoo/cleaner would not irritate the sensitive area on his face? I read Carl's post on Grooming but, was unable to advance to the portion about grooming the head. By the way, Carl, your dogs are gorgeous. Which dog is on your avatar? -Dawn (Loving Friend to Fred) |
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| Are you having problems with matting and clumping or are you referring more to the color?
I'm sure others will pipe in, but I think a bath every 3 weeks is too much unless Fred's getting really filthy. That much washing will actually take away the natural oils rather than maintain a healthy balance. Other than spot washing, or rinseless shampoos, I know a lot of us only give a few baths a year. With regular line grooming, you'll nicely distribute the oils and I find it actually keeps my guy looking and smelling cleaner too, although maybe I'm just imagining the smelling better part! |
| You could try spot baths. In the winter we use the tub. I take a flat dish of warm water and dip Chewie's chin/lips in it . Lather with whitening shampoo. Rinse well. The tub is handy because the drips from wiggles and shaking are easily cleaned up.You can also neaten up the lower legs while you're there too.
This is a good time to work on your stand, stay and other commands you learned in obedience classes. If you haven't gone yet, do so as soon as possible. Basic commands make everyday tasks so much easier on all. We have used waterless shampoos for quick cleanups, but I don't like to use it too often without a real wash with water to get it all rinsed out. I also do a wash cloth wash of Chewies chin area almost daily, then dry with a fluffy towel. He actually looks forward to it, because I make it fun and we play afterwards. |
| Welcome! We want pictures!
I agree that bathing every 3 weeks seems excessive. I have a very active, dirt-seeking dog and unless she has rolled in something really filthy, I can keep her pretty clean just by brushing out the dry dirt. I have found that using a very tiny comb (such as for toy breeds) helps me remove the goo and crud from the hair around their mouths. I imagine Lisaoes will chime in with her formula for beautiful white beards. |
| Dawn
Welcome to the forum, glad you found us and decided to jump in with this extended family of Bobtail nuts  (Great name by the way,  almost qualifies as a Bobtail girl.  See my signature block to understand.) Anyway,
Quote: I have been doing my best to keep up with his grooming I am experiencing a little difficulty with the area around his face. No matter what I do he seems to look a bit scruffy around the snout. (It probably doesn't help that he likes to bury his face in the soil in my flower pots out on the deck.) Obviously you need to work on keeping Fred out of things like soil and a whole host of other "goos" which these guys find absolutley irresistable. It can take a while for them to get the idea of what is or is not allowed and even then you have to be diligent as they always try to "push the envelope" that little bit further. Our guys know the white porcelain bowl isn't for their water but they keep trying to sneek in anyway.  As a far as grooming and whitening the muzzle area: I posted at http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?p=23538#23538 regarding my basic "in-bath routine" for keeping their whites clean and white. There are also a number of cleaning gels you can use to assist between bathings. I have had pretty good success with #1 Systems Whitenening Gel. It is quite thick so it can be "basted" onto a specific area and it won't drip or run. I say basted because I apply it to our Bobtails beards and sometimes their eye streaks' with a kitchen basting brush (obviously a new unused one which is dedicated for dog use). The brush gives good control and allows me to work the gel deep into the stained hair area. Before bathing or using gels etc it is essential to groom and clean the muzzle and beard as much as possible. Start as with any other grooming using a good pin brush. "Line groom" the muzzle as you would any other area of the dog taking very small increments of hair. Once you have the whole muzzle/beard groomed back (against the grain it naturally grows) use a comb with widely spaced tines and gently comb small lines of hair back down. As you encounter tight areas try to break the knots up by hand and then finish combing them out. You may end up having to advance the comb into the mats only one or two tines at a time. Once you have gone through the first line with the coarse comb about 8 tines per inch) do it over with a finer comb (16-20 tines per inch). Move on to the next line and proceed to do the entire muzzle/beard in this manner. This should remove all the mats and essentially all the debris Fred has picked up in his beard and muzzle. When the whole area is brushed and combed out you can use cleaners as necessary. The first and easiest cleaning agent is hydrogen peroxide. Part out a line of muzzle/beard hair and using the 10% solution in a spray bottle, mist the peroxide onto the exposed stain. Don't saturate the hair or the peroxide will get onto the skin which can dry the skin and even cause some burning/rashes. Successively comb down another line and treat it with peroxide until you have done the entire muzzle/beard. Keep a close eye on the peroxide treated area and keep feeling it to be sure it doesn't get too hot. Once it has finished it's reaction - the foaming will stop and the sprayed area will get cool - rinse out the peroxide and dry the hair. Most of the time this should give you a fairly clean muzzle and will eliminate 85% of beard odour as well. Be sure to monitor the condition of the hair as the peroxide will of course dry the hair if used too extensively or too frequently which requires that the hair be conditioned to prevent it from breaking. Periodically supplement the hydrogen peroxide cleanings with a whitening gel. The #1 All Systems Whitening Gel instructions say that you can apply 3 treatments between baths so obviously it too can be harsh on the hair so some caution must be taken and you need to monitor the hair condition. If you don't bathe Fred at home you can spot bathe specific areas such as the muzzle and beard, feet etc as required, as Got Sheep indicated. The routine linked above should help Fred's face stay fairly white. However remember that beards will stain no matter what and the degree of staining will vary from one dog to another depneding on just how "wet-mouthed" they are. Martin is very wet mouthed so his beard is always stained whereas Virgil and Dawn are nowhere near as wet-mouthed so they clean up a lot better, but are never totally white. Quote: I read Carl's post on Grooming but, was unable to advance to the portion about grooming the head. By the way, Carl, your dogs are gorgeous. Which dog is on your avatar?
Thanks for your kind review on our Bobtails. The dog on my avatar, as of this date, is my beloved late Punk. He died quite some years ago and awaits us at the Rainbow Bridge. But I am sure he has talked to all our Bobtails before they came down to be with us. To see the later stages of grooming in my line grooming essay (accessed via the www button at the bottom of this post and then selecting the Line Grooming link from the home page) you simply need to keep scrolling through the pages by clicking on the link at the bottom left of each pages (note some pages give you an addtional link back to the home page - naturally don't click on it.) Pages 13 and 14 deal with the head area. Hope this helps and as ever don't hesitate to ask further questions or for clarification of anything posted. Thanks and Cheers Carl |
| Thank you all so much for the fabulous responses.
Carl, as you deduced, Fred is one of those furry guys that yearns for substances that are going to make him as mess. On his walks he is intent on visiting every puddle of mud. At the dog run he manages to find the one patch of dirt in between the gravel and roll in it. I do my best to keep him clean but he has other ideas. After he is done having his fun, I spend time undoing his dirty work. It's a labour of love. Got Sheep, Fred has yet to attend a formal obedience school. A neighbor of mine, was a dog whisperer of sorts and spent time working with Fred when he was a new member of our household. Fred will come, sit and stay. He listens fairly well, isn't destructive, has been housebroken for months and is extremely gentle with the children in our family. He's a great dog; I love him to pieces.(I could gush over him for weeks) I am home with him and my daughter. There is a great deal of repitition in our house. He does need to attend a formal class though because he has some excitement issues. He jumps. (Surprise, surprise, a sheepie that enjoys bounding in the air) I am going to invest in a fine toothed comb, as several of you suggested. Do Petco or Petsmart carry the #1 Systems Whitening Gel or is this an online purchase? The basting brush seems like a great way to apply the cleaner. Wow, I am so glad I posted. I plan to take all of the wisdom that the sheepie lovin' masses have bestowed on me and put it to good use. Fred's namesake was the first bobtail I came to know and love. When I was younger I dog-sat the original Fred. His owner would travel a great deal for business and I would take care of him. He did my paper route with me and rode in my Mom's convertible. I had so many dogs growing up, a Visla, a Cocker Spaniel and an Irish Setter; I loved them all. But, none captured my heart like Fred. I love sheepies. They are such personable tons of love. I know what it's like to lose a sheepie you love. |
| We have the same whitening gel as Carl. I ordered it online. It does work quite well. We put it on (as recommended by lisaoes) for 10-15 minutes before a bath, then wash it out. I put it on with my left over gloves (I'm a nurse and they come home in my pockets) and work it through the dirty areas.
It sounds like you have a nice neighbor to help you. I would still recommend group classes for the socialization aspect. Now we need pictures!!! |
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