The Dreaded Coat Change!!!
|
|
| Your post is timely, we are fighting the coat transition too.
Our guy is getting both the close knit mats and large matted area as well. We brush and comb daily but even after gently untangling some areas they seem to reoccur. Chest area and under the front legs are the affected areas. We too would welcome suggestions on this coat transition issue... Best of luck with your plans to show Sky ! |
| i plan on keeping tabs on this thread. oh no.
(listens and waits...) |
| I don't have advice (sorry!) - other than to say try and email Carl and see what he recommends. Maybe there's someone in your area that can help you work on her - it will take alot of time and patience! Hang in there! You'll get throug this and she'll be ready for the show! Good Luck!
Kristen |
I'm afraid there's not much you can do cuz it just happens! For those sneaky, awful little mats...ugh...! Emma had the worst of them and she went from impeccably groomed and never a mat to looking like she had mange almost overnight  Have you ever tried Cowboy Magic? It was formulated years ago for horses and we'd use it on the dogs, too. Now they advertise it for uprights as well! All I know is that it works and for someone (me) who has a sporadic at best grooming schedule and a "Florida Girl" who isn't sure she likes being groomed at all yet, it's a life saver. A little dime size dab and it detangles nicely. It makes what's left of the blowout coat shiney and that always makes you feel a little better  and you already know that the coat usually comes back prettier after the "blowout"! As for showing her ...my advice is send in the entry and see what you can do between now and then. There isn't much else you can do. It's a toss up as to whether she'll look better .... or worse by show time. The timing really stinks, doesn't it?! Ugh!! Good luck and keep telling her how gorgeous she is and maybe she'll just live up to it for you?! |
| For some of those real rubby areas that mat so quickly...and are not examined in the ring...can you trim them out? With the dematting sprays, do you blow dry them immediately after detangling to prevent future matting? |
| Can only offer my sympathies, welcome to the world of OES grooming LOL sorry to be so flipant but it's true this is a long slow process and you just need to keep on top of it example I spent most of last week grooming Digby spending at least 4 hours per day on him, he was lovely for his show yesterday even then it was frantic grooming just before entering the ring, today he looks as if he hasnt had a brush near him for a month, so hence it was back on the grooming table today for a couple of hours this will continue for the next show on Sunday, its a never ending cirlce I'm affraid and like everyone says not a lot can be done about it sounds quiet depressing put like that LOL but no it will get better once Sky has Junior coat. I waited ages for Bilo's adult coat no he has started to go silver again--arrrgggg but hang in there kid it will improve, and yes get your entry in ,
A little tip if it helps, when Ive done one of the dogs say friday night for a show Saturday, he is not allowed out without supervision, and if its wet underfoot his wellies and his mac on , he is lifted into the car just to try and stop him getting dirty or tangled in a hedge which he loves to do on show days he is deffinately pampered to the extreme LOL . Just hang in there Huggles B-eye |
| When Oreo was losing his puppy coat we used No More Tangles a spray for childrens hair. It made it easier to get the mats out. He was groomed around then and they used a conditioner and I think it was meant for keeping the hair from getting tangled. You could ask your groomer, good luck! |
| Thanks ... it's nice to know I'm not the only one...lol....
I'm guessing the judges have some leniency towards a junior puppy when it comes to coat? I'm going to brush her all out again today and then bath, blow dry and full grooming, even if I have to sit on her to do it, and I might have to! LOL Then I will take some pics of those five minutes that she looks groomed! LOL |
| At times like this, don't you wish judges insisted on "nekked' sheepdogs so they could only see structure and lines? LOL! If you look at some of the really old pics of showdogs, some looked like they just came in from the fields and went directly into the ring! Amazing how the grooming and coat handling has changed over the years!
What show are you contemplating entering her in? Do you know the judge? Cathy |
| I also use the Cowboy Magic that Cathy was talking about. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!!!!!!!
You can use it as a conditioner while bathing, or just a little on the dry coat between baths. Don't use to much because it gets really, really silky. If you want to get a tangle out, this is what you need. I think the horse brand works better than the kind made for dogs. |
| LOL Nekkid sheepies in show would be fun!
She is supposed to be in the Ontario Breeders Association Show, Feb 18,19,20 and 21st. http://www.colmars.com/PL%202005%2003%2 ... eeders.htm I'm hoping I can still enter her... but there is another show first weekend in March as well... so that would give me a couple more weeks... I don't know. I'd like her to get a head start, and give her and I some time to get going with this. I guess I'm also sort of thinking maybe her starting point shouldn't be one of the largest shows in Canada? Can you tell I'm a little scared? (little...lol) |
| WillowSprite,
I guess it is time for me to "weigh-in" on this topic and offer what few thoughts for help that I can. As has been well stated here and in other threads the Puppy to Adult Coat Transition is a natural process which certainly cannot be stopped and makes our life a little, ohh ... shall we say, .... challenged.  A relatively intense period of daily grooming sessions is the only response we can bring to bare  . There are a few choices that you have to minimize the stresses involved though - however as you are intending to show Sky shortly they may be of limited applicability.
First, you can consider a very limited coat trim in the groin and inner areas of the rear legs. Much of this area is unseen by the judge and so a limited trim there can help by reducing the amount of hair available to matt. Beyond that you are going to have to balance off the grooming value versus potential show "penalties". The little "felt matts" that you have described are easily removed with a slicker brush if you get them right away (same day they form). The price is of course that you suffer a substantial amount of colateral damage in the form of loss of undercoat when doing this. I know there are some on this list who vehomently oppose slickers on OES but this is an option for you to consider. The other thing you can do is a controlled stripping of the undercoat on the neck and shawl areas and a limited stripping of the shoulders and chest. The neck and shawl area should be stripped to accentuate the neck length (Canadian show presentation at least), while the shoulder and chest areas can be partially stripped to accentuate the tappered shape of the dog. It is a balancing act though, too much stripping in the shoulder and chest and the dog looks narrow chested, thin and without substance, strip too much in the armpit area and you will end up with a very "flat" area of coat. While hair spray is often used to "fix" a show coat in place for the ring don't rely on it's heavy use to hold up areas that have lost too much undercoat. Indeed rules technically prohibit the use of foreign materials in the coat. Because these "tricks" affect the dog's coat presentability I can't give you specific recommendations. You'll have to review the comments given and make your own decision about what to do and the extent to which you carry them out. That being said, competent judges are aware that OES of puppy class ages are often undergoing a coat transition and will often give some degree of allowance. You may not present an ungrooomed dog or one which has matted so quickly as to give the impression of being ungroomed. To this end the big "plate matts" in the guard coat are completely unacceptable as are undercoat matts which can be readily felt as tight masses of hair, often involving some guard coat hair. The presence of a few "felt" matts will probably not be noticed as judges rarely part the coat and take a close look at the undercoat. This is an accepted part of "puppyhood" as is less than perfect ring manners in a puppy. Allowances are often made but there is no assurance that any given judge on any given day will make the "common" allowances. Cowboy Magic: an excellent product for dematting but as noted by Hannah it will soften hair substantially. Use it sparingly and rince, or at least sponge the area off after it's use. I also like the suggestions from B-Eye regarding lifting the dogs in and out of the car to avoid dirt and wet - been there and done it myself, not easy with a 100lb male though! Boots and a mac are also a great idea but water avoidance is even better - my boys hate it when they can't go out at will but for a show weekend I explain to them that is a Bobtail's life and I promise them "hamburgers" to make it up to them afterwards. Cheers Carl |
| I have often heard that horse products work much better on these guys, my breeder recommends Mane And Tail as well... and something else, but I don't remember the name of it at the moment, maybe it was the Cowboy Magic. I am nervous about softening the coat, but at this point I would rather soften it a bit that have mats. I think it would be ok to have a slightly softer coat on a puppy anyway as they aren't expected to have the harshness yet. I'm going to go and see if I can find some today. I am also going to take advantage of several of your suggestions Carl in regards to trimming the inner back legs. I don't know think it will make much difference, since she has very little coat there anyway, and what she does have is only getting matted anyway. It will make things easier on her and I for grooming since that is her most sensitive spot and she hates me picking out mats there. I don't think I am ready to chance any stripping in the shoulders or neck or anything, I will leave that to Diane! She can look Sky over before the show and if she thinks it should be done I will let her expert hands do the job and just watch very very carefully! LOL
Thank you all very much for the tips... hopefully today we can get this figured out.... Sky doesn't mind being groomed, in fact she loves it, but she is a big goof, who wants to bounce, and kiss, and steal the brush, and kiss and bounce some more and roll, and flop, and boing boing boing. LOL So it takes much longer to groom her than Dancer, who simply lies there and ejoys the wonderful attention as if she were spending a day at the massage parlor! LOL |
| What is a "mac"? |
| El Gato,
From my early years in England mac is short for anorak, a cold weather rain coat, often hooded. Cheers Carl |
| Thanks Carl.
I think I will just put my boy in a GIANT exercise bubble people use for their hamsters/gerbils! A little off topic, but along the same lines, my neighbor has a Italian Greyhound and he has been seen wandering our sidewalks in a Patagonia fleece and a "puffy vest". Has to be human size extra-small. Front legs just slide into the sleeves and buttons up along his back. He seems to be warm and thinks he looks cool. |
LOL El Gato... 
Well, I bought the Cowboy Magic.... it is expensive stuff! However, if it does what it says it can do, then it is worth it's weight in gold. LOL I'm going to give it a try soon, Sky and I have been working on getting her combed through on and off today, then it's bath and blowdry time! I'm excited about it actually, I can't wait to see how the combination of a detangler, and really line grooming every inch of her (never previously accomplished) will look. |
| Make sure you only use a little, and don't leave it on for long. Use a really small amount, comb through with fingers and rinse.
The longer you leave it on, the greasier the hair will fill. I sure hope you read this before using!!!!!!!! |
| Thanks Hannah, yes that's exactly what the woman at the store said as well. Just a tiny bit... does it really work that well?? I'm tempted to try it on my own hair too..lol.. she said lots of people buy it for themselves too... |
| I've never tried it on myself?
It is expensive but when you use a small amount, it will last a long time. And yes it works really well. Sometimes between baths, You no when the hair starts to fill course and little mats start....... Thats when I use it also. You apply it to the dry hair, again maybe just a dime size amount, and finger through hair. Works great!!!! I'm sure people that will be showing wouldn't be able to use this very often. |
| No, probably not, but at this point, I'm more concerned about being able to keep her coat, if not for this show, for the next etc...
I think since puppies have a softer coat to begin with, it's not as much of a worry in regard to softening it.... still going to be very careful about it though. I just finished bathing her. I bathed her using regular people shampoo to get the dirt out, scrubbed her beard and feet etc... then rinsed really well, then used some cowboy magic only on the matted areas on her chest, inner back legs and low on her belly in the groin area. I have the clarifying shampoo/detangler that you put in and rinse out, which I did, (it helped the beard somewhat) and the other detangler, which seems to be like an oil, that it says to put in, comb through and leave in, but I am going to put it in, comb through and rinse out. I'm only going to use it on those specific areas too until I see what it does. Then I'll blowdry her. I'm giving her a bit of a break for the moment before I do the next step. |
| Well, after 3 hours, lol.... we're still not done!
I am taking a break though and will finish picking out a few more little mats after she has had a chance to rest and play and eat and drink etc... I took some pics, but my camera is not a very good one, and it is dark, and she was REALLY sick of standing still anymore, so they are blurry and she is not standing properly in most... I will post a couple anyway in the pictures section. Whew! We are tired! LOL |
| So what did you think of the cowboy magic? |
| I'm not really sure it did much, but maybe my caution led to me not using enough... I don't know. I think it made some areas easier to brush but not necessarily the mats... it was worth a try though, and I'm going to try it on Dancer since she won't be shown any time soon. |
| If your Avatar is the "after" pictures - I think she looks really good! Hang in there - it will be well worth the time and energy you are investing!
Kristen |
| Ugh, we've been going through the same thing with Frank these past couple of months. Certain areas have gotten better but some days I'm just ready to get the clippers out and get rid of that puppy coat. My goal with showing Frank was to get him entered in the US Sheepdog Centennial celebration in September but since I'm such a novice with grooming for show, I will probably have stripped a lot of his undercoat trying to keep the matts down. We'll see how frustrated I end up getting. It's hard to spend a few hours every other night on brushing a dog when I think to myself, I'd rather be out walking him that whole time. |
Carl Lindon wrote: El Gato,
From my early years in England mac is short for anorak, a cold weather rain coat, often hooded. Cheers Carl [nitpick] "mac" is a raincoat but is actualy short for "macintosh," after charles macintosh, the scottish inventor who in in the mid 1800's was the first person to smear rubber over cloth and create a waterproof coat. [/nitpick] I often put a raincoat on burcwen when it is pouring out, not because we show her, but simply because I do not want a wet dog soaking the couch and everything else she touches afterwards! |
Good luck willowsprite. We are having ear problems i brush 2-3 times a day and they still mat. gggrrrr. im off to look at the line brushing post again. my computer froze the last time.  |
| The cowboy magic did really help a lot on her white parts. It didn't soften her coat too much (since she is a puppy it is still soft anyway) and it makes things much easier to "keep" brushed out. I didn't see as much of a difference right away, but the next day and the day after etc, when I brush her it is so easy. |
| I,m glad the magic is doing better for you. I would have felt bad if you had spent the money for it and didn't like it.
Between baths you can apply a very small amount in the palm of your hands and just finger over hair. It really helps with the brushing. Good Luck |
No need to feel bad, even if it hadn't done a thing. I've bought so many things to try them out and had them not work out, and I've gone through probably a dozen different brushes, at least a dozen different shampoos. As it is, I would definitely recommend cowboy magic. Maybe not for use on the grey parts of a show dogs coat, but definitely a help on the white parts. And for anyone not showing, then why not go for it? A little softer coat certainly isn't a bad thing for a pet who will enjoy being more comfortable and less time pulling out mats.  |
| where can you find it on line? |
| Any horse supply store....Valley Vet, State Line Tack, Jeffers
They make a kind for dogs but I like the horse kind better |
 Well I'm am certainly learning a lot from all of you. Casey is about five months now and I'm trying to get her into the habit of grooming her every night. I have to give her a bone to chew on or else she keeps wanting to chew on the rakes. We're not showing her, but I can see what's coming with the puppy coat shedding. Yikes!!! Good luck in the show!
Kathy |
| Just an update....
This last couple of weeks has certainly been challenging, trying to keep those mats at bay. One good thing about all the grooming, is that Sky has now decided since she has no choice to lay back and relax, and now actually seems to enjoy it. LOL She also knows that after each leg she gets a treat, so after I get to her toes on one leg she gets up and goes to the kitchen and sits to wait for a treat. LOL Then she will lay back down and let me do another leg. LOL Tonight I am going to bathe Dancer and blow dry and brush her out, and tomorrow it's Sky's turn again. I'm going to brush her out again tonight first though, she's relatively mat free, but her back legs seem to come up with little mats instantly, as soon as she goes out in the snow she comes in with matted legs. Her back legs seem to be changing to adult coat the fastest, a week ago they were still black and now they are mostly grey. I'm sick though, so this is going to be a bit-by-bit process...lol... I think I have bronchitis, so I have to rest quite frequently. Anyway, I will post pics when they are at their cleanest! (5 minutes after grooming) |
| Stacey,
That is great that Sky has learned that grooming can be fun.  That is so cute that she knows the treats are coming. What a smart girl! I am sorry to hear you are sick, but that just means you can talk on IM all day with me and we can cough together...LOL It hasn't been fun around here, me and the kids went to the doctor from a stomach virus last week and then over the weekend it turned into a cold. Then back to the doctor when it turned into sinusitus and bronchitis. The kids are starting to get better after a week and a half out of school, but I still have the bronchitis pretty bad. I think if we had stock in kleenex we would have actually made a profit this week. LOL
I can't wait to see pics of Dancer after her bath! I can't believe how fast her coat is growing out. Don't work too hard on them though or you won't ever get well. Remember lots of fluids and rest and Instant Messaging. 
Stormi and co. |
| LOL... thanks Stormi, what would I do without you?! |
| I like my slicker brush. I think it does a good job getting the mats out . It's kind of like carding wool. I don't worry about scratching Mardi's skin and infeting it because i'm not that rough. I think it's better to get the mats out with the slicker than having to use the dematting rake with the blades on . I think it's the less of two evils. The pin brush doesn't work good at all on Mardies coat even when I part his hair to do the line brushing. The pins fall out of the brush easy also. Any advice Carl . I'm kind of disappointed to here the pin brush isn't good for their coat because that's my favorite tool to use. |
| About how long does the coat change take?
We have been battling Zoe's coat for about 3 weeks. I get the mats out and they seem to sprout back in no time. To top it off she has now decided that she no longer wants to lay still to get brushed. |
| Every dog is different. A dog who goes through their coat change very fast is going to have more problems with matting than one who takes his or her time. It can be as little as a couple of weeks or longer than a year... you just never know. It is soooo important to keep up on it if you want to keep your dog in full coat. I have learned this the hard way 3 times now. LOL And it doesn't seem to matter how much I brush, the mats keep coming back. I have groomed Sky out to the skin every few days the last month, and tonight after I bathed her I found a giant mat behind each of her ears. I have no idea how to get rid of it witohut cutting her fur.
Also I find the most difficult area is around the edges of the ears, it is such a delicate spot, you can't pull too hard or the ear itself can split, a very painful serious injury. That area seems to mat the easiest, as well as lower legs in wet weather, and the armpits and groin. Anyway, back to brushing for me *sigh* I'm so tired. LOL But they're so fluffy and cute. LOL |
| Thanks!
I certainly hope she does not take a year. It is a headache - but she is so pretty when we get done! |
| I just realized I hadn't posted to let everyone know how my grooming lesson went.
As some of you know, my mentors (my breeder and her breeder) came to my house on Sunday. A visit that I was soooo stressed out and nervous about! I've been good friends with the woman I got my dogs from for years, but I had never met the other one in person. We've only corresponded through email and phone. I was excited and nervous at the same time, and once they got here I relaxed, since both are absolutely wonderful women. We had a wonderful day, looking at oes books and photo albums going back to the early 1950's when she began. I was shown step by step the line grooming process, and how to remove mats without taking forever, tugging and pulling and removing half the coat, which amazed me to see how easy it is when it is done correctly. Sky was an angel, laying patiently for hours on the grooming table, she was so good! Dancer was a little jealous that Sky got most of the attention, but Sky is going to be shown sooner than Dancer so we focused on her. They were evaluated (she happens to be a very experienced judge as well) against the standard and both got great reviews, so I'm even more excited about showing. I won't be showing Sky in the February show though, because due to her puppy coat transition and my lack of knowledge to remove mats without wrecking the coat, I did remove too much coat when dematting her back legs. So we have to wait for her undercoat to fill back in. I was told to plan for April to get Sky into the show ring. So, I'm more relaxed about that too, it gives us a bit more time to get the hang of grooming properly, and training for the show ring, and some extra socialization since she is at a critical age. She needs some handling classes, as do I, to refresh my memory on exactly how to stack her and walk and run etc.... Anyway, that's the scoop! They brought me a grooming table too, which I no longer consider something just nice to have, if anyone is considering a sheepie in full coat, a grooming table should be a must! You'll be amazed at the difference, and once you try grooming with a proper table and proper brushes, you'll wonder how you ever did it before and will never want to go back! LOL |
Willowsprite wrote: I was shown step by step the line grooming process, and how to remove mats without taking forever, tugging and pulling and removing half the coat, which amazed me to see how easy it is when it is done correctly.
Would you be so kind and describe that dematting process and what kind of brushes must be used. My Pontus has also major matt problem and it takes forever to remove them without striping too much hair. |
| Carl posted an excellent step by step post on mat removal.
You can find it here: http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=2328 |
Quote: The pin brush doesn't work good at all on Mardies coat even when I part his hair to do the line brushing. The pins fall out of the brush easy also. Any advice Carl . I'm kind of disappointed to here the pin brush isn't good for their coat because that's my favorite tool to use HerbGirl, Sorry for the delay in answering, I missed your post when it first came up and haven't checked this thread closely for a week or so. Anyway, All, The pin brush IS the proper and preferred tool for brushing Bobtails period. In the case of a well groomed dog it is often the only tool that is required and I have brushed my boys many a time without having to pick up a comb, slicker etc. That being said not all pin brushes are equal and they do have their limitations. First and foremost you need a pinbrush with straight pins. Don't use brushes with little balls, nibs, whatever you might want to call the enlarged spherical ends of the pins. It is those ball tips that are so detrimental to an OES coat, both stripping undercoat and breaking guard coat hairs. A few good brushings with a tipped pin brush and you will have a dog that looks like he is a mid-therapy radiation treatment patient. Secondly the pin brush needs to have a supple rubber pad (the part that actually holds the pins). The pad accomplishes several purposes in addition to actually holding the pins in place. First a supple pad provides shock adsorption when the pins first contact the dog's coat/skin. Second the pad limits the amount of lateral stresses exerted on the coat hairs by allowing the pins to "lean over" and release both load and hairs before damage is done. Finally the pad also provides a form of suspension to the pins allowing them to follow the dog's body contours more closely than does our grooming motion. Without this "suspension" the pins would tend to "dig into" the higher parts and "float" over the lower contours of the dog's body. For primary grooming purposes the pins should be about an inch long. If they are shorter than this they cannot effectively brush through the entire thickness of the coat down to the skin. If they are significantly longer they tend to lean over and release the hairs too quickly because of the lateral force geometry. I use and recommend either Hindes large oblong pin brushes or, if you can find them without tips, Safari large oblong pin brushes. I actually prefer the Safari brush as it is a bit larger than the Hindes so is more comfortable in my hand (good for -me- but not everyone) but I have been unable to find an untipped Safari brush for a couple of years. I also prefer the oblong shaped heads versus rectangular ones because I feel that their pads provide better cushioning for all pins, whereas the pins on the short sides of the rectangular shaped heads tend to be held upright more rigidly. They don't flex under load as much as I like and hence can pull undercoat and break guard coat more with potential to scratch skin. #1 All Systems black padded pin brushes are also quite good but again be careful not to get ones with overly long pins. Their white padded brushes should also be avoided. Both long pins and white pads don't provide enough brush resistance to allow effective grooming of "tight" hair. "Tight" hair referes to those areas not yet knotted but less easily brushed because of dirt, moisture or crossed hairs. (A knot is in the making.  )I fastidiously avoid any brushes with hard or plastic pads, pins that are not stainless steel or have a "glove" type handle. Bristle brushes, either natural or synthtic don't even make it onto my long distance radar. They are wholly ineffectual on Bobtail coats. What do you mean by: Quote: The pins fall out of the brush easy also
Clearly if they are actually falling out of the pad onto the grooming table this is a poor quality brush, something I have never actually seen. If however they are "sinking" into the pad so they are apparently shorter and less flexibley suspended the brush is either worn out or need it's minor maintenance. Pins will inevitably tend to "sink" into the pad. When this happens it is easy to go through and pull them back up to fully expose them and recover full flexibility. Eventually the pad wears and the holes around each pin enlargens so much that the pins sink within a few minutes of use after being pulled up. At this point your brush is worn out and requires replacement. Additonally I use the rule of thumb that more than 5 bent pins in the entire brush or bent pins within 5 holes of each other constitues a worn out brush that needs replacement. The other potential problem with pin brushes is that the pad can rupture out of the wood handle/frame. This usually starts as a small "pucker" somewhere on the pad circumference. Once this happens the supporting air is readily expelled in each grooming stroke and the pad is no longer doing two of it's three jobs. (The under pad air is normally controlled by a single small hole readily visible near the handle end of the pad.) Fear not, things are not as bad as you might first think. As soon as this first "pucker" appears gently pull the pad from the frame/handle in its entirety. Sand inside the pad seating groove to remove the old factory glue and very gently scuff the glue on the pad edges. (Use 120 or 150 grit sandpaper for this, hand sanding only.) Then pour a small bead of polyurathane glue into the seating groove and replace the pad. Use caution, the glue bead only needs to be about 1/16 inch or so in diameter(cute the bottle nozzle tip such that it squeezes out a bead this size on a test scrap of wood or material). Polyurathane glue "foams" when it cures and if you use too much (ie fill up the entire seating groove) it will foam out covering the pad and handle/frame edges, both unsightly and a place to catch hair and scratch skin - yours and your Bobtail's! Let cure for a minimum of 24 hours before use and your pad should be secure in the brush for longer than the pins' service life. This post is getting long so I'll discuss limitations of the pin brush in another post. Cheers Carl |
| Carl - you will be happy to hear this (I think). I pulled out the grooming table on Sunday and Farley got all excited. He started to try to jump up on it as soon as I got 1 set of legs set. Barking, wiggling, barking all the way.
Problem is though - once I got him up there - and keep in mind he's only 5.5 mos old - he wouldn't stop wigglin. Ooo - razzin frazzin - why can't you lie quiet like Carl's pups? Oh mom - you just don' understand... |
Quote: Carl - you will be happy to hear this (I think). I pulled out the grooming table on Sunday and Farley got all excited. He started to try to jump up on it as soon as I got 1 set of legs set. Barking, wiggling, barking all the way.
Problem is though - once I got him up there - and keep in mind he's only 5.5 mos old - he wouldn't stop wigglin. Ooo - razzin frazzin - why can't you lie quiet like Carl's pups? Oh mom - you just don' understand... Heather, This is certainly good news. Having Farley excited about the table is an excellent first step to getting him into a good grooming routine.  Now try to get him to sit on the table and start introducing the brush to his wigglin/sitting and playing. Once he sits for a few minutes of brushing start laying him down and brushing him lightly. You will have to physically hold him down at first. Be firm in this but at the same time don't force the issue for too long. As I posted in the "Can You Get Them To Enjoy It" thread the mantra here is; Minimum Force - Maximum Bribery!! If you haven't read that post please give it a browse and you might find a few useful ideas.
 Always remember that "Carl's Pups" did not come pre-programmed or with a "sleep mode switch" for grooming. It took a lot of work, perseverance and cheese - cheddar cheese, marble cheese, sheese snaps etc - to get them to behave as well as they do on the table. Even at that they still have their days when they won't follow the script perfectly. Indeed my big issue is getting the boys onto the table, once there they are great but getting them up!! Well suffice it to say each of them has their own little avoidance routine!!
Keep with it Heather, Farley can be conned into grooming!!
Cheers Carl |
Quote: Willowsprite: It can be as little as a couple of weeks or longer than a year... you just never know Nab just started and I'm thinking...Ok, 4-6 week of fur everywhere...I can handle this. But a YEAR! arrrgh...my vacumn will never be put away. I went to a tack shop and was going to get Cowboy magic but the girl there told me about Healthy Haircare Moisturizer. She prefered it and said it didn't leave a residue and you could use it on any color hair. This is from the bottle: Quote: Hair Moisturizer - HEALTHY HAIRCARE DAILY CONDITIONER. A leave in conditioner that doesn't need to be washed out. No alcohol - No silicone. Easy as 1-2-3
1. Mix 8 to 1 with water 2. Shake Well 3. Spray On No Gimmicks - just Healthy Hair! The girl at the store said she uses it on all her pets. I've been using it for a week now and I love it! Nabs hair is not matting as badly...and she is now enjoying her nightly brushing. I think you can get it at any horse shop. Della and Nab |
| That's great that you've found a product that works!
I actually find now that I've learned a little more from the pros (Carl and Diane) that I need no product on the dogs. It has made my life and the dogs lives so much easier! |
| I just had to tell someone, because I am giddy.... I spent a few hours tonight grooming Sky. I fully groomed her out, then bathed her, then blow dried and fully groomed her out again. She looks more beautiful than I thought possible! I am simply thrilled with the results!!! If I could I would not hesitate to bring her into a show ring right now, she finally looks ready!!!
Of course, little tomboy that she is, she will be a mess in no time
I finally did it!!!!!!!
I don't have a digital camera anymore, but I did take some regular pictures so as soon as I get the film developed I will post probably more than you want to see.... lol I'm going to give Dancer a bath and grooming tomorrow, but it won't be as detailed because I just don't have the time tomorrow night. I brushed her out tonight, and will do a quick brushing again tomorrow before bathing, and let her air dry most of the way with a quick brushing and fluff up. Then more pics...lol.... |
Yay!!! 
Enjoy while it lasts... give an extra hug for me!!! |
| Willow- Your grooming adventures sounded so familiar! Good luck at the show. If you want to keep her feet clean use mucklucks(SP?) |
| Well willowsprite I look forward to the day that you can teach me what you learned - I could use all of the help I can get - i am chasing dogs for grooming!
Thank goodness you live close - I would love to learn the ropes. |
| Maybe I'll have time sooner rather than later since my job keeps sending everyone home early... I think it is the beginning of the end, I don't think they can make it till August like they claim to have planned....
Maybe you could come up to Oakwood (about 30 minutes from you) to see the dog show in April? |
| Hey- I've been meaning to ask. Did you manage to get either of the girls to that show in February you were talking about doing? If so, how did it go? Can't wait to see the fully groomed out pics!
Karen |
| No, I didn't. Because Sky began blowing coat, her back legs got fairly matted, and before Diane showed me how to remove them properly, I just brushed them out pretty much and took most of Sky's undercoat along with them. So her back legs were looking almost bald for a couple weeks. LOL
They look much better now though. Their first show is now going to be April 29, 30 and May 1st in Oakwood, Ontario, which is very close to me so it's nice that the first show is close to home, no travelling stress. I'll be entering Sky and Dancer in that one I think, if I can find a handler for one of them. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|