Too cold to shave?
My big problem is he tries to bite the brush - but gets my hand. It is like he is saying - I don't like it. This weekend in despiration I tried a muzzel so he would not bite and it worked to change his attitude. Lots of praise for being a good boy and treats when we were done. He has a couple of mats I need to get worked out. I am thinking about shaving him to a puppy cut and then work on the grooming without dealing with mats and knots. I am wondering if it is too cold in WI to shave him. He does like it warm. Thanks |
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| I shave mine in Oct on the long side. Been cold here and they were fine. Indoor dogs thou play outside when not to bad. Sami just had another cut because she hates the brushing but loves the clippers go figure. |
| Be sure the brush isn't hurting him, if it's like a slicker or something the brush itself can be irritating. Definitely go for a straight pin brush that's easy on the skin! |
| if Summer is restless when being brushed we both sit with her one talks to her and soothes her and tells her how good she is whilst the other brushes her. As Ron said it could be the brush i sometimes use my human no tangle brush. I have thick hair myself and it hurts when you get a tangle. Also I use baby de tangling spray. |
| You've got to remember he was raised by someone who let him do whatever he wanted (or didn't want) to do. When I got Che back from a pet home he was like this too: I don't have to let myself be brushed. WRONG!
Just keep at it. If the muzzle works for him, great! Some dogs have very sensitive feet and you may need to use a fairly soft slicker on them there, or at least not the hardest (where are you entered next? Maybe we'll be at the same show - bring brushes and I'll review) Mostly it's just a matter of overcoming his lacking upbringing. And that's harder to do when you're battling a coat transition. I just shaved one of mine two weeks ago. A friend did the same with her herding dog. Last Saturday was so cold she worked the stock in a sweatshirt. No problem. There are some nice fleece coats you can get for them, or take an old sweatshirt and chop it a bit to size. Being a boy, you'll have to tie it up under his belly for obvious reasons. Now, it's a bit odd that he'd like it warm. We'll have a talk with Amy and see if she thinks thyroid testing may be in order. How's his coat? Kristine |
| FWIW I just shaved Morgan down a week or so ago. I used the 3 3/4 blade. He is more active and happy even though it is like 20 degrees here. And he is hypothyroid. go figure. |
| Kristine
Jasper has a beautiful coat! Or at least I thhink so. He still drops much more hair than Miley. Amy thought that part of the reason why he was loosing hair was part nutrition. So the nutrional supplements have been helping. We have been adding fish oil and green beans and carrots. I have a CC Fusion pin brush that is my favorite - so I would hope that it is not the brush because it was not inexpensive. I do use a slicker on the feet or I comb. The slicker is an All systems. I think most of the issue is that he was not groomed on a steady schedule when he was little so he did not learn to like it. Now it is a matter of convincing him that grooming is a good thing. When I say he likes it warm - I mean he likes to cuddle - likes to snuggle on a dog bed. Where Miley perfers the hard cold floors - will sleep on the deck in the snow. |
| Yes, the nutrition is a huge part of it.
Our Maggie lost virtually all her hair and grew in new, healthy hair over a period of several months after we got her. It was quite amazing, the difference in her old hair and the new stuff. Also, our rescue horses did the same thing. Thay were both adults, but they actually changed colors! |
| Becky,
Mine stay in short coat all year round. Simon loves it..he stays cooler. Gar is my cuddlebug but I think he likes the short coat too. Right now they are at 3-4inches and looking a little "shaggy" but not in a good way. I was thinking of doing a little clip job myself...don't know if it will help  |
| Honestly, I've had a couple adult oes here who had never been properly groomed, or hadn't been on a table etc... the best way to get them used to the idea quickly is to hold them down on their sides and ignore their fussing. They get the idea quickly and relax and lay there til I take them off the table and once they relax they realize they do like it, or at least some of it.
If you want to shave him tho I wouldn't worry about the cold. Dogs like boxers, dobermans etc have hardly any coat and plenty of them live in cold climates. 4 out of my 5 are shaved right now and we've only had a couple of fluke days above zero LOL |
I am trying to keep a weekly grooming schedule with Jasper - so this week I got both sides done. I usually do not use a grooming table because I don't have one. This weekend I used my old kitchen table that my girls use as a craft table and it helped a little. I did make it though both side of Jasper. I am still having problems getting him to let me work on the mats he has. He really did not like that - he started growling and bitting this weekend. It is those darn mat faires  .
So I am making an appointment to have him shaved. I am a little dissappointed because I was liking how his coat was coming along. But I don't have it in me to keep fighting him over the mats. I think I will be better off in the long run if I shave down and work on the grooming activity and estabilish a good habit. |
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