lots of questions
Also we called the breeder to let them know not to breed the parents anymore and they offered us another puppy. Wich of course my children would love and we are considering. I just wonder how our dog would deal with it he is very jealous of who I give my attention to. |
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| So sorry to hear that your boy has hip problems. Hopefully your vet suggested some form of medication to alleviate his pain.
The way to get a dog to like (or at least tolerate) an unpleasant visit to the vet or groomer is to reward the dog like crazy in those situations. Use whatever reward works, food, favorite toy etc. Make "practice visits" to the vet or groomer, where you are just taking the dog to that place, not for an actual appointment, and go wild with praise and treats. The dog needs to associate visiting those places with a big reward. If you decide to groom your boy at home, you need to start with little steps and lots of praise and rewards as you go -- don't start with feet, face, ears or belly since dogs can be fussy about those areas. It really helps to have a grooming table, with an arm and a restraint, so you don't have to wrestle with the dog as you attempt to groom it. Some dogs freak out with the sound or vibration of electric clippers, and they need to be conditioned to them slowly (very short sessions, lots of praise and treats). When I need to de-coat a rescue dog, I start with sharp, blunt ended scissors and try to clip under the mats without nicking the skin. Over time (unless the dog is cooperative) I use clippers to even up the choppy mess the scissors make. When a sheepie gets badly matted, sometimes the mats are pulling/twisting the dog's skin and the dog is actually feeling discomfort when we go to cut the mats out. In any case, on a badly matted coat, I think it is easier to remove the coat than to subject the dog to the long process of splitting the mats and brushing the hair. It's good that you informed the breeder regarding the hip problem. Hopefully they will test their breeding stock (OFA test for hip soundness) or cease breeding pairs that are producing dysplastic pups. Best of luck |
| I'm so sorry to hear about your dogs hip problems but iI know where you're coming from.
My OES had pretty bad arthritis and wasn't too much of a fan of the groomers either, due to all the standing or laing, especially in cramped cages. To avoid the hastle and having him be upset I started grooming him on my own. I don't have a grooming table so I had him lay on a tile floor or even sometimes outside on the porch. At first I would just pet him for a little and then slowly started trimming him down with sharp,dull pointed scissors like Fritzi said. I kept him occupied with lots of little treats, whether it was ice cubes, pieces of bone or even strawberries which he happened to love. BUt if your worried about cutting him go towards the top of the mat and work the scissor in, it will come out the other side and you will know its safe to cut. I also learned that once you get going, work with whatever area he'll give you, it may take awhile but its alot less stressful for them and gives you some quality time. Also afterwards if you want a smoother look you can use hair clippers (I have ones that we used to use on my brother) Hopefully this helped you, Good Luck ~Bonnie Barnaby's Momma |
| Thank you for the answers. I have been "attacking" Archie with the scissors and he didn't get to upset around his face and upper body. I sort of try to get him nice and sleepy before I start by going on a long walk with him. I haven't gotten to his belly and feet yet. He looks a bit funky but hey that has to be better than the matts. Any ideas on what kind of dogtrimmer to buy? I looked at a store the other day, but there are so many. Archie is on meds for his hips and he is actually doing very well. He doesn't like steps but we don't have any exept for into the basement and he can go around outside.
:wink |
I actually NEVER found a clipper that was strong enough to get through all the layers without them being pre-cut. The trimmers usually got caught in the not. lol I swear the furs like a coat of armor sometimes. I know the sell powerful cordless trimmers (the vets usually rely on those) not quite sure where to find 1 though. If I get any ideas though, I'll let you know.  |
| Grooming Supplies.
I keep my sheepies in long coat, and I don't need the best clippers in the world to do the small amount of maintenance they need . However, I do end up shaving/grooming rescue sheepies so I finally invested in some Oster A5 dual speed clippers. I got them online at http://www.petedge.com That model has 2 speeds and is used by many professsional groomers. So is the Andis model. These are corded clippers since my experience with any cordless applicance is that they lack the power of the corded ones. The Petedge online site has a lot of grooming supplies at reasonable cost. I also have some combs that clip on a standard clipper. It's hard to explain unless you have seen them, but it lets you do a uniform clip at 1"-2" with clippers, for a longer looking coat without hving to scissor it. These can only be used on a completely de-mated coat. Good luck, and it's great that you are making progress with Archie |
| I have clipped my Standard Poodle and my OES with an A5 for the past 10 years.
Just remember to get the blades sharpenned every year or two. Lubricate the blades, and CLEAN new blades in Kerosene or some cleaning fluid before you use them the first time. Oster coats all of their new blades with a coating. They will not cut unless you put them on your trimmer and hold them in a cleaning solution, while running on low speed, for 30 seconds to a minute. You will know, because the sound of the hum will go from a low slow hum to a much quicker type of hum. When I bought an Andis blade this summer it would cut and there was no coating on it; so I returned it. There's videos out there that go through how to groom your dog. Abbi was matted badly once. I used a scissors, a steel comb as a guide and then washed her and trimmed her with the clippers. Dirty hair will ruin Clipper blades. A number 10 blade is the best all-around blade, but I picked up some smaller and larger ones over the years---and it has made the clipping go a lot faster. I can switch blades and work on her foot, then switch back to a cooled down #10 blade. It gives us both breaks and I never spend too much time on any one area. A dematting comb also comes in handy. I bought a large one and a small one. The large one is the only one I use, because the small one is just annoying for both of us. You will have to test the blades temperature often, as it does seem to heat up faster in Abbi's hair than it ever did in Alex's. I think OES's under coat is a bit thicker than a poodle's. |
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