# Mini Grooming



## Purley (May 21, 2010)

I didn't want to high jack the other thread so here is mine.

I am trying to get a few tips here. I am getting my Mini puppy later this month -- so less size - less hair, but I still don't want it matted.

I give my Shih-tzus a bath in the bathtub and then I dry them with a regular dryer, brushing all the time. If I just leave Tyson to air dry, his coat is kind of wavy.

I have been told -- use a slicker brush on a Poodle - don't use a slicker brush it will break the hair - use a pin brush and a greyhound comb. I am not about to buy a professional hair dryer. I would have thought that constant bathing a dog would dry its hair and skin out. 

Sam goes to the groomer every two months and I never bath him in between. I wash his face with a face cloth and I brush him with a slicker brush. Only his ears and tail feathers get matted. Tyson goes every three months and I usually give him one bath in between.

If I don't mind her hair curly, can I brush it - how often? And will it still get matted? In the other thread it said that curly hair gets matted. I have both a slicker and a pin brush. Is one better than the other? I will probably send her to the groomers on a regular basis. I don't care if her hair is straight or curly. I just don't want a matted dog.


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## *tina* (Jan 3, 2010)

There have been weeks where I've had to wash my poodle everyday, because of mud or ocean or pee accidents, or whatever. We've never had an issue with dry skin or hair. You can brush the hair, but I use a poodle/greyhound comb first so I can get down to the skin and make sure there is no matting, and then finish with my Les Poochs slick brush. If you aren't going to be showing the puppy, using a slicker brush isn't going to hurt the everyday coat, only those who are worried about a full continental coat for showing recommend to not use a slicker. And in adult coat, if you don't brush every other day at least (for my dog at least, his coat is VERY dense and thick), he will start matting in about 48 hours.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

winter- i found bernie went 2 months no problem between baths (did him when i got him did him once more before placing him) summer? i can get a good length of time on the dogs of all breeds. Spring/fall mud season? oy daily if i had the time!


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## CelticKitti (Jul 1, 2010)

I keep Kodi clipped short in the spring/summer, and let his hair grow a little longer in the winter. He is such a dirt ball, and goes swimming as much as he can. I love fluffy poodles but there is no way I'd be able to keep up with him! He gets a bath in my laundry tub when he needs one and before grooming. Although black does hide dirt well... I don't blow dry him, he's scared of it. Instead I brush the top knot, ears and tail periodically until it dries to make it fluffy. He's not a show dog, so I'm not worried about breaking hairs. I use a pin brush, slicker and comb on him. When he's short I only need to brush his top knot, tail and ears. He tends to tolerate the pin brush best. 

So really I think it depends on what you are trying to do with his coat. I do wish Kodi was a fluffy poodle, but he'd always be a mess because he just likes to play in the dirt to much!! Now Mia... she would never think about getting dirty!! And I can keep her fluffy  She gets brushed much more often!!


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

Ok, you are best to blow dry a poodle, cos while curls are fine and look cute, if they 'set' (ie air dry) then it's noticeably harder to brush them out properly and keep them mat-free. MUCH easier to keep them brushed properly if they've been properly fluffed with the dryer. Curls will still come back with time between grooming anyway, but it's just if they're 'set' right from the air-dry then it's much harder to keep on top of! However, in saying that, if it's kept reasonably short then it's not so bad...


Slicker brush is fine for a pet, it's a NO NO for a show dog though, as it does break the hairs somewhat (and every strand of a show dogs' hair is to be treated like GOLD!) but for a pet it doesn't matter what you use, as long as you use a steel comb to go through it all AS WELL as a brush to double-check you have every single tug out! If the hair is very curly from having dried that way you'll need a fairly stiff brush to fluff it out better before you can hope to get in to the skin.


Bathing frequently is fine as long as it's a decent shampoo and it's rinsed and rinsed and rinsed. Then rinsed some more. Be aware though that without a re-circulating bathing system, rubbing up the coat with soap WILL tighten up any knots s/he has in it's coat, and without a force dryer to blast tangles out you will need to be extra thorough in your brushing if you bath more frequently or you'll make 'em worse.


Generally brushing every other day is good. If the coat is short then it might only need the head, ears and tail brushed, but if there's more than a half inch anywhere then it'll need brushed too.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*FD, [/B I Found your post SO HELPFUL, thanks!! I have repeatedly agonized over whether I am a horrible poodle mom for using a slicker and greyhound comb nightly (on a dry coat) on my pet minipoo. Since his groomer always says he's in wonderful shape, and his breeder (whom I adore) showed me how to brush him, you'd think I'd have confidence in what I'm doing. But it wasn't until you explained the distinction between caring for a show poo and pet poo's coat that I got it! Indeed if every hair on a show poo's head is "gold," then my silver minipoo's individual hairs are "platinum" to me!! Thanks so much!*


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Can I second that - very helpful explanation of why blowdrying is useful, and the difference between grooming show coat and short coat.


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

Thanks for the help. I am sure I will be back once I get the puppy. I always brush my Tzus straight while I am blow drying them. I gave Tyson a bath last week, however, and just let him run around and air dry, and his coat is still wavy!

I am attaching a couple of pics I found on the Internet showing what I thought looked cute. If I leave the coat curly like the little black dog, will it get all matted or can I brush it out straight when I bath her and then just brush and comb it through?? They both look like they have pretty short hair to me. But what do I know??! I just don't want shaved feet. I am "coming around" to shaved faces, but as I don't intend to buy clippers, I am wondering if I will have to scissor the face in between groomings every couple of months.


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## *tina* (Jan 3, 2010)

That little brown/black puppy has probably been washed and fluff dried, and has been a few weeks from a bath. If Captain goes more than 6 days between baths he starts getting more curly and less fluffy.


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