# Grooming Question



## CurlyDog (Aug 20, 2008)

I've heard that you should always brush out your dog before you bathe. 

I've heard you should never brush a dirty dog or you will break the hair.

That seem so pose a dilemma! Mine gets dirty almost every day in the yard or dog park. I'm thinking I should still brush him before the bath? What's best?


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## Purple Poodle (May 5, 2008)

For a pet like yours I would say a good once over with a pin or slicker brush to remove any mats before the bath would be best.


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## Jako (Mar 4, 2008)

I know! It's seems like they get dirty within seconds.

As far as I can tell, the solution would be: (1) brush daily, so when he gets dirty it won't hurt to go straight in the bath; (2) bathe often.

Not that I live up to this myself.


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## SECRETO (Aug 20, 2008)

I've heard to spray a leave on condioner before brushing everytime to elimate breakage. I haven't started that yet myself but Im going to give it a try. 

Sometimes I bathe before brushing. I do use a condition after I shampoo and haven't had any issues yet. I think its better to brush before but I do it both ways.


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

I have been using the dryer to blow out any dust before I start brushing as I understand you shouldn't brush a dirty dry coat. When the coat is damp it has more elasticity so is less likely to break, and if your brushing dirty fur it's more likely to catch and you'll cause breakage.

So I have some watered down conditioner I use after I blow out the coat and just spray lightly each section as I brush out - this is all before the bath - no wonder it takes me forever LOL. I have read that unless you have a major matted mess of a coat it is OK to bath then brush, as long as your very thorough when you do brush to get any mats out otherwise they just dry matted and get even worse.


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## SECRETO (Aug 20, 2008)

I just heard the same thing. If you need to bathe first then make sure you use a conditioner after you shampoo. Im going to start misting the coat prior to brushing as well. I keep forgetting to get a good spray bottle though.


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## CurlyDog (Aug 20, 2008)

Yeah, I was wondering about the conditioner mixed in the spray bottle. I wonder if you need a certain kind of sprayer to keep it from getting clogged up?


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## highhorse (Sep 17, 2008)

If your dog is around the 12 month mark and has a reasonably long coat, I would brush every time before bathing. If you bathe when there is trapped puppy coat in the hair, mats will get worse when they are wet and almost impossible to get out. At the moment, I'm trying a mink oil conditioner that is supposed th work wonders on the coat. We'll see.


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

I am on a grooming forum also and some of the professionals say if you put in a really good leave in conditioner and then force dry the dog while they are wet and still in the bath it helps to push the mats to the outer ends of the coat making them easier to brush out. I must say I have never tried this but they swear by it. I reckon the easiest way is to brush daily during coat change so the mats don't become a major issue - having said that my pup is not yet 4 months old so no dreaded coat change here yet!


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

CurlyDog said:


> Yeah, I was wondering about the conditioner mixed in the spray bottle. I wonder if you need a certain kind of sprayer to keep it from getting clogged up?


I just have a normal squirty bottle I got from the supermarket and have been using it for about 6 weeks without it getting blocked up. The conditioner I use is a Plush Puppy one and you water it down something like 10 parts water to 1 part conditioner so it is quite watery. 

I have some mink oil conditioner too which I plan to use when coat change happens. So would be interested to hear how it goes highhorse.


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## highhorse (Sep 17, 2008)

Started with the mink oil spray and must admit they smell very nice. It has changed the texture of their coats though and I'm not sure that I like this. They are less curly. The coats do have a beautiful shine though.


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## SECRETO (Aug 20, 2008)

highhorse said:


> Started with the mink oil spray and must admit they smell very nice. It has changed the texture of their coats though and I'm not sure that I like this. They are less curly. The coats do have a beautiful shine though.


See now Im still wondering how straight is a actual show coat at an adult. One of my dogs will not blowout straight on the back. The head legs and chest will though. Maybe what I consider straight and Poodle straight are to different things?? I need to see some in person.


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

I saw an absolutely gorgeous pic of one of the Ozzie poodles on another forum which shows her boy in a photo shot and his coat is absolutely beautiful. Will see if I can find a link for you. Not like seeing in person but it is a lovely photo all the same.


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

http://www.capanashstandardpoodles.com/showingoff.htm

This is the link. This boy is the reason I decided on a standard - how absolutely gorgeous!


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## CurlyDog (Aug 20, 2008)

Wow, that's stunning!!! I'm curious, and this may sound dumb, but I've never seen the show coat anywhere other than a show. Are people able to keep their dogs looking like that all the time, or do they go around with their hair tied up in between shows?

I'm just wondering how long I can let Max's coat get and still keep up with it myself. It's seems like the biggest problem is keeping them dry. Once he gets wet, I can't brush him enough to keep him from looking raggedy.


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## SECRETO (Aug 20, 2008)

Blue Fox said:


> http://www.capanashstandardpoodles.com/showingoff.htm
> 
> This is the link. This boy is the reason I decided on a standard - how absolutely gorgeous!



I really like the bone those dogs. A few are a little lippy but I love the bone and there male Vegas caught my eye. He's a beautiful male. All have nice coats though (besides the pink in it..lol)


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## SECRETO (Aug 20, 2008)

CurlyDog said:


> Wow, that's stunning!!! I'm curious, and this may sound dumb, but I've never seen the show coat anywhere other than a show. Are people able to keep their dogs looking like that all the time, or do they go around with their hair tied up in between shows?
> 
> I'm just wondering how long I can let Max's coat get and still keep up with it myself. It's seems like the biggest problem is keeping them dry. Once he gets wet, I can't brush him enough to keep him from looking raggedy.




Im keeping Mikey in a show coat but he doesn't always look fluffed up. I figure as long as he is clean and matt free thats the main concern. Sometimes I just let him air dry after his bath. You can always fluff dry it next time.


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## CurlyDog (Aug 20, 2008)

Re: "a bit lippy" 

Wow, I never would have noticed that but now that you mention it I can see the difference. 

Re: Show Coats

Jenn: When you let Mikey air dry, do you find that he always looks messy? I used to love the curly look on Max but found that as his coat grew out, I couldn't keep him looking decent. He always seems on the verge of mats no matter how much I brush. Is this the dreaded coat change I've been hearing about? He's 8 months old.


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## SECRETO (Aug 20, 2008)

CurlyDog said:


> Re: "a bit lippy"
> 
> Wow, I never would have noticed that but now that you mention it I can see the difference.
> 
> ...


Possibly. Eli started his coat change around 10 months but I never had any issues with his. Mikey is now 10 months and his coat needs more attention. I really haven't had a hard time with coat change yet but that could change. 

Ya, I guess you could call the air dry look messy. lol If Im going somewhere with them I'll brush it out and its fluffy for awhile. I tend to start stressing out when the dogs are dirty. So for me, as long as they are clean I don't mind. Im actually going to do that today....bath and air dry. 

About the lippy muzzle....see Im really bad about picking apart dogs. Thats what showing dogs does to you. Thats was the first thing I noticed..lippy muzzle and it was toed out. Love the bone though. lol


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## CurlyDog (Aug 20, 2008)

Part of the problem is that I can't get him blow dried before he air dries. He still is afraid of the dryer and squirms and fights and trembles the whole time. He'll sleep while I trim his nails or shave his feet, but the drying is a huge challenge right now. I try to give him treats whenever he's still.


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

My partner loves the air dry look on T but I hate it :smile-big: He is looking particularly scruffy this morning cause we went to the beach yesterday afternoon and all he got was a rinse off under the hose and air dry last night - it was still 30 odd degres at 10pm last night! Think we'll be back down the beach this afternoon after I finish grooming other people's dogs so our lot will have to wait till tonight.

I love the Capanash poodles, especially the boys as I am partial to that strong chiselled look their boys have. Very masculine looking I think.

Curlydog it is impossible to get a straight look without blowdrying and brushing at the same time every bit of coat. T is still learning and fidgets a bit so sometimes parts of his coat are not brushed and dried enough, he looks good for a little while and then it starts to get wavy cause it wasn't completely/absolutely dry.


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## SECRETO (Aug 20, 2008)

CurlyDog said:


> Part of the problem is that I can't get him blow dried before he air dries. He still is afraid of the dryer and squirms and fights and trembles the whole time. He'll sleep while I trim his nails or shave his feet, but the drying is a huge challenge right now. I try to give him treats whenever he's still.


Possibly a grooming table or something of that sort may help when you dry him. I bought mine off Petedge and we are pleased with it. Other then that I dont have additional idea's for blow drying.


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## CurlyDog (Aug 20, 2008)

Yep, I think that will help, especially if I use the bungee idea or something. I'm scared to death he'll squirm of and hang himself before I can catch him. Our house reconstruction should be finished in about 3 weeks. At that point I will have my grooming table.

Thanks for the tips!


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## Sivaro (Sep 19, 2008)

SECRETO said:


> I really like the bone those dogs. A few are a little lippy but I love the bone and there male Vegas caught my eye. He's a beautiful male. All have nice coats though (besides the pink in it..lol)


Her dogs are way too heavy boned, and especially fabio has too much jowl. Hate his temperament too, always goes for my pups when I walk past. He gets spoilt rotten :banghead:


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## Sivaro (Sep 19, 2008)

CurlyDog said:


> Re: "a bit lippy"
> 
> Wow, I never would have noticed that but now that you mention it I can see the difference.


Yep got bigger jowls than a great dane ound:


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## Sivaro (Sep 19, 2008)

Blue Fox said:


> I love the Capanash poodles, especially the boys as I am partial to that strong chiselled look their boys have. Very masculine looking I think.


Stick with Kiradas types, better boned, better heads, not long in body and great temperaments.

Im as bad as Secreto ound: but you have to be


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

Ohh I don't think I'll be going anywhere else - so far T has been wonderful, although he is getting naughtier by the day, but that's our fault. Have made a resolution this afternoon that we are not letting him get away with everything he has been. We didn't with the GSD when he was a baby cause we knew he was going to be a big head strong dog and couldn't have him being a disobedient dog and I think we need to take the same advice with T.


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## Sivaro (Sep 19, 2008)

T is a gorgeous puppy, I could steal him off you anyday. You are doing a grand job with him, and your grooming too.


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

Thanks Siv I am trying to do him justice LOL. Another grooming question if you don't mind? Should I be making him stand and/or lay still by now when we're grooming? He kind of curls up in a ball when I am drying him and I have been working around that eg. drying bits I can reach, he tries to bite the brush which I have always said no to, he generally fidgets and carries on etc.. At nearly 4 months should he be better behaved than that? He has been bath weekly, clipped every 10 - 14 days and brushed twice weekly sometimes even more - so it's not like it is something new to him, he jumps on the grooming table at every opportunity so he's not scared but I am not seeing any improvement in his behaviour! Asking too much or not enough?


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## Sivaro (Sep 19, 2008)

Hmmm, he should be a little more disiplined than that. When he goes to nip you, what do you actually do. Do you use a tone, I know not everyone agrees but a nip I smack them on the muzzle, in a tone I say noooo. His a big dog so he can handle it. Puppies of his age always try to get away with the brushing and clipping side, he will improve the more you do him. Just keep using a tone when he is norty.

Blowing he is doing whats normal. I stand them to do their legs and lay them down to do their body and topknot. Put it this way, I would prefer him to curl in a ball than fight you all the time. He is big and will only get bigger. Thats a lot of dog to fight. He will get more use to it and relax more.


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

He got his first smack on the backside today beacuse he bit me quite hard, not while we were grooming and not in play accidentally either. I am using a tone LOL, it's funny cause I complain when I get a naughty dog to groom that the owners haven't done enough with them and now mine is the noortiest of the lot. He isn't being bad as such more fidgety. I suppose his attention span is quite small and he gets bored easily, I love it when he finally gives up and pretty much goes to sleep then I can get the clippers out LOL.

OK I will perservere (sp?) and perhaps make more of an effort to get him to do the right thing rather than just sayong oh he's a puppy he'll grow out of it.

Thanks Siv.

Anyone else want to share at what age their puppy was finally the model grooming citizen? Would love to hear your stories.


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## Sivaro (Sep 19, 2008)

BF thats the thing, he is just a puppy, but its best to be firm right now before it does get too hard. I would bugger him out first, let him have a good run, play with tennis balls, when he wants to rest then groom him. He sounds very determined to get his own way. My two standards I had were so easy in comparison. I find the toy poodles more difficult to do than those two I had.


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## highhorse (Sep 17, 2008)

Inca was really good to groom as a puppy and used to lie for hours over my knee whilst I groomed her show mane. When I cut her off, she became an objectionable little witch, dragging her legs up and generally being uncooperative. Her back legs are OK but I have to put her in a grooming arm to get anywhere near her front legs. They can surely find ways to make life difficult if they want to.


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