Grooming a curly coat

[Wallee]

Good afternoon everyone. Once again, I am looking for help from the "expert" yorkie owners. I have a pretty curly Biewer Yorkie (Wallee) and struggling to keep him groomed. I once had an American Cocker Spaniel whom I groomed myself (and for those of you who know the breed, not an easy task) so assumed I would be able to handle this little guy.
My biggest problem is getting the knots out from under his arms. I have a grooming table but cannot get him to lay on that to groom this area. He flips over and gets playfully nippy. I am able to manage this area a bit on the couch when I have him up against the back of the couch but again after a period of time, he starts to get roudy and fidgety.
Can anyone suggest the best tools to get the knots out from under his arm? I am presently trying to use two different brushes, (one of them being a slicker which he seems to go crazy from the sound it makes) and the other one is basically a rubber pin brush. I also have some spray that I spray him with before brushing however it doesn't seem to help the matts close to the skin.
Is it possible for this guy to be able to keep a long coat with having the cottony curly coat or will I be better off just to keep his hair cut in puppy cut?
Any grooming advice will be appreciated.

BTW, he is just 6 months old and I have been doing this since I got him at 12 weeks. He is great at bathing, blow drying and even brushing his teeth, but this brushing is a real struggle.

[chachi]

You can get a dematting comb it is a comb with blades that cuts through the matt. They do lose a tinsey bit of hair when you you them but Ive used them and the hair loss isnt signicant. It is really good for matts close to the skin

[mimimomo]

What is a rubber pin brush? If it has balls @ the end of the pins, those are a no no. The hair can get snagged between the ball & pin & cause breakage making the hair frizzy. It's best to shave the arm pits (along w/other high rubbing areas like inner thighs & belly), those areas are very sensitive to them. You can also snip the hairs off w/a blunt nosed scissor. If he's really badly matted to the skin over 30% of his body, then I would shave him down (while it's still warm) & start over. It would be puppy hair that u're getting rid of anyway. His adult hair should come in nicely in the next few months. Depending on how his adult hair turns out, you can decide then to either grow it or keep him in a puppy cut...which will be easier on both of you!

[Wallee]

Thanks for the tips. He is not really matted, just a few under the arms. I had him groomed once and he really wasn't happy during it. (the groomer let me stay to watch). I guess I will have to wait still to see what his coat will be but his mom has a nice straight silky coat and his dad was curly.
For those of you able to completely comb/brush your babies, how did you get them to cooperate when it comes to their feet and belly?

[jadabug]

My Bogie is a cotton coated Biewer, I had a horrible time keeping the hair under his arms and his belly mat free. If you are going to keep Wallee in a full coat, you can shave the hair in the arm pits where it mats so badly and also the belly. You cannot tell it is shaved unless you lay him on his back.
I gave up after almost 2 years of constant brushing and combing to keep Bogie's mats out of his coat. I now keep the face and leg hair long and shave him everywhere else. It works for us year round. I keep shirts on him almost all of the time and he looks like he has long hair all over when he is dressed. He is much happier without all the time consuming grooming...and so am I

[Wallee]

Thanks for the information. I would love to see more pics of your Biewer baby. I had every intention of keeping Wallee in a puppy cut of sorts when I first got him so will probably stick to keeping his coat shorter. The groomer mentioned shaving under his arms so I think I will try that. I like the longer face though. I find that the last time I had him trimmed the groomer made him look a lot like a Schnauzer and I really grow tired of everyone asking me "what kind of mix" he is..

[kjc]

Do you blow dry him? Using a warm blow dryer as you comb through the coat should help to straighten it... also as it gets longer, the weight of the hair itself will help too. And lots and lots of conditioner!

I usually sizzor any underarm mats... it's a very tender area.

[CouversMom]

I keep both of mine pretty short all year long. It's important to shave the armpits so they don't mat. With the shorter coat, it's easier to keep them mat free and they are happier not having the full coat.

[Jilleen]

Originally Posted by Wallee

Good afternoon everyone. Once again, I am looking for help from the "expert" yorkie owners. I have a pretty curly Biewer Yorkie (Wallee) and struggling to keep him groomed. I once had an American Cocker Spaniel whom I groomed myself (and for those of you who know the breed, not an easy task) so assumed I would be able to handle this little guy.
My biggest problem is getting the knots out from under his arms. I have a grooming table but cannot get him to lay on that to groom this area. He flips over and gets playfully nippy. I am able to manage this area a bit on the couch when I have him up against the back of the couch but again after a period of time, he starts to get roudy and fidgety.
Can anyone suggest the best tools to get the knots out from under his arm? I am presently trying to use two different brushes, (one of them being a slicker which he seems to go crazy from the sound it makes) and the other one is basically a rubber pin brush. I also have some spray that I spray him with before brushing however it doesn't seem to help the matts close to the skin.
Is it possible for this guy to be able to keep a long coat with having the cottony curly coat or will I be better off just to keep his hair cut in puppy cut?
Any grooming advice will be appreciated.

BTW, he is just 6 months old and I have been doing this since I got him at 12 weeks. He is great at bathing, blow drying and even brushing his teeth, but this brushing is a real struggle.

I have a madden (i think that is the type) comb. One end is a regular comb and the other end is a flea comb. I use this on my yorkie and it gets the knots out great. I use the regular end first and finish up with the flea comb.

When my yorkie was a baby I had to fight her like crazy to get her to be still so I could comb her. She is three years old now and all I have to do is pick up the comb and show it to her and she comes running. She loves to be combed and will lay there forever just letting me comb her.

I also use the same comb. It was kinda pricey when I purchased it, but it has been well worth the price....going on three years.

[Wallee]

Well today I had confirmed my reason for wanting to do my own grooming. I was at a pet food store that has a groomer in the back. I have had this lady cut Wallee's nails a few times and she did a puppy trim on him a while back while I stayed to hold him and watch.

She was grooming a s**tzu and the owner was there holding it as well. All of a sudden I noticed the dog looked limp and she was shaking him and calling his name over and over. It almost looked like she was removing a muzzle from him but I couldn't really see that clearly as I was in shock. She continued to shake him and blow in his face and call his name while telling the owner to CALL A VET. I noticed the elderly owner seemed shocked and didn't know what to do so ran to the front and asked one of the young clerks to assist as they needed help. The groomer told the owner to rush out and get her car as their was an emergency vet right accross the street. The groomer felt the dog was having a heart attack, but when I saw it it was "out"..tongue to the side and all. The owner returned with the car and the groomer rushed out carrying the little guy who now seemed conscious and breathing. I sure hope this little guy is going to be ok, but like I said, I am going to keep working with my little guy to groom him myself. I managed to groom my own Cocker Spaniel in a full coat show cut most of his life (until I had two babies) so am sure that I will be able to manage a puppy cut myself on this guy even if it takes me a full day to accomplish.

[mimimomo]

Wow that must've been very scary for everyone involved! During my training to become a groomer, my school offered a cpr class...not all groomers know this. It's very important to know, since the groomers work w/animals. If they took a professional grooming course & had cpr training, a certificate will be up on their wall.
Shih tzu's are notorious biters. Grooming them is very difficult (not all, I've had a few good ones) & maybe the muzzle was on for too long. They have such short snouts that breathing for them through a muzzle is very difficult.

[Oddsock]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

Wow that must've been very scary for everyone involved! During my training to become a groomer, my school offered a cpr class...not all groomers know this. It's very important to know, since the groomers work w/animals. If they took a professional grooming course & had cpr training, a certificate will be up on their wall.
Shih tzu's are notorious biters. Grooming them is very difficult (not all, I've had a few good ones) & maybe the muzzle was on for too long. They have such short snouts that breathing for them through a muzzle is very difficult.

Makes me wonder if groomers would do better to use the cozy e cone collar (think that's what it's called) rather than a muzzle on short snouted dogs.

[Wallee]

Well here goes another time to vent. Wallee is a pleasure to bathe and to blow dry. Trying to brush out, although I try every day is still very trying. I use treats, a grooming table or even down on the floor to his level and trying to do the underside is almost impossible at times. I even listened to many recommendations to get a grooming trimmer (just got a tiny one to do the underarm matts and feet etc) however can't even get it close enough to him to do anything. He gets very hyper. Bites, wiggles, barks etc. So here I go again..every day..just trying to even get the thing close enough to him to be able to use it. I have been trying to turn it on and just touch him with the back of my hand holding it and feeding him treats with the other, but omg..He is so determined to keep away from it..Teaching him to be groomed properly is going to be a long lengthy process I can see.

[Nancy1999]

I really like Cowboy Magic Detangler for those mats under the arms. Just put a dab on your thumb and forefinger and rub around the mat in a circular motion, and the mat seems to dissolve. You want to do this before you bath, the mats get worse after they get water on them. Joey would get mats after wearing clothes, and you can even add a dab before you dress them. We don’t shave his pits, and his adult coat rarely mats. I also like a wooden pin brush better than the steal pin brushes. The tips aren’t as pointy and you don’t have to worry about hurting them. I’ve heard never to use a slicker brush on a dog with a single coat, it’s made for dogs with double coats. Run it down your arm, if it hurts you, it’s too rough for a Yorkie or Biewer. To get Joey use to grooming I would give him a few Cheerios between brushing. Earlier grooming sessions should be more about this is a fun time with mom, rather than getting them picture perfect. Cheerios are a good treat, because they are mostly air and have few calories, but they thing they are getting something special. With the trimmer, I would just turn it on and not even touch him the first few times, and then I would touch him with the opposite end, so I could reassure him nothing would hurt him. Finally I was able to use it on him. I don't trim under the arms, I think that would be hard, but you might have better luck if you stand him on his back legs, holding his front paw up. I only use the trimmer on his ears.

[Wallee]

Thanks for the information Nancy. Where do you get these products you speak of? Cowboy cream and wooden pin brush? I am in Canada and I am not even able to get yorkie shine products here.