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Originally Posted by ShowGirlLola  I used to give Lola dog cookies (from the bins at petco) to eat while I brushed her, she'd get about 3 and they'd last for the entire grooming. After awhile I was able to stretch the time between cookies and now she doesn't need them.
At around 9 months she started standing really good for me, at 11 months she's almost perfect. My only problems are her trying to sit and sometimes she gives me issues with one front leg.
Also, if you aren't already put him on something to groom him (table, counter, etc.) it was a disaster when I tried to brush Lola on the couch.
My routine is I spray my maden brush with spray conditioner, brush her, and them comb her. Make sure you get down to the skin, all the way around the legs, pick the front leg up to get all the way in there, and get the back of the head/base of the ears really well too. Those are areas I wasn't doing well enough at first.
The way I get the knots out is I try to pull hair out of it from the bottom to get as much hair out of it as possible (using my fingers and the end of a rat tail comb), spray it with conditioner, try to comb it with the rat tail comb from the end to the root, and then I don't have to cut as much, if any at all.
One time Lola's legs got really knotted because I hadn't been getting close enough to the skin, I saturated them in coconut oil and worked them out while she ate cookies on my lap.
For awhile I just cut the knots out, then just did the big ones (I didn't want to scalp her leg, that's when I did the coconut oil), now I can work most of them out but if it's in a sensitive spot I just cut it out. It's more important for the dog to like grooming than having a perfect coat. |
Thanks so much, this is very helpful!!!! I do have a couple of grooming tables, a round one that turns and one that is stationary height. I really want to get a grooming table that has an adjustable height that is not manual, but they are so expensive. I am waiting for my Madan brush and detangler as we speak. Hope I get it soon, Jenny is such a LOVE. IN the meantime I am using the small round table. My problem is he is so squirmy, I'm afraid he's going to fall off the table. He tries to eat everything, the comb, the brush. I bring in treats and toys, but he eats the treats and then is back to squirming again even when I complement him and tell him what a good boy he is. He seems more interested in eating the brush than playing with his toy. He is even trying to eat the scissors LOL
. But it's no joke, cause I don't want to cut him as I'm trying to detangle him, or have him fall off the table onto the floor.
Do you think I should wait for the brush and detangler spray before I attempt it again? The thing is, in order to do it right, I need to take my time and concentrate and for him to hold still so I don't hurt him, and while he's hopping and jumping and mouthing all over the place he makes it very hard to do that.
I have lots of coconut oil, I cook with it so that's no problem having on hand.
I used to get the knots out of my other baby's tangles also by pulling the single hairs gently out, tease them out of the tangle, and it worked but only if they stood still or lay down and let me do it.
Well, I will attempt it again tomorrow. I've decided that in my attempts, I will not do it for too long, as that will frustrate him and me, so I've decided to try to groom him in short maybe 10 minute sessions, or even shorter if he can't tolerate it longer. Like you said, it's more about him associating a positive experience with grooming than being afraid of it, and getting a perfect tangle free coat!
Thanks so much,
Shellie