Grooming!!
 

I just had to have my baby shaved because his hair was so matted. I take him to the groomers every 5 weeks but in between his hair got matted. I bathe him 1 a week. I would like some advice on grooming so he will not get matted and I can keep his hair a little longer like puppy cut. He looks like a rat shaved. I don't know how to train him to sit still and let me groom him. His groomer says he likes the dryer but let me tell you when I turn it on he freakes out. He won't sit still long enough for me to brush him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

A groomer uses a grooming table. The table has a hook with a lead attached to it. This keep the dogs somewhat still.

A sit command will not work because more than likely your pup will break it because he doesn't like to be groomed.

I think I would focu on getting him use to grooming than training him to sit still.

Have you tried to brush him with a baby brush ? Give him treats when he is sitting . IMO , you should start it now , he'll get used when his coat will grow.

I groom mine on a place ONLY for grooming and have it set up so they KNOW they're only there for that reason - not to play....This is helpful also - http://www.ytca.org/grooming_clips1.html

I would give you advice..except I just gave my little Coco a teeny tiny bald spot on her rear...hehe. WELL SHE WOULDN'T STOP WIGGLINGGG... I'm new to grooming so I will let it go this time and just laugh it off. She doesn't sit still but I keep her fav. treat nearby. I make small bite size pieces of apples or watermelon. Every 20 seconds, I stop grooming and give her some relaxation time with a treat. She stays more calm and hopefully figures out that grooming is good because she gets treats.

I use primarily Plush Puppy and Pure Paws products. My show Yorkie is wrapped most of the time but I have had many other Yorkies with all sorts of coats. Here's the best adivce I can give you with a pet Yorkie:

Pure Paws makes a moisturizing shampoo and a deep conditioner. Use these products and leave a touch of the conditioner (diluted) in your dogs coat. It will help keep the coat soft and seperated. Also, use the spray conditioner (comes in a spray bottle) on those parts that tend to get matted like the areas underneath your dog's legs (the canine armpits!). Use a Pin brush without balls on the tips to brush your dog out EVERY day, I use one I got from Cherrybrook (I posted about it a long time ago). Use a slicker brush on your dog's legs and chest (but be gentil since this brush can scratch). If this is not enough, a heavier conditioner may be an order. I use Plush Puppy Sea Breaze Oil to wrap my show yorkie. IT prevents all tangles but it does create a oily look.

Thank-you for your advice. I have set up an area to brush him and I gave him little pieces of apple. I will give him apple only at grooming time. He didn't want to stay there very long but I'm going to do it same place same time everyday and hopefully it will work.

Help
 

Ive already had my yorkie for a month now and i havent bathed him. Im scared! I attempted once b4 and that was a disaster all he let me do was put water on him and thats it.. HE FREAKED OUT! his nails havent been clipped so he ended up scratching the living crapola out of my sisters chest. :(
i know ppl are saying it takes time and all but i just dont know to begin. or should i just leave it up to the professional groomers?? help plz! i need advice and if anyone knows of a good and reputible groomer in the NYC area please let me know! THANKS :)

we have the same name almost luvmybaby how funny! :)

I know what you mean. My baby does good with bathe time but brushing him is a disaster. I have since we had him shaved which broke my heart, I take it one step at a time. I give him treats, do it in the same place, and the same time. I also have him go to the groomers. I can't help you with a groomer I'm from Maine but I'm sure someone will. I am making small progress with the brushing and believe me when they get matted there is no turning back.

Advice I have gotten so far:

Brush them before you wet the hair or it will matt more.

Don't brush hair dry put some leave in conditioner first.

I would start with small steps. First just dip feet in and praise and reward, next day a little more and a little more. Maybe just before bed or something. I brush my dog the same time everynight and slow we are making progress. I love your name that is cool.
Keep me posted

Ramsey was like that the first time when I washed him in the bath tube and the water was what seemed to scare him. So now I was him in my nephews old baby tube. it takes awhile because I have to keep changing the water but it helps.

Daily grooming is essential and very easy. I brush Chewy at the same time every night with a comb only, I never use that hard brush. He is in a puppy cut and I just comb everything really fast and then comb the gook out of the corners of his eyes. It takes 2 minutes and if you keep it up, you won't have any problems with matting.

I have started grooming yorkies after my girlfriend, who use to groom, taught me. ONe good trick is to use the dematter (careful though, it's sharP) and I try to comb them out in the tub with conditioner when they're wet. Mine still get matted around the collar area and harness area, if I keep them on them alot. I only use baby shampoo (Johnson's) and a light conditioner Hansen's has a nice cherry smelling one, that I leave on to comb out. Just keep getting them used to it. We had ours shaved once, and that was enough. I do keep them shorter in the summer, though. Good luck. Try the dematter!!

thank you all for your advice
i currently use the pushpin brush... this kind http://www.petco.com/product_info.as...ept_id=%2D2and thats what im currently using to brush him it feels painful ... should i not be using this and using something else?
i also got the detangler spray http://www.petco.com/product_info.as...3=Conditioners, i havent used it yet but imma try it soon... any advice on these products? should i be using something else?
also being that the weather is getting warmer should i consider bathing him (once i get the nerve and clip his nails) more often?
being a new mom is tough. SIGH....

hi i just clicked on ur dogster website and i see your from NYC. so am i!
what part? im in the upper west side. i was wondering where do u take your lil one for grooming ( hair cuts )?

I bathe my Reagan as I do my own hair. I shampoo first then rinse that out. I then dry the coat a little to get rid of excess water and then put the conditioner on. I will sometimes comb through the coat before I rinse the conditioner off (if I think she's full of matts). I will leave the conditioner on for 3-5 minutes then rinse it off really well. I use a hair dryer to dry her. What I've found to work best for that is I will sit somewhere with my legs spread in a V shape and put Reagan between my legs. I then hold the dryer away from us and aim it towards us to dry Reagan. This way she won't run away because my legs are on each side (so I can easily get her is she ran that way) and the dryer is stopping her from running straight out between my feet. She's gotten used to it so now I have more freedom with how I dry her.

I haven't had any problems with matts for a while now. I'm now using Plush Puppy products. I bought the set that included the Natural Conditioning Shampoo, Natural Silk Protein Conditioner, Swishy Coat , and a Protein Coat Balm. I've been very happy with these products. I think that a good conditioner is key to helping keep the matts away. I'm sure that different conditioners work differently for different dogs and different coats so try a few and pick what you like.

Also daily brushing is a must. We don't brush Reagan's coat everyday because she doesn't matt really anymore. We try to bursh it everyday but I'm not worried if we miss a day every now and then.

The first link is a slicker brush, not a pin. I wouldn't use it on any part of my Yorie other than the legs. A pin brush looks more like a human brush with metal bristles.

This is the pin brush I was talking about:

http://www.cherrybrook.com/store/Pro...roductID=67551

Hi Yorkie Power:

Im sorry but I dont see the difference between the slicker and the pin brush? They both have metal bristles?

I'm guessing that a slicker brush damages their coat, but I'm not positive. There is a difference in them though. How the bristles of a pin brush are I would think that they would be easier on their coat and not tear it. I can also say I've used both all over Reagan and like the results of a pin brush better. WIth a pin brush she just looks like she's been brushed and is neat but with a slicker brush it really makes her hair pouffy. I started out using a slicker brush then read to use a pin brush so I switched. It actually seems to work better on the matts as well.

Hi: I'm downtown on the lower east side. I haven't had to groom Chewy yet he's only 4 months but when I do I will probably go to Doggie Style in SOHO. I think they are on Thompson Street. Apparently they are very good. You should come to the yorkie meet on the 18th at the dogrun near Chelsea piers 2pm on 23rd and 11th.

Mine doesn't "hold still" either but she still gets brushed. I just sit on the floor and place her body between my knees with her bum on the floor and her front paws on my knees to brush her head and chest. And to do her back and back legs, I hold her under the chest with my right hand and brush with my left. If you don't brush him...he will never get used to it enough to sit still. have someone else hold him while you brush, if you have to...but find a way to do it every day.

:wavey: thank you so much for the invite ... my baby hasnt had his shots yet. due to the meds hes been receiving for his kennel cough but as soon as i get him up to date with his shots i would love for our doggies to become friends :)
Keep in touch :D

There's a big difference actually. A pin brush does not have bristles at all, just straight pins that stick straight out from a curved rubber pad. A slicker brush has densly packed, bent (at almost 90 degree angle at the tip) bristles and a square head. The pin brush is designed to glide through the hair whereas the slicker is meant to grab hair. Slickers are often used on dogs with fur (not hair) to pull out dead hair but YOU DON't want to be pulling hair out of a Yorkie - since its hair and not fur and well, first of all that would hurt and second it takes forever for the hair to grow back. Remember the more hair on the brush the less on the dog!

Thanks yorkipower. I could never understand the difference between a pin brush and a slicker.

Now I'm wondering if the pin brush hurts. I read somewhere that if a brush hurts when you brush it across your arm, that you wouldn't want to use it on a yorkie.

Any thoughts on this, anyone?

I've tried that slicker brush and it HURTS - the brushes with the covered tips is much better - and another really good product to use for puppies is JOHNSONS NO MORE TANGLES - it's for children but I use it on my girls and you can easily work out any tangles - A groomer turned me on to it 2 years ago and I still use it

I always used pin brush and the girls didn't do a sound or fell uncomfortable . It is all in the way you brush the little ones . If a person is too rude with them , it will hurt .

thank you so much for the explination. I got a pin bursh thursday and so far its been great.
thanks again.

Nail Clipping
 

:eek: I clipped my baby's nails yesterday and they ARE SHARPER THAN EVER! ugh is there some sort of nail file for them?

what exactly should be done after nail clipping?

Take him/her for a walk on the sidewalk and that should help.

Very welcome.

On Saturday, I took Bun to the vet to have a blood test. In the waiting room was an elderly couple who admiring his “cuteness.” Along came two parti-color cockers who were in “proper” show trim and the elderly couple remarked that they had never seen Cockers clipped in this manner; which led to a discussion about dog showing. The couple felt it was “unfair” to the show dogs “being groomed so often.” I was surprised. “What do you mean, unfair to be groomed so often?” “Dogs hate grooming.” “Huh? I wont say dogs love being bathed, but most dogs like being brushed!” “Ours runs and hides whenever we take the brush out.” “Really? What kind of dog? What kind of brush?” “He’s a Shi Tzu, and you know, the regular kind of dog brush.”

You know where this is going . . . .

“Do you mean a SLICKER brush?”

“What’s that?”

“Does it have square head and lots of metal bristles?”

Apparently, this drop-coated elderly dog had spent a lifetime being brushed with a slicker brush – ALL OVER HIS BODY. A softer bristle might have made a happier dog who would be eager for a nice “massage” every day. Slicker brushes are great, don’t get me wrong, it just spends WHERE you are brushing with them, HOW and WHAT kind of coat. I have long hair, I’d hate anyone to use something that would grab my hair and pull it out from the roots!

I have a very small slicker brush from #1 All Systems. I only use it on Penny’s legs to brush the leg hair out before a show. And only with the lightest of pressure. Even with all that, its one of her least faviorte parts of her grooming routeine. She has no problem with wrapping or oiling and will stand quietly to do so. She loves her Boar Bristle Brush and her Pin Brush and will actually bend into the brush (that’s the Chris Christensen I recommend and the boar bristle is from Kent but any good variety that has flat bristles and no “balls” at the end, is fine).

grooming
 

My groomer said i should brush........ & comb........... both daily bush & comb just not comb? :p