Grooming question...
 

I have owned one gorgeous Yorkie named Jazzy who passed away in the summer at the ripe old age of 14. I miss her very much. We always kept her with a puppy cut because she had a slight undercoat, that made it more difficult to maintain.

Last year we got an adorable Biewer boy we named Tucker who I have kept in almost like a Westie/puppy kind of cut with long ears (no shaved tips). It suits him perfectly. He is fun and spontaneous with a definite undercoat. It is cottony but still silky if that makes sense. We call him our bargain basement puppy because he is not a great breed representation but I swear to you he is one of the greatest dogs I have ever had the pleasure to meet and I get to keep him!

Now for my question: On Christmas Eve my husband surprised me with a gorgeous little female Biewer that we have named Lola. She is a great breed representation and I would like to keep her in a more traditional long Yorkie cut. She is 15 months old and the breeder was going to hold onto her but at barely 3.5 pounds she did not feel she would be big enough to breed safely. Her hair is long very silky with no undercoat and brushing has been easy. The problem I am having is that she is paper trained and does very well with it BUT after she squats to urinate her hair kind of drags in it (in the back) and she constantly smells a little bit pissy for lack of a better word. I bathe her once a week and really don't feel it would be healthy to do it more than that. How do you guys keep a long Yorkie cut clean and fresh? If you have ideas for a long modified cut please try and include pictures. Is there like a special spray I can use daily to keep the back clean?

I'm sure you'll get more answers but one thing you can do is wipe the fur with a baby wipe after she goes. It kind of cleans it and keeps the smell away.

I have a bigger problem with my male. Even with long hair, I keep his belly shaved because he seems to pee on it.

Welcome to YorkieTalk!!

i keep Tucker in a kind of short layered skirt and don't run into that problem until it gets a little long. That is pretty much when I know its time for a grooming. I can not imagine keeping a Yorkie male's long hair clean! I have tried the wipes but it doesn't really do the trick since her hair kind of drags in it the tips get soaked a little. I think if she peed in the grass she wouldn't have this problem because it would soak down into the ground. On the pad it kind of puddles a little before it is absorbed... just enough that her hair kind of drags in it before it is absorbed.

Welcome to YT and congratulations on the new addition to your family. :)

I agree with Karen, use baby wipes. Keeping a long coat is labor intensive.
My boys have longer coats and the one likes to mark when we go walking, which is usually at least twice a day. I have to clean the side of his coat after each walk.

The only other thing you could do is band the hair in the right places to keep it from dragging in the urine spot.

I keep Rosie in a longer cut. I too use baby wipes as needed. I think it is the best thing to do in between baths. I bath her once a week and I agree more than that could be a little much. I think they also have bath wipes at some of the pet stores. I don't know anything about them but they could be similar to the baby wipes. But I think baby wipes are cheaper.

Great husband! :D

My female walks while she's peeing...so she definitely drags her coat through it.

You can band the hair up with scrunchies...pulling it forward to it's at her hip and tying it up or go the baby wipe route.

Sounds like buying stock in baby wipes might be a good idea...
Thanks for the suggestions!


Carrie, & Tucker

Brooke has a "show" type coat and I do use baby wipes but what I do also is let the hair on her privates grow a little long, like a spout!! Then the pee runs down the hair and doesn't get all over her skirt hair. Right now her vajayjay hair is so long we say she has a big weiner!! :D

Both of mine are in long coat and it is a challenge to keep clean. I bath them weekly and about once during that week I stand them at the bathroom sink with just their back legs in the sink and wash their backsides only. I also use wipes after each pee and poop. They know to come to me for "butt checks". Also to make matters worse, Willow has very short legs and whenever she squats to pee, she actually lays her belly on the pad so I have to clean her belly or she would chafe. Just a little something to make sure I'm not bored during the day. :D