Professional Dog Grooming Salon

A (HOPEFULLY) HELPFUL GUIDE TO GROOMING YOUR DOG AT HOME

To Prevent Knots And Matts Forming Between Now & Your Dog’s Next Visit To The Salon

Left: Toby a Beardie cross breed from Timperley, who is the perfect example of a beautifully maintained long, difficult coat in between salon visits. He rarely arrives with more than a couple of knots, a credit to his owners.

My aim at Woof 'n' Go is to always style your dog to the style YOU want, whether that's to the breed standard or something totally different, long, short, fluffy…I really don't mind just so long as you leave the shop happy and proud of how your dog looks. But sadly, many dogs turn up knotty, sometimes just certain common areas like behind their ears, armpits etc but sometimes the knots cover most of the dog's body, and in extreme cases they are matted to the skin like a sheep! (and end up being sheared like a sheep!) It really all boils down to you, the dog's owner either not grooming him enough or properly (usually both!), I'm sorry to be so blunt! There are of course other factors like how often you have him groomed at the salon, how long his coat is, how often you bath him yourself and of course if he allows you to groom him without you losing a few fingers!

A knot can be groomed out fairly easily with a strong slicker brush, or failing that a comb can pull it out, without the need for a clipper. A matt is when you can no longer see the dog's skin, it 'felts' up and becomes a solid mass and the only tool that can tackle this is a clipper that clips between the skin and the bottom of the matt, with a close blade, this is usually a very close 'shave' giving a once fluffy dog a smooth appearance.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A KNOT AND A MATT?

Don't forget, if you particularly like a certain area of your dog fluffy eg. his fluffy, chunky legs as you have had them done too short before and you think they look too spindly…then spend extra time on his legs, in fact make them the first area you pay attention to, before you get bored or the phone rings and you get distracted! And don't forget the dogs with tails, most breeds look very odd with shaved tails so again ensure tails are combed thoroughly. Lastly at some point you will need to remove your dog's collar as the neck is a common area to miss.

DOGS THAT ARE PRONE TO KNOTTING UP eg. Bichons, Poodles, CockerpoosIdeally try and avoid bathing your dog yourself. Simply because the water, the rubbing/scrubbing action and the soap causes knots themselves, and worsens any existing knots. Then rubbing him with a towel causes even more friction and knots... (white dogs are far more likely to turn up matted as they look grubby quicker and tend to get bathed more than darker dogs.) If you do have to bath him yourself, please ensure you allow enough time to brush him thoroughly before you wet him and also after he has been towel dried. You can even brush him whilst he is soapy.Don't allow him to dry naturally then attempt to brush him, the knots have already formed and you may struggle to groom him out properly without hurting him.If you really need to bath your dog between hair cuts, why not book him in the salon instead, and let us bath him and groom out any knots. This costs less than the full hair cut price, and we can trim his fringe/bottom areas too, to make him last til his next full hair cut.DOGS THAT DON'T KNOT UP, BUT MOULT LOOSE HAIR eg. Short haired breeds, GSD's, LabsIt is the opposite for these breeds. Bathing them is the best for removing loose hair. More hair can be removed whilst soapy and lathered up by brushing with a slicker brush, than a dry groom alone (just remember to empty all the hair from the plug hole!) Then another brush after a vigorous towel dry should do the trick. We use a high velocity dryer for these breeds at the salon, it blasts any remaining dead hair that the bath missed.

Firstly, how you dry your dog with a towel makes a big difference. For breeds that shed lots of hair a good vigorous rub will remove loose hair, but for those breeds that knot up, this is the worst thing to do. You need to squeeze the excess water out gently, then smooth the hair in one direction only with the towel, from head to tail and from the top of their legs to the bottom of their legs...NO RUBBING! This just creates friction and knots. This not only applies to after baths but also every time he gets his legs and tummy wet after a walk or a trip to the garden. A hair dryer can be used to dry him, but it's not essential. To fluff dry your dog blow the area you're drying and use a slicker brush in all directions from the middle of the 'rosette' formed by the air force. To straighten the hair brush in one direction, the way it lies naturally.

AND FINALLY……If your dog REALLY hates being groomed not only at home but also at the salon, I strongly advise you to re think his style. A short clip means very little grooming and maintenance and it will last far longer than a fluffier style. It also makes the salon visit easier as there is no pain having knots pulled out and it takes less time to bath and dry them too. Why put him through a process he doesn't enjoy just so he looks fluffy, like the picture on your calendar or because that's how a relative reckons they should look like! He didn't ask to be long haired, your dog has NO concept that he should have long hair!! He does not mind what he looks like, and for those dogs that seem to 'sulk' afterwards, this is usually because they sense their owner is unhappy and shocked and not because they have taken a look in the mirror and long for their hair back!!!! Again, I stress a dog had no concept of what their hair looks like!!So please consider a change of hair style, or simply reduce how often you bath your dog or increase the frequency of your grooming sessions at home. If all else fails, please bring your dog to the salon more often and allow us to keep your dog looking glorious, if you're happy your dog is happy…and so am I !!

BATHING

DRYING

I am very skilled at grooming out knots that maybe other groomers would give up on, but I am a compassionate groomer and I draw the line at being made to de tangle the extreme cases, especially if your dog is becoming distressed. It is extremely painful for a dog to be de-matted, he didn't ask to have long hair, it's up to you to maintain his coat either yourself or with more frequent salon visits. The kindest outcome is to clip the coat off and start again, this is totally pain free for your dog. It can look drastic and shocking but what is more important? How your dog looks or how much pain he has to endure for his owner? I cannot justify traumatising an animal for the sake of good looks, just to impress you, his owner! A coat doesn't have to be matted to cause pain to your dog, even knots can cause yelping and panic in a lot of dogs, a trip to the grooming salon should NEVER be painful to your dog yet a lot of owners still insist I drag knots out of their dog because that's how 'they should look'. If you took your child to the hair dressers or barbers and they were screaming out in pain as the stylist tries to comb their hair, you would be shocked and appalled, this should apply to your family pet too surely?

Marley, a huge, handsome Labradoodle below, is a prime example of being so matted solid to the skin, the only option was to clip his coat off, drastic yes but painless to him, and I'm sure he felt so much better afterwards.

He has since been in for regular baths and brushes to maintain his coat, and he now looks gorgeous and fluffy like the green box above, a credit to his owners for realising they couldn't cope with his coat themselves

I strongly believe there is no need for the many grooming tools and gadgets out there, save your money and just buy a slicker brush and a comb. Simple! Prevention is better than the cure as they say, why buy cutting and hacking blades to remove matts...when you can prevent the matts forming in the first place by simply using the correct tools and more frequent brushing if needed

Just don't spend too long on one area and there will be no problems. You must press hard enough to reach the dog's skin, you should be able to hear the scratching sound as you brush, if not then you are not pressing hard enough and are only brushing the top layer and the hair near the skin is free to start knotting up!

WHAT BRUSHES SHALL I USE?

Lastly, make sure the size of your brush matches the dog! As your puppy grows bigger, so should your brush! Using a tiny brush on a larger breed will only lead to him getting bored and fed up, and your arm will ache far quicker!

SLICKER BRUSHThis is a cushioned bed filled with bent, angled pins (NOT with bobbles on the tips) I sell them in a soft option for silky, fine coated breeds eg. Yorkies and a harder option for dense coats eg Cockers. So many owners think these are cruel and may scratch their dog, use it on your own arm and it doesn't hurt!

Using incorrect tools can be worse than not grooming at all, for example a soft plastic bristle brush is for smooth coats only, on a Bichon it causes static and doesn't reach the skin! A long pin brush with bobbles on does not tackle knots, just adds lustre to an already groomed out coat. Yes, your dog probably will accept these tools better, but THEY DO NOT DO THE JOB PROPERLY!!

Brush briskly and firmly at first, this separates every strand of hair which maybe beginning to 'clump' together (the first sign of a knot) It will also loosen and remove small knots, you will feel the brush snag a little so brush that area harder which will hopefully remove the knot, but if not now is the time to use the comb and work at teasing out the knot slowly until its gone, and the comb glides freely through the coat. It's easier said than done but for over sensitive dogs that yelp and scream even at just being brushed that you do not stop, or your dog learns that yelping causes you to stop and he gets what he wants! Also your energy whilst grooming has a huge impact, you need to act calmly yet confidently and just-get-the-job done kind of attitude works wonders (constantly feeling sorry for your dog and repeatedly saying 'it's ok, don't worry I'm not hurting you' can often cause a negative reaction, so it's best to say nothing) You can distract your dog by giving treats etc but be careful it is helping him forget what you are doing…or you can end up actually rewarding the yelpy or bad behaviour. There are lots of other ways I can advise how to help groom a difficult dog at home (eg. feeding your dog his daily meal ONLY after he has accepted some grooming, a reward based method) please ask me for more details.

Grooming a dog is not as easy as it seems, to prevent knots every nook and cranny needs attention, even sensitive areas such as 'armpits' and groin, which your dog may protest at. The most common mistake owners make is to 'cop out' and just groom the dog's head and back.

You maybe lucky and your dog loves being groomed, rolls over on your lap…but a lot do not! In this case you may need to raise your dog off the floor or sofa (little dogs usually see the floor/sofa as theirs and are more likely to protest!) onto a worktop or table (with a non slip surface ideally) You may have to tie him to something with a lead to prevent him running away. You may need an extra pair of hands for the bigger dogs or wriggly dogs and you may even have to muzzle him if he starts biting you. If you want your dog fluffy or long, these steps may have to be taken if you are struggling to groom him.

HOW OFTEN SHALL I GROOM MY DOG?This varies from dog to dog and the length of his hair. The longer the hair the quicker it will knot up. Ideally a quick 'maintenance' brush daily with a weekly thorough groom with the brush and comb should be fine. You may need to step it up more during long wet spells as wet coats knot up more quickly.

HOW DO I GROOM MY DOG?

COMBIdeally a fairly wide tooth comb will pick up any tiny knots the brush may have missed, before they turn into matts. A comb with too finer teeth will, in novice hands, skip over any knots leaving them behind. I also sell giant combs which are perfect for the larger breeds, a too smaller comb will just take forever and both you and your dog will lose the will to live!