The Matted Dog

All too often we encounter the matted dog. It's not breed specific. If you have a short haired dog, you're in the clear. The pictures above demonstrate just how bad matting can be.  This is a Great Pyrenees mix. Thank goodness he was such a good dog to stand there and let us do what we needed to do. Most of this coat came off in one big piece. His chest, underarms and elbows were terribly matted. This had to be painful for him. Not to mention HOT. Notice his skin after the hair has been removed. Dry, flakey and dirt. Some areas had bruising where he mats were so tight and pulled with his movements. How to tell when the matting is beyond brushing? Take both of your hands and trying to part the area of concern. If you can't see skin and it looks like a solid cotton ball, it's severely matted. This is the #1 reason if you see a naked dog just know it was probably matted. 

I see a lot of people post pictures about their dogs claiming the groomers did a horrible thing. Usually goes like this, "LOOK WHAT THE GROOMER DID TO MY DOG!"  I can assure you there are two sides to every grooming story. No groomer wants to shave a dog that short for many concerns. Sun burn, knicks, cuts and ruins their Air conditioning and heating systems. Double and triple coated breeds need to be deshedded often. Even during the winter months in ALABAMA. This dog suffered through packed coat mats. Which means all the hair that should have been shed was retained and this repeated many times over. It just kept packing instead of being shed. This takes us back to the old proven method of BRUSHING. Brush often and correct and we can avoid the dreaded Shave Down.

Meet the Doodle.

So you have a doodle or are thinking about getting a doodle. They are wonderful dogs. Great temperament. Great with kids. Smart. Happy. Playful. And has hair that you never thought a dog could have.

The key to maintaining your doodle’s coat is brush, comb, brush, comb, you get the idea. If you’re a home bather, it’s extremely important that you also blow dry your doodle after a bath. Not doing so will result in matting worse. Mats on top of mats. And just when you think you have been brushing well and then go to the groomer, this is what happens. When brushing and combing, you have to be sure that you get all the way down to the skin and stretch those curls out.

Now. I AM NOT OWNER SHAMING! This owner is a dear friend of mine. But her doodle like many others go through the same thing. And most of the time the owner doesn’t realize that their doodle is matted like this underneath the surface. I am simply sharing the pics as a way to educate other doodle owners in maintaining their coats.

If you have a doodle and would like us to groom your doodle, we will be glad to show you proper brushing and combing technique to help in the care of your doodle. (I like saying “doodle” lol)

I hate nothing worse than to be the breaker of bad news to the owner who wants their doodle’s coat to be longer and fluffier, that it will need to be shaved off because brushing this out is impossible. I recommend figuring out a good manageable length that’s easy to maintain at home and in between grooming. Doodles need to be groomed at least once a month to maintain coat at decided on length. And depending on what length depends on the type of technique that will be used in grooming. Longer hair will require hand scissoring, while shorter lengths can be done by clippers. Then there’s all the extras, like, foot pads, ear hair, face and muzzle and tail if need be. Not to mention the bath and blow dry, nail trim and whatever else we can find to do.

How long will all this take you wonder. Depends on the coat and dog. If you have a very fuzzy and hyper dog that likes to dance and fuss, could take a few hours. If you have a doodle that’s being taken down short and just stands there like a statue, maybe a couple of hours. (This goes basically for every breed!) Notice the “maybe”. It’s really hard to give an exact estimated time on any dog, any given day at any given time. Too many variables. Honestly. Every single day at a grooming shop is different. Sometimes it’s as if the scissor gods are laughing and messing with us.

Live, Love & Happy Doodling!!

Vaccinations

Vaccinations are today’s topic for the blog.

I have worked for veterinarians for nearly 20 years. While there, I always warned clients about using groomers that didn’t require vaccinations. Usually always they would require the rabies simply because it was an Alabama State Law. Well, there is so much more to it than that.

During my vet years, of course we would see puppies with Parvovirus. But I can still remember the first time we diagnosed a 3-year-old Boston Terrier with it. I’ll be honest, it was the last thing we expected. Upon presentation, the owner had brought the dog in for massive diarrhea. There was blood present. The most common problem with a dog of that age is hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. Usually caused by a dog eating people food that didn’t agree with him. We ran blood work and all pointed to that diagnosis. So we started protocol with an I.V. of lactated ringers with a cocktail of antibiotics, B-12 and a few others that would help with the dehydration and the diarrhea. Usually the dogs are cleared up in a day or two and can go home with strict instructions of NO PEOPLE FOOD EVER. However, this guy wasn’t responding the way he should. His hematocrit wasn’t improving and staying very low. So we ran more tests. This would be day 4. We were all standing around discussing the case. As weird as the thought was and after running every test we could think of, we decided to just do a parvo test. Within 3 minutes it showed a HIGH positive. We all dropped our mouths open in disbelief. Even the vet said that in 40 years of practice he had never seen an adult dog test positive. That became our test protocol for any bloody diarrhea that came in. Lessoned learned. So we mixed up a cocktail of fluids and our parvo mix. The dog did survive!! We chalked that up to his age may be.

Parvo is pure evil. Let’s say you buy a puppy from a breeder. Breeder says it’s had its first shots and not need to go to a vet for 3 weeks. Now, that you have had pup for 7 days, it begins to show signs of not wanting to eat, lethargic, drinking lots of water. Day 8 comes diarrhea and throwing up. Day 9 you decide to take pup to vet. All the description and signs upon presentations indicates a parvo test is needed. Test done and pup is positive. By this time your family has fallen in love. Hearts are breaking and so is your pocketbook. Treatment is not cheap. Survival is slim. All though some do recover, you are now breaking the bank. If you are like 90 % of the people out there, your bank account was not prepared for that hit. I don’t care what your breeder tells you, TAKE YOUR PUP TO THE VET immediately upon purchase/adoption. I advise not to get your pup over the weekend. This is to ensure that your pup isn’t setting idle at your home with potential things that need to be addressed.

Parvo can be prevented. Here’s a new pup’s vaccination schedule: 6 weeks - 1st distemper/Parvovirus, intestinal parasite exam and a complete doctor exam (weight, temperature, listening to heart and lungs, checking for congenital defects, etc.). 9 weeks – 2nd distemper/parvovirus. 12 weeks- 3rd distemper/parvovirus, rabies and Bordetella (Kennel cough). 15 weeks – 4th distemper/parvovirus, 2nd Bordetella. The End. However, vaccinations are due each year. If you elect a 3-year Rabies (that’s the only one available at 3 years) then only the distemper/parvo and Bordetella will be needed each year.

It’s important that you get the Bordetella vaccine! That’s the one that is usually left off. Whether you didn’t feel at the time it was necessary because you believed you wouldn’t be boarding and/or grooming your dog or if the vet forgot to mention it. Either way, you need it. During the vet working years I have heard so many have it. It’s a horrible honking cough that can last weeks to months. Treated with a lot of antibiotics and sleeping medication for you. While not fatal, it is highly contagious. It’s spread among the dogs in an airborne manner. Dog 2 cages down in coughing. It floats down to your dog’s cage and boom your dog now has kennel cough (Bordetella). It’s upper respiratory. Just trust me, get the vaccination whether you think you will need it or ever not. I will require it before I can groom your dog.

The health of your pet is more important to me than making money off of you. I mean the money helps of course, but I had rather be grooming your healthy dog and I don’t want to be that groomer that your dog contracted kennel cough from. It’s not a good feeling to know that I could have been the reason because I didn’t require it.

So there you go. Why I believe vaccination keep your dogs (and cats) healthy. And I stick by this belief and it will not be waivered. So to save yourself some time. Don’t try to talk me into breaking the rules. I’m a by the book kinda person. Honest to a fault. Yay me! lol

Pet Ear Care

Regular cleaning and attention to your dog’s ears will prevent most problems. We recommend cleaning on a weekly or biweekly basis depending on whether there is a history of ear problems. You should check your dog's ears for dark or yellow discharge, excess hair buildup, redness or swelling around the ear canal. Smelling your dog's ears can help you detect a problem. The presence of a foul or yeasty odor is usually indicative of an infection. Often the dog will scratch at the ear, or shake its head. If you think there may be a problem schedule an appointment as soon as possible with your veterinarian. To gently clean your dog's ears, use a product specifically made for ear cleaning such as Vet Solutions Ear Cleaner. Soak a cotton ball and gently squeeze into the ear canal. wipe surface of the external ear. Massage the base of the ear to loosen debris in lower canal and allow the dog to shake out the excess. Alcohol and vinegar mixtures are not recommended as they may sting the ear if it is infected. Dogs with skin conditions, especially allergies are much more likely to develop ear infections. Treating for skin allergies may reduce the frequency and severity of ear infections in these cases. Cats have few ear problems compared to dogs. A dark dry discharge in a cat's ear is likely ear mites. If you suspect ear mites call your veterinarian to schedule an appointment. Terriers, Shih Tzu and Poodles grow a large amount of hair in their ear canals. This tends to retain moisture and wax inside the ear canal. The hair should be removed regularly by trimming or plucking. Groomers should remove this hair as a part of a normal grooming. For breed specific problems, it is best to talk to your veterinarian.

About Shedding and the Treatment Process

For us humans to understand why shedding occurs, it's that we must appreciate the important role hair plays for a dog. First, the hair's most important function is keeping your dog's skin, his most vital organ, protected from elements, such as the sun, heat, cold, and more. Hair also keeps your dog's body temperature regulated. Some dogs that shed have thick undercoats that act as insulation to keep your pet both warm and cool, just as insulation keeps your home warm and cool year-round. Like humans, a dog's hair grows all the time. As the hair stops growing at the end of its natural life cycle, it breaks off. The amount of shedding can vary based on breed, season, or health. Some dogs shed much heavier than others. Have you ever noticed strands of your hair on your pillow or caught in the drain? While your dog's hair might not make it into your shower, it will end up everywhere else from your carpet to your clothes to your Furniture (ha, get it) if you don't take proper precautions. Also, a common misconception is that shedding depends on your dog's coat length, but this is not true. Shedding varies between breeds more than hair length. While a haircut of a long-haired dog will ultimately result in less shedding for a time, it doesn't mean he doesn't shed, it just may result in less volume of hair to clean up after. We don’t really like to shave double or triple coated dogs down. (We will do whatever you want however.) I personally advise against it for the reasons mentioned above. Therefore, we try and educate clients on the shedding process so that more people will understand just how important hair/fur is. While no treatment can “cure” shedding, we do have things we can do to help eliminate the bulk of it. One is brushing your dog like a mad person. But some dogs are super hard to accomplish the task. Whether it be chasing them around the house and yard or the dog completely protesting by screaming as though you are trying to kill them. Secondly, there is just so darn much of it. This is where we can help. Dogs usually blow coat twice a year. To blow coat means a lot of it seemingly all at once. Some can blow coat more. Some less. But the result is the same. A lot of hair everywhere. They will shed hair in small amounts all the time. This is just being a dog.

We use a highly effective shampoo and conditioner that helps the loosening of the trapped dead hair and bring it to surface with OUR NEW STATE OF THE ART BATHING/DESHEDDING SYSTEM with this special cool little nozzle.  Then we use high velocity rinse. We use a force blow dryer that is much stronger than the one you have in your bathroom. Most of the time there is a whirlwind of hair flying around the grooming area in the shop. Then we brush. And brush. And brush. And brush. The conditioner will remain on the coat for a period time. After you get home, brushing should be a lot easier for you as well for a while. If your dog gets wet, you may see a frothy foam on your dog’s coat. This is completely normal and is not shampoo or soap. It’s the conditioner that remains. That’s good. Usually, a very noticeable difference is immediate. Others, some. This depends on just how much your dog was holding onto the dead hair. Some clients bring back their dogs on a routine basis to help keep the shedding down, others are more on an as needed basis. Again, depends on your dog’s hair coat. Hope this helps in understanding the shedding process and what we can do to help. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask. We are all about communicating!!! Thank you for using us for your grooming needs!Michelle- Owner/Groomer