Grooming tips requested - Pyranese or other soft-thick-coated dog owners

[dmc123]

Ok, not sure what Jessie is mixed with, maybe Pyranese...but she has a soft thick coat that I've never dealt with before. She gets really dirty playing with Simon so I thought I would ask how to keep her clean.

I don't want to bathe her in the tub yet, she is just 3 months old. We use the waterless bath and it helps some. She is getting used to being brushed already.

What advice does anyone have for dogs with these thick, soft, sometimes white coats? We've already found she is hard to dry even if getting a little wet when it rains.

Thanks in advance.

Diane

[Mirela]

Originally Posted by dmc123

Ok, not sure what Jessie is mixed with, maybe Pyranese...but she has a soft thick coat that I've never dealt with before. She gets really dirty playing with Simon so I thought I would ask how to keep her clean.

I don't want to bathe her in the tub yet, she is just 3 months old. We use the waterless bath and it helps some. She is getting used to being brushed already.
What advice does anyone have for dogs with these thick, soft, sometimes white coats? We've already found she is hard to dry even if getting a little wet when it rains.

Thanks in advance.

Diane

That's the key!! Having her used to being brushed is half the battle....the other half is...neverending with a double-coated dog.


That being said, there are a few things that you can do:

- when she is just a bit muddy and if only the outer coat is wet, wipe her off as well as you can with a soft cloth, or lightly moistened paper towels and then, after her coat dries off, brush her.

-give her half-baths - using just lukewarm water and rinsing the feet, legs and belly if she is really muddy - then dry, dry, dry - see below.

- if she gets wet to the skin, meaning that the undercoat is wet as well - from a half-bath or a heavy rain...or if she decides to go puddle surfing - it is CRUCIAL to dry her off 100%. Use as many towels as needed and then a blow dryer SET ON COLD but make sure to get her completely dry, otherwise there is a good chance to develop hot spots.

- brush her to the skin as often as possible - this has several benefits - keeps her undercoat in check and avoids matting and hot spots; removes dead undercoat, keeping her healthy and clean...and looking and smelling good ; allows you to find any potential problems and it's a great bonding time.

Also, most important - never, ever bathe her before brushing her to the skin from head to tail and back. Otherwise you're almost guaranteed mats and pulling and frustration....

Forgot to add - when it gets time for a proper bath, dilute whatever shampoo you decide to use at least one part to 5 parts water; you can easily go as low as one part to 10 parts water and, after soaping her, rinse untill you get tired, then ask someone else to rinse for another 15 minutes, then go back and rinse again. Well, I'm exagerating a bit...but not a lot - any shampoo residue will be an iritant and a source of trouble.

[breeze]

hi dmc

you could get a shopvac from Canadian tire to blow out the dirt AND to dry the coat when wet. great for in between baths!! AND great for after a bath

I use it on Bree and Archer. it cost us about 35.00$ and works great!!

[aslan]

yup with both Qman and Echo we make sure we get them fully dry,,luckily they don't mind the sound of the shop vac so i use it to blow them dry,,,trick Breeze suggested..i use the furmintor to brush them..if Jessie has the pyr coat you'll find that if she's dirty and you keep brushing her she will get white again..

[dmc123]

Great advice mirela, breeze and aslan! Thanks.

The shopvac is an interesting idea! LOL gotta run that by my roomie!

Diane

[SamIam]

For drying I would use a blower, hopefully you have a vacuum or shop vac that can be used that way, BUT get a new hose for it used only for blowing never for sucking, or any dirt in the hose will be blown onto the dog's skin at high speeds and sand can cut; and to avoid wind burns don't hold the nozzle tip in one place longer than a couple seconds.

[Mirela]

Well, ideal would be a professional blower - the type that groomers use - those run cool and are very powerful, actually blowing the water off the coat, not drying it, as the human ones do with hot air.

For a puppy coat, the "human" ones work well but need to be set on "cold"; for the adult coat - thy work OK-ish because you will need a long, long time to get the job done.

[breeze]

Originally Posted by Mirela

Well, ideal would be a professional blower - the type that groomers use - those run cool and are very powerful, actually blowing the water off the coat, not drying it, as the human ones do with hot air.

For a puppy coat, the "human" ones work well but need to be set on "cold"; for the adult coat - thy work OK-ish because you will need a long, long time to get the job done.

the shop vac is cold air not hot.

[Mirela]

I now - it never crossed my mind to try it on Leo... hmmmm....intriguing...

[Goldfields]

Deleted

[dmc123]

I think I lost my thread again

[breeze]

since she is only three months old and you do get the shop vac, I would run the shopvac a little each day until she get use to the sound then train her with a toy or praise or treats and do short burst of the shopvac on her to get her use to it (just so that she will not be scared of it)

We did that with Bree and archer

Archer even sits right beside you when using the vacum cleaner and pushes your arm until you vacum him!! (same noise)

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by breeze

since she is only three months old and you do get the shop vac, I would run the shopvac a little each day until she get use to the sound then train her with a toy or praise or treats and do short burst of the shopvac on her to get her use to it (just so that she will not be scared of it)

We did that with Bree and archer

Archer even sits right beside you when using the vacum cleaner and pushes your arm until you vacum him!! (same noise)

Excellent idea - and with her being part border collie, just in case, start with it at quite a distance as they can be pretty sensitive to new sounds.