After the number of humiliating haircuts I have put our dogs through over the years, it seems only appropriate that I discuss dog grooming at home. I’m sure I am more of an expert at what NOT to do than how to groom your dog.
Over the years, I have gotten a little better, but I have to admit I still have to have someone come to the rescue every now and then. My kids get really testy if I butcher a grooming and the dog has to be shaved only to re-grow her beautiful coat.
Learning to Groom Your Dog at Home
We’ve used professional groomers, but when you have a tame dog, which is not afraid of grooming, it is not impossible to groom a dog at home. It may be a little difficult, but not impossible.
We have groomed beagles, a Golden Retriever, and a medium sized Schnauzer and a small. That means we have been through every hair type from smooth and straight, to long and thick, to curly, and even shaggy.
Each dog’s coat type requires special attention to detail, but unless you have a dog that goes crazy when you try to groom her, you can learn to groom your dog at home.
Selecting the Right Tools to Groom Your Dog at Home
Successfully groom your dog at home by having the correct tools on hand. Grammar school scissors will not cut a dog’s hair. Trust me, I’ve tried. The following tools will make home grooming much easier:
Dog Brush and Comb – The first part of successful home grooming is to comb out your dog’s hair. Remove as many mats and tangles as you can with a brush before you attempt to cut your dog’s hair. You should have a dog brush on-hand anyway, as long haired dogs often require daily brushing and all dogs benefit from occasional brushing. It helps keep their fur from tangling and helps prevents mats and tangles. Most dogs enjoy the gentle stroke of a hair brush.
Dog grooming scissors – Long, sharp scissors will make grooming your dog much easier. Dull scissors will exacerbate the grooming job. Curved dog scissors are available to help with grooming details such as a particular breed’s desired look, trimming along the undercoat, or trimming eyebrows.
Thinning shears – If only I had discovered these long ago when we owned the medium Schnauzer. Her hair was a tangled mass of shag and curl. The thinning shears I’m referring to here are the kind that used to be in every barber and beauty shop, also used to thin human hair, but these are made for dogs.
The function of thinning shears is just what it sounds like. It reaches into the dog’s hair and thins it out in layers, avoiding the chopped-off look grooming scissors often create. Even if you want to polish off with grooming scissors for style and shape, thinning shears will help you get their faster.
Electric trimming shears – Electric trimming shears are on every dog grooming aisle in pet specialty stores and discount department stores. For years, I thought this was the only way to groom a dog at home. I learned the hard way, that electric grooming sheers, applied at random are one of the best ways to butcher a dog’s hair.
Electric trimming shears are great for short haircuts and work best on dogs with short hair to begin with. If you want to use electric trimming shears on your long, wooly haired dog, use thinning shears first. The easiest way to burn out electric trimming sheers is by trying to plow them through mats and tangles of dog fur.
Dog Tweezers – Dog tweezers are not especially fun to use, but they allow you to pluck excess hairs from your dog’s ears. This can help prevent the buildup of dirt and grime and also help prevent infection. I’ve set aside a good pair of human tweezers to use when grooming my dog. Be forewarned that cheap, slick tweezers will not get the job done and only end up aggravating you and your dog. Have a good pair of tweezers on-hand.
Dog toenail clippers – Dog toenail clippers come in various sizes for different size dogs. Plier style toenail clippers are generally recommended for smaller dogs, but, in my opinion they are easier to use on all size dogs.
Make sure your dog toenail clippers are sharp and do not cut your dog’s nails to short. A very short cut risks cutting into the quick of the dog’s toenail which can cause excessive bleeding.
I do not recommend PediPaw™ The Incredible Pet Nail Trimmer, as seen on TV. I took a look at one at the store, considering buying it. It looks just like a Dremel tool with a flimsy plastic cover to keep you from sanding your dog’s nails too short. My only thought was that if I wanted to sand my dog’s toenails I would do it with a nice Emory board, which she doesn’t mind at all, or drag out my own high-speed sanding Dremel.
Have a Plan and a Partner before You Groom Your Dog at Home
Recruit a helper to hand you tools and help keep your dog from kicking you in the face and running away. If your dog is particularly large, another set of hands is extremely helpful.
Have a plan in mind before you begin trimming your dog’s hair. Know what direction you are going in and plan how you will get there, which tools you will use, and in which order you will use them. If your dog breed generally wears a specific cut look up instructions online. The chances are good that you will find a step-by-step grooming guide for your breed.
Brush your dog’s hair out, as best you can, before grooming.
Save the dog’s bath until after grooming to help remove any small itchy hairs that may irritate his skin.
Additional aspects of dog grooming may include teeth cleaning with a good dog brush and scraper, if necessary.
You will also want to swab the ears, or wipe them out with a small towel, but do not penetrate the ear canal.
Long nose hairs also need to be trimmed, but it isn’t a good idea to gouge up your dog’s nose with long sharp scissors. I use a human nose hair trimmer, although dog nose hair trimmers are available. The $9 trimmer is quite, doesn’t startle the dog, and works great.
You can Successfully Groom Your Dog at Home
You will run into naysayers, professional groomers, vets, and even friends who discourage you from grooming your dog at home. Compare their negative response to the amount of money you will save by grooming your pet at home.
If you have experience cutting human hair you are at an advantage, however, if this is your first time grooming your dog, take a deep breath and give it a try. Make adjustments along the way as you go.
I’m sure you’ll do a great job, but if you make a few mistakes along the way your dog will not care and eventually the hair will grow back, and you’ll get better and better at grooming your dog at home every time.
Sources:
Dog Grooming Basics – All You Need to Keep Your Dog in Tip-Top Shape; dog-obedience-training-review.com
Dog Grooming Tools; petgroomingtips.com
Learn How to Groom a Dog: Techniques for Grooming Your Dog; seefido.com
