Frequently Asked Questions

Q+A

Grooming 101

Regular grooming has many benefits, from physical health to appearance and overall happiness. A healthy skin and coat is essential, for keeping the coat free of matting, debris, and dead, packed undercoat. This is key for allowing the skin to breath, stay clean + clear, and help prevent dry, flaky skin and redness. This also gives us the time to look over your pet for any dryness, redness, lumps, bumps, matts, tangles, fleas, ticks, and abrasions you may not be aware of, as well as identify any potential problems. We will keep the toe nails trimmed and check the ears for any inflammation (keeping them clean and clear), maintain sanitary areas, trim in front of the eyes, paw pads, and potty parts, and check the anal glands. Every dog breed needs some kind of grooming, whether that be a nail trim or full groom, to everything in between. Handling and socialization is very beneficial for your pet’s emotional health as well!

Matting

Densely tangled clumps of fur can be all over the body or just in spots. Sometimes the top of the coat can appear detangled, but the coat can be matted underneath to the skin. It is important that matting is removed! Sometimes mats can be combed out but if they are left too long, it can cause extreme discomfort or injury to the pet which results in the mats needing to be shaved out instead. Mats can cause the skin underneath to become red, inflamed, stay damp, become dirty even if bathed, and they pinch and pull the skin which can cause balding and bruising in some cases. This can be prevented with regular grooming at the groomer as well as at home maintenance, which would include brushing before and after bathing. Make sure you use a metal comb, getting removing tangles all the way from the skin to the ends of their coat. The frequency of brushing to maintain your dog’s coat can range from daily to once a week depending on your dog’s coat type and haircut.

De-Shedding

De-Shedding is the removal of dead and loose hair which primarily comes from the under coat but includes top coat as well. If dead and loose hair isn’t removed it can cause matting or a packed undercoat. A packed undercoat is densely packed dead hair appearing matted, and will prevent you from seeing the skin underneath. This prevents the skin from breathing, causes redness, and debris get stuck under packed hair, causing unknown irritation. In most cases this can be blown out and loosened, but in extreme cases your pet will have to be shaved, which is not ideal for a double coated breed. Regular grooming and proper brushing can prevent this. Shedding is normal for pets; it’s the growth cycle of new hair and the removal of old hair. Some pets can shed year round, depending on different factors including environment, food, and breed.

Single Coated vs. Double Coated

Dog’s coats can differ in length, texture, color, and hypoallergenic nature. They can be divided into two different categories:
Double coated— two layers of a soft / woolly undercoat under longer tougher guard hairs (also called the “top coat”). Undercoat protects from both hot and cold elements.
Single coated— lacks an under coat, consisting of just a top coat.

Shaving a double coated breed

Double coated dogs have an undercoat; this layer is excellent at trapping air and insulating the dog, helping keep them cool when it is war, and warm when it is cool. When you shave a double coated dog you may irreparably impair their ability to properly heat/cool themselves and protect their skin. The best way to keep this kind of dog cool and comfortable is to regularly bathe and brush them. We recommend not shaving unless their hair is severely matted and it's the only option due to health issues, it is recommended by your vet, or if your pet is a senior and can’t handle brushing. A key piece of understanding in this matter is that, unlike humans, dogs do not cool themselves through their skin. At most, it is only the pads of their paws that sweat. Their main mode of cooling comes from panting. Some other common reasons folks shave their doubled coated dogs is because they think that the animal will stop shedding. Dogs with undercoats shed, no two ways about it! Even after a shave, while the hair may be shorter, it can still shed. Another reason owners want to shave is they might think "it'll always grow back". Sometimes it will, other times it won't. The older the dog is, the less likely it is that the topcoat of guard hairs will grow back. This leaves them with only the undercoat, giving them a patchy, scruffy look. It can alter their coat for the rest of the dog's life. Not only does it look bad, but you can end up having to shave the hair continuously from then on and you strip them of their natural ability to protect themselves. We will gladly do whatever hair cut you prefer but we want to let you know the potential risks so that you may make a fully educated decision for your pet.

Toenails + Dew Claws

The toenails and dew claws are composed of two major parts: the quick (the blood supply) and the nerve that nourish the nail. Just like human nails, dogs do not have any feeling in the nail itself, but the quick contains a nerve that transmits sensations back to the brain. Consequences of long toenails are painful / sore feet, bad posture, and getting the nail caught on something. When a dog’s toenails contacts a surface the nail is pushed back up into the nail bed; this either puts pressure on all the toe joints or forces the toe to twist to the side. Either way, those toes become sore, or even arthritic in severe cases. When the slightest pressure is painful to your dog, he will fuss when you touch his paw. When a dog's nails are not trimmed on a regular basis, the quick grows with the nail. When this happens, you won't be able to trim much of the nail without risking cutting through the quick. To shorten the nail you must do a little at a time and frequently. Dremmeling the nail can help as well! Dew claws have a tendency to seem like they grow faster or that they’ve been missed by the groomer but, in actuality, they don’t touch the ground, meaning they are not worn down like nails that make contact with the ground. A good rule of thumb for knowing when to bring your pet in for a nail trim is, if you can hear the nails clicking, it is time for a trim.

Ear Hair

This is the hair that grows inside the ears; only some breeds grow ear hair. To pluck or not to pluck? It is a topic that nobody can seem to agree on. Leaving the ear hair can cause bad smells because it can hold moisture and create infection, not allowing air flow. Pulling ear hair can irritate the skin of the ear canal, causing head shaking and ear scratching, which may lead to an infection. So which thinking is correct? My answer is to do whatever works best for your pup. We always clear the hair around the outside of the ear, and, generally, we pluck out the ear hair unless asked not to!

Anal Glands

These are small glands on either side of the anus. Most small dogs will need their glands expressed, and often large dogs do not, because they are usually capable of doing this themselves when they go to the bathroom. Sometimes dogs will spontaneously express in times of stress and an unpleasant odor will become present. When your dog starts licking and scooting, or a smell is present, it might be a sign their glands need to be expressed. Full anal glands can cause discomfort and lead to abscessed anal glands if not taken care of, which will then require veterinary treatment.

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