With the dog groomers all being shut down right now the biggest tip I can offer you right now is BRUSH, BRUSH, BRUSH. And brush all the way down to the skin. If you can't get a comb to the base of the coat and pull it through, then your baby has mats. If you don't want to try a DIY grooming job at home during this time, then you better be brushing every day! 😳
However, for those of you are desperate or daring 😍 here are some tips that I used for our first COVID19 grooming. Scarlett was here helping to take care of her babies. She was a bit long when she was dropped off 5 weeks ago but not a big deal, we had a grooming appointment setup. 😂🤯 and then the Coronavirus hit and shut the groomers down. Mama's on duty get milk in their coat, poo and pee. Even though she was getting bathed every couple of days her coat was TOO long for baby duty! I so wished I had taken a before photo of her.
I messaged with a breeder friend of mine and she pointed me in the right direction as far as a shaver goes. I had also heard about a shampoo/conditioner product that was supposed to help take the mats out. Amazon was my friend this week. Unfortunately, Amazon Prime is not overnight at this point, but I did get all the stuff I needed in about 3 days.
This shampoo, conditioner and finishing spray is going to be your BEST FRIEND ❤️❤️ It helped me save Scarlett's coat.
Okay! Let's Get Started!
Before you do anything - brush your dog the best you can. Brush and comb all the way to the skin. Get as many of the mats out as you can.
Then head for the shower. Bath your dog super good. Get the soap in there and scrub everywhere. Rinse all the soap out.
Shake the bottle of condition really well and apply a thick coat all over. Work the conditioner in really well to any mats that may still be there. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Time will be your friend.
Do not try to brush or comb any mats out while the hair is wet. You will damage the coat. Lightly rinse the conditioner out... I left most of it in. and just lightly rinsed it.
Blow dry your dog. If you don't have a dog blow dryer you can use a home dryer, but a dog dryer is what will help take the mats out. First towel off your dog... let them shake it out. And then blow dry for a few minutes so that all the droplets are no longer dripping. Shake the finishing spray really good and spray the dog down really good making sure to get the matted areas really well coated. Start blow drying. We have a dog blow dryer and it took me 40 minutes to blow dry Scarlett. I reapplied the finishing spray a couple of times throughout the process.
Now you are ready for the electric razor. This is the scary part. I had to keep telling myself that if I goofed her up too bad her guardian mom would forgive me, and her hair will grow back. ❤️🐶
Here is the razor that I bought. It comes with a blade cover called a comb. This razor is cordless and corded. If you are unable to make it through the entire grooming process you can use it while it's plugged in and charging. The razor as plenty of get up and go and did a great job.
Start at the base of the neck and make a swipe with the razor from the neck area to the base of the bum. Keep doing this until the entire back is trimmed. Then start on the legs. I took the blade cover off and gave her a close shave down on her private parts. The legs were easier than I thought they would be. You need a combination of the razor and scissors. On our Let's Go Shopping Page we have a scissor grooming kit that I purchased off of Amazon. I will include a photo and link below. This kit has thinning shears and curved scissors. The curved scissors are great for the ears, feet and eye areas.
Grooming the head is the most difficult part. The ear hair should stop at the end of the leather. Use the curved scissors to keep you pups ears nice and short and looking like an ALD instead of a hound dog. There is a great video on the ALAA website that shows Mustachio getting groomed for the first time. Click here to go to the ALAA Grooming Video
Here are the tools that we use at home. There are links for each item below the photos. You will appreciate your groomer more after you see how much they invest in their gear but then you will truly appreciate your groomer after you figure out how difficult it really is to get your pup looking fabulous! It took me 5 hours to groom Scarlett. BUT her coat was a good 4" long.
If you take on the DIY dog grooming send us your photos we'd love to see. This is my first blog. So, I'm thinking you might even be able to post them on here... but I'm not sure. I'm so technically challenged! 😳 Have fun! And stay safe! ❤️🐶❤️
Here are links to all of the items that we use here at the house
Here is a photo of Scarlett after my first attempt at a full groom 😳
