We spoke to Anna Pollard from The Dog House Leicester about what happens when dogs to the groomers.
Getting your dog introduced to the grooming salon is really important because they will need a bath at some point in their life – especially if they love to roll in smelly things!
Visits to the groomers should be introduced gently and slowly with lots of little visits. There’s lots of different sights and smells for them to get used to such as the bath, hair dryers, clippers and scissors. This can be a bit scary for them if it’s not broken down into steps.
Dogs fur/hair is known as their coat and there can be lot of different coat types. Here are a few of the most common ones:
Short haired coats
Dogs with short haired coats need a bit less grooming as they have short and straight hair. You might want to use a rubber zoom groom or mitt on these types of dogs to help remove the loose hair. Dog breeds that have short hair include Dalmatians, Pugs, Great Danes and French Bulldogs.
Double coated dogs
These are dogs that shed a lot of hair such as Huskies, Pomeranians and St Bernards. They have a soft undercoat which is fluffy and protected by the topcoat. These dogs require lots of grooming to remove the dead undercoat hair so that it does get matted. An undercoat rake is very good to use on dogs with this type of fur.
Curly coats
Curly coated dogs such as Poodles, Cockapoos, Goldendoodles, Labradoodles require lots and lots of grooming. The best grooming tools are a slicker brush and a good comb to make sure there aren’t any tangles. A curly coated dog need to be groomed around every six weeks so it’s very important that they like visiting the groomers.
What happens at the groomers?
When you have chosen the right groomer for your dog, your dog will become used to visiting them. It’s important to stay with the same groomer as they build a bond with your dog and your dog knows the routine.
The groomer will check over the dog to feel for any knots in their coat and check that the dog has been happy and healthy since their last appointment.
The dog will then have a bath in a special dog shampoo. It’s very important that a dog shampoo is used; human shampoo can’t be used on dogs because we have different PH levels to dogs.
Once the dog is thoroughly clean the groomer will dry them on a grooming table. The dogs really enjoy shaking all of the water off on their groomer!
As they’re being dried a groomer will use a slick brush to make sure the dog’s coat is tangle free from root to tip.
If the dog has a coat that needs clipping the groomer then uses clippers and scissors to trim and shape their hair into a hairstyle.
If needed the dog will have their nails trimmed so that they’re shorter and more comfortable.
Groomers usually pop a bow or ribbon on the dog’s collar and give them a spritz of doggy perfume if they like it to make them look extra special!
