Grooming 101

Topics, guidelines and tips for coat and skin care and grooming Chow Chows.

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Faena
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Grooming 101

Post by Faena »

Hello all!

So, my Chow Chow has quite a history to her name. She was owned by my boyfriends mother, led a happy life, balanced diet and was regularly groomed. Unfortunately my boyfriends mother passed away five years ago, and since then she had been staying with my boyfriend and his father. They were not prepared to care for her, they were working or going to school and Ming, my chow, was very lonely for years. Now, not to bash on my boyfriend and his father, but they are quite easygoing, maybe a bit neglecting, especially on the grooming. They loved her to bits, but never got the attention she needed and deserved.

Long story short, my mom and I decided to 'adopt' Mingie and she has fully adapted to our other pets and is totally accustomed to her environment. We never had any long-haired dogs especially because they are so high maintenance, so we try to get by with the knowledge and tools we have. I've heard somewhere that even with very thick coated chows, you should be able to see on the skin to comb out the undercoat, I don't know how much of that is true but poor Mings undercoat is so matted I can hardly reach the skin without her yelping and wanting to run away. Especially her belly, her 'elbows' and 'beard' (damn my lack of terminology!) are full of knots. My mom and I try to comfort her while the other ones try to comb her out a bit, we try to do a section every moment we find but it's a full time job on its own, and Ming is starting to get weary and stressed out if we start combing her, knowing it will probably hurt a lot.

Apart from some minor googling on the net, I know little to none about Chow grooming, and I would really appreciate any tips I can get. Is there a way to get rid of the heavy matting without yanking a comb through it? We tried to cut out the really heavy knots with some shears but its not my go-to solution for the rest, she'll end up like a canine Courtney Love :( also, she has some serious hip dysplasia and can't climb stairs, so it's going to be quite a struggle if we're going to have to bathe her... Any alternatives are welcome.

I feel really bad for her and I want to fix the damage done, but it's even worse than I thought and the whole project is getting a little over my head, seriously, any advice is welcome.

Thanks in advance from Ming and myself.
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Victory
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Re: Grooming 101

Post by Victory »

A matted under coat is a problem, and if it is very matted, cutting the matts away is the way it is usually done. however there are detangler sprays that can help as well as what they call an undercoat rake. If you use the undercoat rake, use it ot comb small sections of fur in the wrong direction, do it as gently as you can, and from the ends of the fur down. In other words, don't try to comb/rake the fur from the skin out at first but from the ends out, a bit at a time, working on matts as you reach them. if the matt is too large and just a mess, use a detangler on it, and work it out slowly. If that doesn't work, I've found that cutting them in half will sometimes free the rest of it up to be combed out, (Firesong has very silky hair that matts easily behind her ears and in her armpits from her halter.) do this until you can rake the hair completely down to her skin in like 4"X4" sections, then with a large toothed wire comb, comb the section back from the skin out again in small sections, like 1/2" ones, (I need to make a video of this) do it all over her body, it may take a while. Also at her age you want to make sure she doesn't have any skin problems that may make the whole process more painful. If done right this shouldn't hurt her at all, only annoy her a bit because of the time involved.

If you do use a detangler, remember to brush and brush and brush until she is dry because wetness close to her skin can cause issues if she isn't dried completly. Don't be surprised if this takes weeks to get her all done, because a lot of the undercoat is most likely dead hair and it hasn't been shed correctly, once you get rid of all the dead stuff, the newest part of what needs to be shed will start shedding and the new undercoat will grow in. So she may need a really good brushing, 2-3 times a week until you can consistently run the large toothed comb through her fur backwards without any tangles. Like I said I need to make a video of this becuse explaining it is so hard. But I hope this helps soon.
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Faena
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Re: Grooming 101

Post by Faena »

Thanks so much for your advice! I do have an undercoat rake, that one still belonged to Robin's mom back in the day, and I have been using that one on her but apparently all wrong! I was just combing in the direction of the hair grain, which seemingly already hurt enough as it is. I do think I know what you mean though, comb from the ends toward the roots and against the grain. I'm going to have a hell of a time sectioning her fur square by square :) great tip on the detangler spray, I do actually have one I use for myself, would that be sufficient or is there a special animal variant? I could imagine this one might irritate her skin or something.

One more question, is there a way to calm her down while I'm combing her? Whenever I snag on a knot, she tries to run away, not that it hurts per se, but she just gets startled. Today she even nipped at my mom when she was trying to get rid of a matt behind her ears. For that same reason I can't ever get her to stay down and comb her belly, so far only Robin, my boyfriend, is allowed to do that. Unfortunately he's not always around so i need to get her to trust me with it. I don't really want to force her down since I want her to be comfortable when I'm combing her, and not make it into a freak out moment.

Also, I'm afraid English isn't my native language so I hope I've been understandable in my posts :)
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Victory
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Re: Grooming 101

Post by Victory »

The width of most of the rakes is about right to use for a measurment to make the sections.

No don't use a product designed for humans, get a canine one, and since you don't know how she might react to it, just use a little, incase she's allergic to something in it.

And yep, tummies, behind the ears and the back end are the hard parts to groom. Nipping however, should never be allowed, for any reason at any age. I hope your mom gave her a good correction. Sometimes it is better to just cut out any mats behind the ears as the area is sensitive and the hair will grow back there quickly.

She is new to you a bit and so showing you her belly and allowing it to be groomed is going to be hard, just do that as much as you can when your boyfriend is around, let him start and then have him stay and talk to her while you groom her. She'll learn to trust you. Make sure no other animals are around for a while, while you teach her this, because that will make her more protective of her tummy.

Your English is just fine. Very good in fact.
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Re: Grooming 101

Post by wokman »

Always remember the fur is attached to skin, so pulling fur is pulling skin. Be very careful brushing the fur around the ears you can cause a blood blister to occur on the ear. Brush the back from the tail to the head. The sides and legs, top to the ground. Tail, base to the tip. Brush fur as if you are making a part in the fur, grasping fur with your hand on one side of the part and brushing the other side of the part down to the skin and out. When brushing their sensitive sides, grasp the fur on the other side of her to keep skin from moving with each gentle stroke. Be careful or her nipples on her underside and her pads on her front legs, upper and lower, back side. Use a wire slicker brush carefully, it will not pull as much as a comb. If she is really matted, as you make it sound, you may find it better to have a groomer or Veterinarian shave her. It must be difficult for her to stand for a long time with the hip problem. It sounds like your Boy Friend only gave her a shallow surface brushing when he rarely groomed her. She may have skin problems under all that dead coat as Victory said. Her reaction to your grooming is her way of telling you; to rough and harsh for poor old me. :cry:
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Re: Grooming 101

Post by Rory's Dad »

The grooming directions from Victory are great. I am an experienced chow owner and do groom frequently, so i do understand the directions, but a video is a fantastic idea.

I would add that it may be helpful to add a distraction to the whole process. Since you seem to have a 'team', have one person doing the grooming and the 2nd just lay on the floor with her petting the areas that you arent working on...think pet massage. Or find a favorite toy or treat. Let her chew on that while you work an area. Lots easier when she isn't focused soley on the grooming.

Save any sort of shaving as a last resort. Especially in an older dog, it will take a lot of time for it to come back in. She will be more susceptible to harsher weather. If it needs to be done, so be it, but make sure its really necessary. Clipping the mats in half should get most of them resolved.
Faena
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Re: Grooming 101

Post by Faena »

Hi all!

Time for a little update :)
For the last few days we've been brushing her for an hour at the time every day, and its starting to look a lot better already!
We had to cut some matts that were too dense to comb out on their own, especially behind the ears and on the legs, but thanks to the detangler spray we got a long way without Ming getting very nervous. I have noticed she didn't shed well, definitely a lot of loose hairs in her undercoat so we'll still be busy with that for the next couple weeks, but she looks really liberated and just happy that she can walk more freely than she did before.

As soon as she sheds a bit more constant, in stead of the tufts of hair that are now practically falling out on their own, I'll start brushing her twice a week regularly. My boyfriend still helps with brushing her tummy and with the directions you all gave me he really takes the time to get it right this time.

Luckily she hasn't had any skin problems, phew! During the move from my boyfriends house to mine she had a hotspot on her leg, the vet said it was stress related and after a week of medicine she was doing alright again. The fur is growing back nicely on the affected area. Besides that incident, she had no more skin conditions and is now doing well.

Thanks for your lovely advice and I'll post a picture as soon as she has fully caught up with her shedding process.
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