Less matting./shedding...tip

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

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bama
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Less matting./shedding...tip

Post by bama »

Ok, yes our furry chow kids tend to shed that undercoat, sometimes it seems in clumps. Here's what I have done, I'd be interested in knowing what you do tfor his hairy problem.

My routine:
I pulled the hose of a vacuum through at partially closed door (canister on other side of door) I vacuum my dogs to remove any extra hair.
For that hard to handle hair on the back of legs, I take a dryer sheet and wipe down my human big toothed comb prior to stroking it through the fur. If that's not enough I will spray the comb with aersol olive oil.
Using the product called Mane and Tail Conditioner is very helpful. It kept my horse's tail pretty silky with that stuff.
Also...chows tend to develope thyroid disease and require higher amounts of protein than other breeds. A lack of either of these can cause profuse loss of hair.
Be sure your dog gets plenty of sunshine, this is needed for a healthy coat. (30 minutes per day is minimal).
Good luck...these coats are beautiful.

How do you handle their coats and shedding???
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Last edited by bama on Fri Jan 05, 2007 7:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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threedogjeep
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Post by threedogjeep »

Bama,
I am curious about the dryer sheets. What does this do? Help the comb attract the hair?

And the Mane and Tail, you use that when you bathe???

I feed EP Salmon or Duck formulas, add salmon oil to their breakfast kibble, and two or three times a week add a little meat, poultry, eggs or cottage cheese to their kibble. For dinner, I always mix in canned food, usually solid gold or EP, sometime Merrick.
Twelve Paws UP!!
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bama
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Post by bama »

Sorry, I suppose it would help if I explained myself better, huh? :lol:

I do the EFA in their food, as well. :wink:

I use the dryer sheets to rub the comb before gliding it along the leg hairs. Doesn't weight it down and prevents friction. If your climate is not dry you probably have no need for this tip.

The Mane and Tail is a heavy wax conditioner that is great for the coat when applied at the time of bathing. I find it best for use on their undersides where they lay rubbing those fine underbelly hairs. It's strong enoungh to prevent matting of those fine hairs. At least for a while.

Thanks for helping me to clarify myself.
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Post by Wollfie »

I am afraid that I don't understand the vacuum cleaner part. Do you use the vacuum before or after you groom him. And how are you able to get near your chow with such a sucky/noisy appliance?
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Post by Red Dragon »

Well, a long time ago before I knew anything about grooming I use to vacuum the loose hair off of my Chows. Since I have learned how the pros do it I don't do that anymore and there is no need.

I bathe mine, then I will either put a conditioner on that needs to be rinsed out, or I partially dry them and spray on a leave in conditioner. I use a force dryer to blow my Chows dry, "Warning", do not do this inside your home, you will have hair everywhere, LOL!!! The force dryers blow all the water out of the coat and any loose hair, I use a Master Blaster by Metro. If you opt for the leave in conditioner, blow them partially dry, spray on the conditioner, and with the tip off, blow the conditioner into the fur strait on, otherwise you will just blow it off the dog. Do not point the blowing tip at their butt or the females private part, you will blow are up there and it is not pleasant, LOL!!! Do not blow around their face or ears with the tip on, take the tip off for the last part of the head and fold the ears over so you don't blow air down there as well. One other thing, after I have rinsed the dog I squirt Vet Solutions ear cleaner in their ears and let them shake it out, then I clean their ears and towel them dry before starting. The force dryers also blow any dirt and such that may be left behind off the dog, the coat stands up nice and fluffy and they really love it when you done, they get really frisky!

If you have never done this with your dog before it could be a problem, they might freak out, LOL!!! All of my puppies that I buy or breed are first bathed and blown with a regular hair dryer when they are very young. The Master Blaster is a two speed dryer, so you can start out with it on low when they are young and work them up to the full force. Mine just stand there and enjoy it, you may not be so lucky your first few rounds, LOL!! A grooming table with an arm to attach a lead to is best, then it will control the head and you just have to keep the rear on the table, still could be a battle though. I don't have to use any of that though, they just stand on the table by themselves while I work on them.

All of my puppies are started out being made to lay on their sides while I trim their toenails and the hair on their feet. I use a Dremel with a 1/2" sanding roll to grind their toenails down, it is much safer than the clipper, you can watch what you are doing and you will see the toenail open up before you ever get into the quick, versus clipping too short and having a bleeding toenail. Again, this can be a big problem if the dog has never been trained to lay still while you work on them. The nails do need to be kept trimmed, they can grow too long and curl under the foot, it is painfull and they can break them off more easily when they are long, the shorter the better.

I use clippers to trim the hair around their butt to keep them sanitary, sometimes I use thinning shears, either works fine. You should keep the hair trimmed off of the bottoms of their feet, it keeps them from sliding around so much on slick surfaces. :D
Sam

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Post by vicster605@cmaaccess.com »

I'm glad you brought this subject up, as a first timer I can use all the advise I can get.......
Can anyone tell me?? Kearra is almost 6mo. Keep hearin' about the blow out,haha I take it that they loose all the coat all at once like a big blow out??? When does this usually happen? For how long? Do you just try and groom more often? I brush and groom her every and every other day..... Do they loose their puppy coat and then grow a grownup coat??I have been really surprised at how little she has shed so far, not what I expected.....Took her to the groomer and found out I should have been raking her undercoat, and have been since, they did use a blower on her, and said they could have given a new chow puppy a full coat with the hair they removed. Still not what I expected, but I may be in for a big suprise, right? haha I really don't mind, now I'm thinkin' it's gonna be snowin black hair sometime in the future??Would a reverse vac. work like the blower your talking about??How often do you bath them when they are shedding?
Just tryin' to be ready so my little Southern Girl can always have good hair days, would rather learn from people who know than try and figure it out on my own, better for Kearra and her beautiful coat......Thanks You
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Post by Red Dragon »

Chows that blow their coat usually have one of two problems, either thyroid or lack of nutrition to maintain the coat. They normally shed twice a year, just before winter and just before summer, this is just shedding of the undercoat, not a complete blown coat.

Puppies will start shedding their puppy coat as early as 4 or 5 months of age, some last till a year and a half or so, it is usually a long slow process until it is all gone. It is real important to keep the dead hair brushed out during that process. You can bathe them once a month or even more if you need to, it will help keep the loose hair coming out.

I suppose you could use a shop vac or similar and use the exhaust side to blow them dry, I would make sure it had a new filter and was clean, you don't want to be blowing a bunch of dust and stuff on them. The shop vac won't have the power of a force dryer either, so it won't really blow the loose hair out and will take a lot longer to dry them.

The Master Blaster looks like one of the old round Electrolux vacuum cleaners, only it blows instead of sucks. All of the force type dryers come with a tip that goes on the end of the hose and it concentrates the air in a small area with a lot of force, that makes it easy to blow the loose hair out of the coat. When you take the tip off it is just like a real strong hair dryer.

The dryers can pay for themselves over the course of a year or so if you are taking your dog to the groomer once a month or so. If you have more than one Chow the grooming bills can add up quick and it really pays to do them yourself. Pet Edge has a bunch of different dryers, and the best price I found on the Master Blaster.
Sam

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Post by bama »

Wollfie wrote:I am afraid that I don't understand the vacuum cleaner part. Do you use the vacuum before or after you groom him. And how are you able to get near your chow with such a sucky/noisy appliance?
The vacuum cleaner's canister in within a closet, only the hose is out into the room. So, the noise is minimal. I simply attach the soft "dusting" brush to the hose and brush the hair. I really wish I had a special attachement for grooming, but I don't.
To socialize your dog to the vacuum cleaner can be a slow process.
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Post by vicster605@cmaaccess.com »

Thanks Sam, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE INFO.!!! Where's the best place to get a blower??? It sounds like its probably the best thing to do since I really don't mind grooming Kearra myself and it does save alot of money.....I just took Kearra to the groomer last week, and the groomer told me it would cost up to $70 after she is grown....WOW could easily pay for itself.
THANKS AGAIN
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Post by Red Dragon »

Yep, grooming Chows can get expensive, $45 - $70 is pretty normal. Go to Pet Edge online, they have everything you will need. The big Master Blaster like I have is less than $300 I believe. You need a table of some sort, they have a bunch of different tables. I like the Andis (Ultra Edge) clippers, they usually have a special on them and offer a choice of free blades, to do her feet you need a #10 or a #15, you can also use those to trim around her butt. If you want to trim her fur to even her up, you can use a skip tooth #7. I use a battery powered Dremel that you can get at Walmart or anywhere like that to grind the toenails, I believe the kit comes with a 1/2" sanding roll, which is what I use to do that with. I think Pet Edge has free shipping on orders over so much, check on that. They have shampoo and conditioner too, Bio Groom is good, they have others you can look at. I use Cindra shampoo and conditioner, you would have to get that somewhere else though. :)
Sam

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Post by vicster605@cmaaccess.com »

Thanks again,Sam!!! I'm gonna do that, if you do your own grooming you at least know they are not mistreating them. I took Kearra to get her nails cut because I was nervous since she is black and I couldn't see her cuticles. I stood right there and watched a girl cut 2 of her nails so short they were pouring blood. I told her I could of done better than that haha Kinda defeated my point, since I was trying to make her comfortable with her getting them cut in the first place.... I took down all the info. Who knows I might get so good at this I can handle a Blue, too!!! I LOVE THEM ALL!!! Thanks Again!!!
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Post by Red Dragon »

I hate clipping toenails, it's real hard to do them and not get a bloody one or two, that is why I started grinding them. You have to make them lay on their side on the table, that is the easiest way to do it, if you should happen to grind to much away it is usually very minor, use some quick stop for that. Just grab each toe with your forefinger and thumb and grind it down, when you start to get to the quick you will see a pin hole open up, stop there, and round it off. The grinder won't really hurt you if you miss, I grind my fingers all the time, just watch out for letting it snag their fur.
Sam

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Post by Auddymay »

Melanie uses a dremel type tool, too. Mostly, when folks here talk about blowing the coat, they are referring to the natural, quick shedding of the undercoat. The dryer method does sound efficient, but Lily tears up the stairs the second I bring out the vacuum. She has only ever dried without any blowing as she has only been bathed three times. Sam,the next time you do your baths, you should post photos of your chowdren, or now, if you have photos on the computer. We would all love to see them.
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Post by Princess »

oi, grooming topic...

I have recently purchased a grooming table of ebay!! they have a whole bunch of them for cheap, I paid 15 dollars for mine but shipping it to Canada was like 60 :shock: . However, it is worth it, Gabbana DOES NOT let me groom her!!! it's a fight everytime!! I have to hold her by her collar with one hand and try to brush with the other, or bribe her with like 10 milkbones which cannot be all that good in excess. I even bought all kinds of brushes and she hates them all!!!!!! I never tried to cut her toe nails, but they are ok, not too long.. actually i'm deathly afraid so i think when the table comes in i'm going to file them with a people nail file.. hahaha!!!

And the blower thing is definitely a messy procedure!!! When I bathed Gabbana at home it was such a pain... I was curled up over the bathtub and we have crappy water pressure as it is, so it took a long time and I think the underneath of her coat was still dry grrr, but after all that I would try to blow dry her.. with a people hair dryer.. and well after an hour of running around the bathroom trying to escape from the dryer she was not even a bit dryer, waste of time!!! good thing that was in summer when it was warm I just let her loose and she can dry on her own.. well like 6 hours later.. but in winter can't do that!!!!! Nevermind all the hair that you wash off her clogs your drains and our house is really old so those clog from everything and just not a good situation :? ...

Recently I have discovered this place called Launder A Pet.. I'm not sure if they are a canada thing but it surely was great!! You pay only according to their weight, and Gabbana is 50lbs. and I paid 16 dollars canadian. But they have bathtubs that are raised so you aren't hunched over, their water pressure is great, they have clips to attach the collar to, they have grooming tables with blowers and then blow dryers for the perfect finish and they also provide shampoo, towels, brushes and assistance if needed.. well i brought my own brushes and shampoo just to be sanitary... but the amount of hair that came off when i used the blower was phenomenal and I was sure happy that all that was NOT in MY bathroom :shock: !!!!

hmm, vacuum cleaner is a good idea bama... i may need to try that.. although there is a chance I will be hated for life after that one!!!!

Just thought i would share my grooming experience with everyone, well mainly complain about it!!
PS. just looked on ebay for a master blaster.. they are 300 dollars for buy it now price, and found a "metro commander" brand for 150US.. not sure about the difference but I'm and ebay junkie.. feel free to ignore me
Have a fantastic day everyone,
Olga
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Post by Red Dragon »

Auddymay, I have lots of pictures, I am not signed up with anyone to be able to post them on this site though.

PetEdge is $291 on the Master Blaster I believe, they use to be a little less, like everything else, they have gone up. I always check with PetEdge first, they have really good prices on just about everything.
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Post by bama »

Some pet stores have the "launder a pet" in their stores for you to use. I have seen one at Pet Supplies Plus.
It looks like a mini drive thru car wash.
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Post by Sharons Chows »

Both JR and Cheyenne really liked to be brushed. Alan brushes them at least 2x a week!
Cheyenne doesn't mind having a shower...she sits in my shower like a little lady.
JR does not like to even think about being bathed and when he see's Alan's face with that "bathtime" look...he takes off like a bat in h.ll. However, he always seems to end up in the bath or the shower and actually survives the whole ordeal!!!

The hair dryer....oh NO...NEVER, EVER!!!!
I have tried with JR for years....he doesn't even leave a trail of dust when he takes off! I tried with Cheyenne for the 1st time a while back...she didn't run as fast...but she certainly ran.

The vacumn cleaner....not even a passing thought. They both absolutely hate the contraption...yes, I even tried getting near them with the hand nozzle...you would have thought that I was going after them with a branding iron.
The looks on both of their faces was priceless.

Nope...in my house...the good old fashioned towel..or at least 5 towels has to work!!!
And I can't imagine going into the "doggie laundy's" around here and we have plenty with every theme imaginable...it would create total havoc for the poor owners !!!

Sharon
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Post by Princess »

hahaha, thats funny Sharon!!!! When I went to the launder a pet thing there was no one there except for the lady that runs doggy day care in there... and gabbana was too preoccupied with being miserable due to her bath to pay attention to anything else hahaha

Bama, yes i've seen those car wash like things.. where you get a million coins (i think you guys would use bills in the states) and you get a certain amount of time for each coin... yeah i'm not sure about those i think those would be quite the hastle, but at this one you just pay the price according to the doggie weight and use whatever and how much you like.. so that was pretty cool!!
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Post by bama »

Hey, the blower is a great idea, I really like the idea of using the blower.
Is it just as effective if a bath is not given prior to use?
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