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You try to keep the hair brushed, you really honestly do.

But your dog is young. She needs to learn. She doesn’t like it, That’s okay, that’s what a professional is for, right? Wrong! Pet groomers are actually pet stylists. The one responsible for caring for the condition of the dog is the owners of the dog. The reason for this is that the maintenance of the coat is a constant routine. The level of difficulty depends upon the length of the coat, and other factors such as:

1. Do you wash the dog?

2. Does the dog swim or go into a wading pool?

3. Do you leave a harness on the dog?

4. Does the dog wear clothing?

5. If the dog is in full coat, or has a lot of hair around the neck, does she wear a collar?

6. If you wash your dog, do you that very same day, thoroughly brush and comb that dog over every inch of it’s body?

All of these factors determine the amount of work necessary to maintain the coat. I specialize in maintaining a full coat. My own dogs, and many of my clients dogs have had coats in amazing condition.

It is a labor of love. The secret is dedication. It is not a chore, it’s actually a bonding time for you and your pets IF and only IF both of you enjoy it.

Sometimes it can become frustrating, the dog fights the brush, or you give the dog a quick bath with no brushing only to later realize that was a disastrous decision. Or you leave the cute Christmas sweater on for 3 days while we have freezing temperatures, only to end up with a completely matted dog.

Sometimes, clients think, no worries, the groomer has special techniques, special tools, and wonderful conditioning treatments that they are trained to use in the event that your dog gets a few little mats. And to an extent, this is true.

The problem is, when we brush out matted hair, it hurts. And when the dog already hates the brush, it can be traumatizing. Sometimes I can do it once, to save the dogs coat, but the next time, the dog says NO. 

The routine and tools depend he type of coat that the dog has. Full coats benefit from the use of a Pin Brush, and a Chris Christensen Buttercomb #004, and a Face Comb.

The type of pins on the brush depends on the depth of coat and the area you are brushing. I use both and go back and forth using both brushes on each dog, using the stiffer slicker brush on mats, packed in undercoat, and the pin brush in the areas where the hair is longer and thicker.

Most slicker brushes either have short pins or angled pins. The short pins are useless for penetrating a coat that is more that a half inch long. I do not recommend any brushes with plastic coated tips. 

Brushes with sharply angled pins have a lot of drag and pull in a thick coat. This can make brushing very uncomfortable for the dog. Therefore, the brushes that you choose need longer pins that are not too sharply angled.

People often ask, “Should I brush every day ?” Or “How often should I brush?”. The answer is different in each situation. 

Primitive coat types like the Pomeranian need to be brushed at least once a week, from one end of the body to the other, followed by combing from the skin out all over. Plan at least a half hour a week for the brush out on a Pomeranian with a full coat. On bath day, brushing and combing must be done by the end of the day, or else matting will begin. Please understand that one bath without a proper brush out with combing can result in the need for a complete shave down, which will potentially completely change the coat forever in a very negative way.