why grooming is important

[Josie]

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Something to highlight how important it is to groom your dog.

Neglected-dog-gets-makeover-gets-35-pounds-matted-fur-cut-off.html

Before:

after:

 

[JoanneF]

That poor creature. Matted hair is more than just unsightly, it actually hurts because every time the animal moves, it pulls on their skin where the hair doesn't flow freely. I hope the owners were prosecuted.

 

[Josie]

It is horrendous!

A lady was telling me about a dog who had such matted hair around her bum that she couldn't go for a poo properly - it really hurt her I think her owners were old and didn't realise how bad it had got.

 

[JoanneF]

It is horrendous!

A lady was telling me about a dog who had such matted hair around her bum that she couldn't go for a poo properly - it really hurt her I think her owners were old and didn't realise how bad it had got.

I am a bit intolerant of people like that. They might not have noticed the hair being matted but surely if your dog stops pooing, you get a vet check and that would identify the problem? And if they weren't noticing the dog not pooing, it calls their suitability as owners into question. Sorry, I think I am just in a ranty mood today!

Edited - ranty mood, not what my autocorrect changed it to

 

[Josie]

No it's true I agree. I personally don't think anyone should get away with it regardless of age. However, I don't know what I'l be like at that age!

 

[arealhuman]

Holy hell! Poor dog, you can almost see the relief on its face!

 

[Sezzy]

It makes me angry how people can let their pets get like that.
I saw once on an animal rescue program a poor dog which was so matted that when they cut the hair one of his paws came off! The hair had cut the circulation off a long time before. It made me cry, but he was ok in the end.

 

[Josie]

omg @Sezzy thats awful!

 

[Violet Turner]

when you brush a dog it increases the circulation of the blood in the body, even if your dog is short haired. Mats are not fun for a dog because it pulls the skin. @Josie the above picture makes me feel sick! but at least the dog got a hair cut.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

This annoys me so much!! For dogs with long hair especially, grooming is essential!!
Some people just think it's about making a dog look pretty but it's for their welfare too! Not only matted fur but nails that have grown so long they have curled around and pierced the pads! It's also a chance to inspect right down to the skin to check for lumps bumps and any abnormalities. A pommeranian that I groom regularly was in a few months back and as you can imagine you cannot see their skin easily with all that hair! I noticed he had marks all over his skin, it was so strange, it looked like loads of scabs all over him. I only noticed this when I was using the dryer on him (as it parts the hair and you can see right down to the skin). Had it not been for his regular grooming this would not have been spotted (he went to the vet who did not know what was going on, he gave him a shampoo and it is now under control).

 

[Mad Murphy]

I once got a pom when OH was out collecting a second hand car (he couldnt leave the dog there) he had plaque on his teeth about a cm thick and knots in his coat from root to tip all over its body. It took me nearly two weeks of gentle grooming but I got it sorted without having to shave. Daily tooth brushing and some bones to chew sorted his teeth too,

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Awww bless him, it's so good of you to take the effort to work through the coat instead of clipping! Must have been hard going!

 

[merlina]

Spaniel ears! You see some cockers in particular who really need their ears shaved they are so bad- in summer full of burdock and teasels. I can never help myself, just have to say something. The reply is usually the same lame excuse- Oh well he won't let me do them!

 

[Mad Murphy]

Awww bless him, it's so good of you to take the effort to work through the coat instead of clipping! Must have been hard going!

It was and people said I was mad but once he was fully groomed and washed he looked great. He didnt stay with us long about 8 months because he couldnt settle with another dog in the house but at least he went to a forever home where he was king of the roost and adored by everyone.

 

[Nanny71]

No it's true I agree. I personally don't think anyone should get away with it regardless of age. However, I don't know what I'l be like at that age!

I guess we would be considered elderly at 72 and 78 but we do know he needs grooming. He goes to the groomer every four weeks but is brushed/combed in between.
My groomer would take me to task if he went with even one knot. She hates it if she has to clip a knotty dog.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Awww glad he found his forever home!

Spaniel ears are a pain! Always get Knotty! I've got to say I find it so satisfying to clip a knotty dog all over!

 

[merlina]

Elderly at 72 and 78? No!!! My OH has been incapacitated this last month having had surgery on his foot (yeah, the thing about rock climbing apparently is not to fall off- who knew?)...can't drive, can't dog walk, can't even cut the lawns for another 6 weeks....anyway my lovely 93 yo neighbour came round to ask if there was anything he could do to help out? Like take over one of the dogs or do a shop? was how I felt for moaning.

 

[leashedForLife]

.

I spent 2 solid hours cutting mats off an intact-M Lhasa-mix, who smelled so bad that the ammonia in his coat made my eyes water... he'd never been groomed in his 2-year-plus life, & i was struggling to remove massive wads of hair without cutting the dog, as U couldn't see what the H*** U were doing, under that felted rug!
I couldn't even use clippers - they overheated & didn't cut. It was scissors for everything, which is dangerous with a scared dog who's unaccustomed to grooming.

I took off more than 8# of solid mats, from his neck, back, & sides, & both forelegs were tied to his ribs, shortening his strides. I still hadn't done his rump, tail, petticoats, or thighs, nor his underside - & of course, he hadn't been bathed, yet.
I phoned the Va Beach ACC, & the officer who came was concerned, but wouldn't press charges - 'cuz the dog's owner lived in Chesapeake. Huh?! - what, the city of Chesapeake doesn't have cruelty laws?
What cr*p.

I felt badly when Michelle [founder of PACC, a rescue in Va.] came to pick him up, b/c for all my effort, he still wasn't done - but he could walk & see, which was something, at least. I bagged the filthy hair as evidence.
- terry

.

 

[Nanny71]

Elderly at 72 and 78? No!!! My OH has been incapacitated this last month having had surgery on his foot (yeah, the thing about rock climbing apparently is not to fall off- who knew?)...can't drive, can't dog walk, can't even cut the lawns for another 6 weeks....anyway my lovely 93 yo neighbour came round to ask if there was anything he could do to help out? Like take over one of the dogs or do a shop? was how I felt for moaning.

Thank you very much. We don't usually feel old but have had a rough year, starting on Jan 2nd with me having emergency open heart surgery, followed by himself having cataract op, followed by operation to save his tendons in his finger when he tried to chop it off (accidently) then next cataract op and for the last two weeks severe sciatica. We had to return from a well needed holiday after two days because of the sciatica and to make it worse I had to drive home with the worlds worst back seat (actually passenger seat) driver.
Doctor has him on morphine the pain is so bad.
We keep saying it can only get better.

 

[Nanny71]

.

I spent 2 solid hours cutting mats off an intact-M Lhasa-mix, who smelled so bad that the ammonia in his coat made my eyes water... he'd never been groomed in his 2-year-plus life, & i was struggling to remove massive wads of hair without cutting the dog, as U couldn't see what the H*** U were doing, under that felted rug!
I couldn't even use clippers - they overheated & didn't cut. It was scissors for everything, which is dangerous with a scared dog who's unaccustomed to grooming.

I took off more than 8# of solid mats, from his neck, black, & sides, & both forelegs were tied to his ribs, shortening his strides. I still hadn't done his rump, tail, petticoats, or thighs, nor his underside - & of course, he hadn't been bathed, yet.
I phoned the Va Beach ACC, & the officer who came was concerned, but wouldn't press charges - 'cuz the dog's owner lived in Chesapeake. Huh?! - what, the city of Chesapeake doesn't have cruelty laws?
What cr*p.

I felt badly when Michelle [founder of PACC, a rescue in Va.] came to pick him up, b/c for all my effort, he still wasn't done - but he could walk & see, which was something, at least. I bagged the filthy hair as evidence.
- terry

.

That is so awful, can't understand why a prosecution was not possible. Poor little thing