Question about supplies used in grooming

 Emollient just means moisturizing, LOL. The Tropiclean is fine! You can use their conditioner, or their leave in, if you want. I use conditioner on my dog, because I wash her so often. Some folks find they don't need it. It prevents static, if you have a problem with that. It also helps the undercoat slide out, and helps to prevent matting.

Bathing every three weeks may or may not be necessary, depending on how her coat turns out. Dirty coats mat easily. Clean coats are easier to brush. Brushing a dirty coat breaks the hair worse. 

 Lol thanks for clearing that up jennie, I sure feel smart right now lol.

Question, How come in my book it says to dampen the dogs hair before grooming to prevent breaking. I always thought it was the other way around? 

Liv

Question, How come in my book it says to dampen the dogs hair before grooming to prevent breaking. I always thought it was the other way around?

Basically just to keep the hair pliable/lubricated.  If you brush out a coat dry, you will have more friction and static, therefore the coat is more easily torn.

A finishing spray is good for that. My friend who shows the Chinese Cresteds likes to use Ice On Ice before she combs her dogs. You could use any finishing spray, but if it's a heavier one (like GloCoat), I'd dilute it a bit, first. 

A light mist of water is fine, too.

I'm a weirdo in my salon. I bathe my dogs before I'll do anything else to them. I want to get the hair CLEAN before I start brushing at it or trimming it. You can get out a tangle about 100x easier if you WET it first. I don't know why. Letting mats or tangles dry naturally tightens them, though.  

jennie_c_d

I'm a weirdo in my salon. I bathe my dogs before I'll do anything else to them. I want to get the hair CLEAN before I start brushing at it or trimming it. You can get out a tangle about 100x easier if you WET it first. I don't know why. Letting mats or tangles dry naturally tightens them, though.  

You certainly wouldn't be a weido at my shop!  Ninety-five percent of my grooms start in the tub.  I used to do prep-shaving (pads/belly/privates) as well as ears and toenails before the bath.  That's what the other gal taught me.  I realized there is no logical reason for doing it that way, so now I do ears/nails in the tub, and do that sanitary shaving afterward.  For some reason, the dogs are MUCH better for nails in the tub..  Anyway, this routine saves me considerable time, and it's much better on my blades/shears to cut clean hair.  A gal at a seminar told us that shaving with anything shorter than a #10 does some damage to the skin, and it's very important to get that skin clean before you start clippering close.  So, there are two reasons not to pre-clip.

And I totally agree that moistening mats really helps break them apart.  It's always kind of hard to explain to people how it works, because you don't want them to get the idea that bathing their pet themselves will necessarily get rid of tangles and mats, especially since most people don't dry their dogs properly, and don't brush/comb during of after the bath.  And it just ends up making matters worst.

Hey, are you an experienced wet shaver?  It seems like everyone does on badly matted dogs.  The electrical/water thing is what scares me, so I haven't attempted it yet.  Plus, I don't have a cordless clipper.  But it's supposed to be good for your blades (if you dry and oil them afterward) and apparently you can usually use a longer blade than you would normally, thus saving more length then you normally would.