Been a fun week and a half converting a full on outside working Pyr/Maremma mix to a house dog. In terms of hair, she takes after her Pyr side more - but I found the following pretty true for most big furry dogs.
Giant Breed Grooming Tips
The secrets to grooming a large breed dog are revealed. With a
little work and a few trips to Home Depot, your Great Pyrenees, Saint
Bernard or Newfoundland will glow with beauty. [Edit: or Maremma or Akbash]
Large breed dogs pose special grooming dilemmas. The Great Pyrenees and
other Bernard family members have cornered the market on that special
combination of girth and hair. Without a regimented grooming routine
the Pyrenees’ flowing white locks can easily morph, soon resembling an
electrocuted Komondor on steroid.
One obstacle to keeping large breeds in the peek of beauty is the
difficulty in locating nail clippers, brushes and dental supplies
suited to their substantial size. Substitution will have to be made.
Still, with a little ingenuity grooming is a snap.
Body Brushing
Combing out the Great Pyrenees is a challenge. The high-stung nature of
the breed makes them tend to wiggle around during grooming. In fact,
these stealth dogs are apt to sprint off if not restrained, sometimes
moving up to three centimeters in a single afternoon.
Your best bet for body brushing or raking is to work on your pet while
he is asleep. Avoid active times such as 6:00 to 6:03 a.m. and the 30
minutes after sunset Pyrenees’ devote solely to barking. This breed is
known to sleep with its eyes open. When stalking them with grooming
tools be cautious. Once you are with in 65 feet of your dog, listen for
a train. This verifies your dog is snoring.
Work efficiently once you begin grooming a Great Pyrenees. You may only
have 13 hours before he wakes up. When grooming 140 lbs. of fur bonded
together by drool and the occasional tree branch, you must not dally. A
weed eater is an efficient option for quickly working your way through
the shrubs to the actual hair prior to brushing.
Nail Clipping
Clipping your Pyrenees’s claws should be a regular part of your
grooming routine. Before beginning this procedure head for the hardware
store. Pick up a large metal rasp and bolt cutters. Once claws have
been neatly trimmed call in HAZMAT to remove the clippings from your
home. Don’t forget the dewclaws.
Great Pyrenees’ have a multitude of extra toes just kinda "hangin’ out"
on their lower legs. Hiding amongst them are a total of six massive
curly toenails. Each is so large it makes a valosaraptor claw look like
a minute droplet of Chihuahua snot. Don’t let the dewclaws go
unattended more than a few weeks. Negligence will yield a clipping big
enough to be used as a spiral staircase.
Dental Care
Dog owners often overlook the importants of good oral hygiene.
Fortunately, in the Bernard breeds, their mouths offer plenty of room
to work in. Take advantage of this trait. You can create ample access
to the mouth by simply pulling their massive floppy lips up from both
sides of the face. Then, use three clothespins to secure them to one
another across the bridge of the nose. You may also secure a single lip
to the opposing ear in a similar fashion.
Once the teeth are exposed insert a shop vac tube under your dogs
tongue. This technique is identical to that of the ‘spit sucker’ used
in a dental offices. A fifteen-gallon vac should suffice. Once the shop
vac is fired up the Great Pyrenees will start to awaken. You will have
about two hours to completely remove large pieces of sod stored along
the gum line before your dog hits full cognitive thought. At this point
he’ll eat the vacuum prior to falling back asleep.
As a final touch, clean you canine’s feet. Shinny up between the pads
with a flashlight, some pliers and a bottle of WD 40. Remove stones,
dried bats, milk carton children and anything else not belonging up
there. Once this task is done your grooming regiment is complete. Wake
your dog by simple uttering the word "cookie.’ By the time you get to
"coo" every Great Pyrenees in a six mile radius will be in your
kitchen.
With a little work and a few trips to Home Depot, your Great Pyrenees,
Saint Bernard or Newfoundland will glow with beauty. When you combine
all this glamour with their high intelligence and magnetic
personalities, your dog will be the envy of the neighborhood.
(credit: By Nola Lee Kelsey on Buzzle.com)