A Pom Question Please!

[mdman126]

hi guys , do any of you know how i can give my pomeranian puppy a haircut and what kind of tools do i need and how to do it or if there is a good website that teaches that please let me know. thanks: gil

[4Dogsihave]

I have seen some books at pet stores that look really good for the self groomer. I think one of them was called "Grooming for Dummies". I personally dont know what tools b/c I havent considered doing my poms coats myself. I have a friend that shaves his pom almost bald though. I didnt think that was too smart but to each his own.

[puttin510]

Well poms are double coated. If you give them really good brushing to get that shedding undercoat out it will cut down on the shedding. I don't like to see a shaved pom. But like she said its your dog not mine. My dog is a shedder also. Something I just have to live with. even if you cut the hair it will still shed just shorter pieces of hair. Good luck.

[mdman126]

i am not cutting his hair because it is shedding, i want to cut his hair because during summer time it is so hot and he is already very uncomfortable and its not even summer , i dont want him to get sick.
we dont have aircon in the house. gil

[raindigger]

How short do you want him? If you want to leave more than an inch of coat you can hand scissor him, but without an expensive pair of shears and a bit of training, he might look a bit choppy. If you want him shorter you'll need a good pair of clippers. The cheapies under $80.00 just don't work well. You can either use a blade like a 4f or 3f (25.00) which will leave it close to a half inch or a bit longer or you can get a 30 (25.00) blade and a comb attatchment (6.00) that will leave it much longer. All of these routes can be safely done, but not without practice and knowledge. OR you can take him to a good groomer, tell her what length you want and be done with it.

[mdman126]

Thank you all so much for the information, i really appreciate it. gil

[sandangel]

HAHAHAHA

I suggest just taking to a groomer and asking questions the first time. then you can just keep the cut up yourself.

I thought I could do it myself the fist time and ended up with 2 goofy looking dogs

[susan_cude@hotmail.com]

Hi! I asked that same question awhile back on the other dog forum, there is a woman (I think her name is Karma) that's a groomer, I got some real good advise from her. Why don't you post this also in the other forum, you may get some more answers there as well. I would think getting yourself a good grooming book like what was suggested (grooming for dummies) would be a good idea first.

You did get very good advise here, I'm hoping that was not otherwize implied

Good luck to you! Susan

[mdman126]

hi susan, when you say: the other forum, which forum are you talking about?
are you talking about the old forum? because we can not post there anymore. please let me know. thanks , gil

[MonsterBailey]

mdman, I'm sure that's what she meant.... but not realizing we can't post there. Too bad there isn't a "search" feature on this site, huh? That would be COOL!

And yes, I definitely remember that it was KARMA who gave out some great grooming advice. Another idea is: click on the memberlist link above and find the member, and then I believe there is a place that shows you all their posts. You might want to try that.... just a suggestion.

I have to agree.... I think I'd go to a groomer once to get some good advice. GOODLUCK

[MyBabyShihPoo]

When susan_cude said post it in the other forum, did she mean the "All-Dogs" forum? If so, you can easily hop over to that board and post the question there as well!

Just a thought!

[karma]

Well, thanks, you guys for mentioning me. Raindigger is also a groomer and has had some great tips. If you decide on doing it yourself at home, follow her advice here!

I can let you in on the controversy of shaving down double-coated breeds: There are many experts who maintain shaving down these guys are actually taking away the hair that helps insulate these dogs FROM the heat. So in effect, you'll make your dog hotter... now there are other things I should add to that. Hopefully, whatever you decide to do, you won't shave your pom down to the skin, exposing him to the sun and therefore possible burn. If you just want to shorten it a little, that's probably fine. Another thing I've heard is that if you shave some of these breeds way down, the hair may grow back unevenly, patchily- I haven't seen this myself, but then I haven't shaved a lot of these dogs down real close.

I agree with puttin, I just don't like seeing them taken way down. I would suggest first going to a groomer (and be sure you find one who will agree to dry your dog completely via a high-velocity dryer to blow out the undercoat/sheddding coat.) Keep your pom brushed daily and see if you don't think this helps.

The trouble is, we can't really tell how dogs feel in the heat. We may think they look hot but we may just be anthropomorphizing -- we know WE'D be hot as_______ if we had that pom's fur coat on. I wish I had the answer but I've seen experts come down on both sides.

But if you really feel that you'd like some coat taken off, I'd go for removing a modest amount and just keeping it trimmed more often.If you don't want to go to a groomer, look for grooming books online- there are several do-it-yourselfers out there. I haven't seen these books myself so I can't recommend one over the other. If you have trouble finding them, post again and let me know and I'll see if I can help you.

You know, another thing you might try is looking for a pom forum online- maybe you can post your concerns there and see what other pom owners have done. Experience is sometimes the best advice.

Good luck!

[mdman126]

thanks a lot to you all. gil