Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Sticky, Prickly, Icky Grooming Solutions in a Pinch

So much to get into and so little time. Dogs get themselves into many of the stickiest situations. Your pooch can easily get into anything, at any time, stickers, burrs, foxtails, goatheads, tar, just to mention a few challenges outdoors.

The secret to dealing with these types of small disasters is not to panic and abruptly take out the scissors to cut out the problem, this can make matters much, much worse. We don't want sutures involved here. Remain calm, take a deep breath, look at the problem and plan your approach accordingly. If the mess your little friend has gotten himself into is simply too massive, you might need to get in touch with a professional groomer. Here are just a few household products in which most of us generally keep around the home which just may help with a few of these sticky, prickly, icky situations at a moments notice:

Baking soda Cornstarch Vegetable oil

Detangler solution PH balanced dog shampoo Medium and fine-toothed combs

Paper towels Rubber gloves Electric clippers

Hydrogen Peroxide Tweezers or forceps Grease-cutting dish washing liquid

Burrs and stickers often collect in a dog's hair more rapidly than anything else. They originate from plants which produce seeds that tend to latch on to an animals fur. Winds can certainly carry these seeds and they can easily land right on your canine friends fur when he is playing outdoors. By far the most apparent means of avoiding burrs and stickers is to keep your pooch out of the dense brush where they can easily do the most damage and can get caught in paw pads.

This is of course, easier said then done. Unfortunately, feathery, dense, furry areas on your pooch tend to be at risk of ticks, so it makes sense to try and keep your dog out of any thicket patches around. In case your dog does comes home with stickers or burrs in his fur, get them out without delay. Working on them section by section will be the best way to slowly but surely get them out.

Examine your furry friend thoroughly, if you feel anything prickly in his paw pad, try using tweezers or forceps to remove it. However, if not removed right away, stickers or burrs may become incredibly painful and sore, because they can burrow deeper within the paw pad, which might mean a veterinarian would need to be the one to remove them.

Examine your animals legs for burrs. or stickers. If you come across one, try separating it from the fur with a medium-or fine-toothed comb, sometimes using your fingers to rub a small amount of cornstarch through the fur, allows you to smooth out the burrs and stickers and loosens the hair around them. You'll be able to carefully work each burr out gradually with your fingers. This particular method works well for your dogs sensitive spots too, such as the chest and belly area. Do exactly the same with your pets back and tail.

Examine your pets ears inside and out, burrs like to hide in the fluff behind the ears and inside the ears. Use your fingers to gently remove burrs and stickers from these sensitive areas, but it is best not to use any cornstarch at all inside the ears simply because you might leave residue behind. You should remember never to use cornstarch around there delicate eye areas either. Cornstarch can be a real irritant if it gets in their eyes.

Should the burrs or stickers result in significant mats, do not use scissors to cut them out. Try to loosen them first with cornstarch and your fingers. In the event that this does not work, then try using electric clippers and gently, cautiously, shave the burrs from your dog's coat. If you believe there are far too many burrs and or stickers and you feel you might cut your dogs skin, please, please allow a skilled professional groomer to take care of them.

After all the burrs and stickers are completely out, it is best to bath your pooch to avoid threat of external parasites running around from all that brush he got himself in to. One important thing to bear in mind is that if you do not get every one of the burrs and stickers out just before bathing you pooch, giving him a bath will generate big mats which will be even more challenging to get out.

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