Link here to my article on Bichon Frise grooming that appeared in Pet Age magazine, August 2011. It's easier to send you to my other blog site than to try to imbed the PDF here in blogspot. Arghh! Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you. I am very proud of the GroomBlog. I started it seven years ago as a way to share grooming pictures with my Internet friends. It has turned out to be much, much more than I ever envisioned - a true "body of work" that will live on beyond my humble life. I have received thanks from all over the world from people who have stumbled upon this blog and found it helpful. The GroomBlog has become the way in which I make a difference in this world. Who could ask for more?
This particular article was quite the undertaking, I did the grooming, took the pictures, wrote the article, and put it together on the computer. That's quite a combination of skills sets. It's projects such as this that keep me young!
I'm a college student at the university of Minnesota twin cities and our family has had golden retrievers Forever. last year we adopted a 2yearold golden retriever grey hound and his coat is very unique. Seems like we've tried everything, from dog food to different groomers/ brushing times a day but his coat is always overly thick and time consuming more than our other goldy ( past golden retrievers) Wondering If u have any tips
Not exactly a Bichon grooming question, but I'm so happy to have a comment on my blog that is NOT SPAM that I'll leave it here. Unfortunately you are the recipient of a little gift from Mother Nature. Hair growth and shedding is genetically programmed. Hair goes through four phases, anagen (growth). catagen (transition), telogen (resting) and anagen (shed). The length of time in each phase is breed specific. Shorter coats, such as the Greyhound, have a much quicker turn around rate, as they have both a short anagen phase and a short telogen phase. Turn around for the hair on these breeds is a matter of weeks. Dalmations and Pugs are notorious shedders. Afghan Hounds, OTOH, have hair that has a very long growth phase, years, combined with a long resting phase, so their coats shed little. Golden Retrievers have some rather long hair (furnishings) that has a prolonged cycle, and undercoat hair that has a shorter cycle. Amount of shedding seems to be related to thickness of coat in Retrievers, as it is the undercoat that provides thickness and sheds. In the case of your dog, a Golden Retriever X Greyhound, he has inherited the timing of the Greyhound. In short, you are screwed! Clearly, the breeder was not thinking about coat genetics when he/she considered this breeding.
A Mars Coat King double wide 18-blade (coarse) might be a good tool to try on this coat. Use a coat spray or leave-in conditioner to soften and release the coat, then rake like crazy. This is probably NOT a coat that will deshed well with a blade-style deshedder such as the Furminator. The new Furminator BRUSH, however, might be another helpful tool. Good luck! I wish you were close by so I could help further.
I really liked the article, and the very cool blog
ReplyDeleteThank you. I am very proud of the GroomBlog. I started it seven years ago as a way to share grooming pictures with my Internet friends. It has turned out to be much, much more than I ever envisioned - a true "body of work" that will live on beyond my humble life. I have received thanks from all over the world from people who have stumbled upon this blog and found it helpful. The GroomBlog has become the way in which I make a difference in this world. Who could ask for more?
ReplyDeleteThis particular article was quite the undertaking, I did the grooming, took the pictures, wrote the article, and put it together on the computer. That's quite a combination of skills sets. It's projects such as this that keep me young!
Thanks for the acknowledgment, I work for praise.
Love that link! Thanks for sharing it. Will share this too to our clients.
ReplyDeleteI'm a college student at the university of Minnesota twin cities and our family has had golden retrievers Forever. last year we adopted a 2yearold golden retriever grey hound and his coat is very unique. Seems like we've tried everything, from dog food to different groomers/ brushing times a day but his coat is always overly thick and time consuming more than our other goldy ( past golden retrievers) Wondering If u have any tips
ReplyDeleteNot exactly a Bichon grooming question, but I'm so happy to have a comment on my blog that is NOT SPAM that I'll leave it here. Unfortunately you are the recipient of a little gift from Mother Nature. Hair growth and shedding is genetically programmed. Hair goes through four phases, anagen (growth). catagen (transition), telogen (resting) and anagen (shed). The length of time in each phase is breed specific. Shorter coats, such as the Greyhound, have a much quicker turn around rate, as they have both a short anagen phase and a short telogen phase. Turn around for the hair on these breeds is a matter of weeks. Dalmations and Pugs are notorious shedders. Afghan Hounds, OTOH, have hair that has a very long growth phase, years, combined with a long resting phase, so their coats shed little. Golden Retrievers have some rather long hair (furnishings) that has a prolonged cycle, and undercoat hair that has a shorter cycle. Amount of shedding seems to be related to thickness of coat in Retrievers, as it is the undercoat that provides thickness and sheds. In the case of your dog, a Golden Retriever X Greyhound, he has inherited the timing of the Greyhound. In short, you are screwed! Clearly, the breeder was not thinking about coat genetics when he/she considered this breeding.
ReplyDeleteA Mars Coat King double wide 18-blade (coarse) might be a good tool to try on this coat. Use a coat spray or leave-in conditioner to soften and release the coat, then rake like crazy. This is probably NOT a coat that will deshed well with a blade-style deshedder such as the Furminator. The new Furminator BRUSH, however, might be another helpful tool. Good luck! I wish you were close by so I could help further.
To be more specific about the brush, I'm talking about the large slicker brush, firm. It's a double sided brush. I found mine on Ebay.
ReplyDelete