CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Grooming => Topic started by: Hurtwood Dogs on August 16, 2007, 09:45:40 AM
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Dave is a bit of a hair monster and the fur between the pads on his paws is very long already, so I think I should probably try and trim it a bit to stop him getting sore feet. He's obviously a wild animal with vicious fangs, very determined and doesn't really sleep deeply enough for me to 'get him' when he's unconscious. Any hints on the best way to trim his feet without causing any major trauma (to either of us :o)
:D
Hannah x
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It is a good idea to check between them for grass seeds. I did Fern recently and pulled out 5 seeds that were embedded in the fur between her toes. Usually she is really good and lets me do stuff to her, but the best place is on the wobbly ironing board cos she keeps still and its perfect height. Plus lots of praise and treats. To start with just cut the fur so it is level with her paw. I only cut between because there was matting in there - I wouldn't do inbetween otherwise, but everyone has different ideas about this. If you do you must watch out for extended webbing as Fern has in her paws. If you are worried you could get some scissors that are blunt or curved at the end so you don't jab her if she moves, but these won't cut inbetween.
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Callie is getting the same way hairy feet wise and we are looking for good scissors to do the job, but at the moment she goes on the grooming table each and every day and gets brushed and combed this includes feet being picked up and thoroughly looked at she gets a very tasty chew(tastiest possible to keep interest as long as possible) to chew up while she's up there so the teeth are occupied. We find it best to do it mid way through a play period, ie she's not wide awake and she isn't half asleep either. Hopefully when we come to trim she'll be fine, this is currently a two person job as one holds the chew so she isn't going anywhere! Hope some of this helps when you come to trim Dave's.
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I must add that I didn't trim Fern at all, feet or body til she was 2. Some people said having furry feet protected them and kept them warm in winter, and others said they can collect grass seeds in summer and ice is a danger in winter if they are not trimmed, so we weren't sure which was the best thing to do, but now we feel a bit more confident, we have just done what we thought right.
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Yeah, from memory, when I had my last pup the breeder trimmed between his pads for me and said I should as his feet could get sores otherwise.. haven't been so lucky this time! The fur is pretty long and in some areas covers the bottom of his pads totally. I'm not going to touch the rest of him until he's much older but I don't want him to get sore feet!
Sounds like you've got Callie well sorted.. gonna have to bribe someone to give me a hand I think :D
Hannah x
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Oh my, I'm worried now.
Daisy (Dave the Bandit lookalike!) has got much hairier since she's been with us, legs and paws in particular. :005: I keep checking them, but not sure when I should trim, and if so how much.
Haven't found any grass seeds, thankfully, :o but will become much more vigilant now. Ironing board is a good suggestion. ;) I also worry about her claws needing snipping, but just don't feel brave enough. I visited the breeder recently and she showed me how to do it, but I haven't got the equipment yet - that's my excuse. :005: I had no idea all this would need doing so early.
Daisy is 13 weeks now. Is there a right time/age to start claw snipping and furry feet trimming?
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Not all dogs need their claws cut, Fern never has. Some people think that if they are walked on hard ground it keeps them short. I would agree, however Fern hardly ever walks on hard ground! Must just be lucky! Not sure about the answer to when to start trimming, as we were very late starters! Fern's coat stayed short for a long time though, can't remember about her paws!
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Hi Daisy's mum!
Black claws are a nightmare too because you can't see how far you should cut them.. doing a bit of walking on roads has definately worn Dave's down a bit though - worth a go! Decided I'm going to wait until he's in a really good mood (i.e. just woken up then try doing one paw at a time... possibly just one snip at a time!) I wouldn't worry about Daisy's legs yet it's just the fur that grows between their pads and can grow out and under their pads that can cause a problem I think???
I don't know, these puppies eh, how much trouble, may be we should just send them back :D! Need to talk to my breeder about trade discriptions too.. I bought a blue roan and I think he's going to be black within 2 weeks aside his white surrender flag and Harry Potter lightening stike on his head! ;)
Hannah x
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I remember the breeder telling us that we could file Fern's claws with a human nail file, and we did this for a while! Its all coming back to me now !!
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I remember the breeder telling us that we could file Fern's claws with a human nail file, and we did this for a while! Its all coming back to me now !!
Max gets excited when I get my nail file out & puts his paw on my knee :005:
He soon pulls it away though when I get the file near his claws. ::)
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I brush sweepies hair backwards on the top of her foot and trim the hair with scissors, I havnt done the bottom of her feet as the hair isnt long there so cant give you any tips on that one. What a grass seeds their feet harbour when they are hairy I got a real shock one day as I took out loads :o
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Oh blimey.... better have a good check for those too then!
Hannah x
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Milo has hairy feet and we had abit of an ordeal the other day when I went to trim them. He had stood in a decomposing slug (porb the same one that he spread accross my living room >:D ) and it had all dried and matted into his fur. I thought he had soem sort of gangrene!!! Yeuuch. Anyway.. that was no help whatsoever just felt like sharing!
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Milo has hairy feet and we had abit of an ordeal the other day when I went to trim them. He had stood in a decomposing slug (porb the same one that he spread accross my living room >:D ) and it had all dried and matted into his fur. I thought he had soem sort of gangrene!!! Yeuuch. Anyway.. that was no help whatsoever just felt like sharing!
Awwwww. I'm touched you'd share it ;) Delightful creatures aren't they... in my head everytime I start to move very slowly towards the scissors, Dave ballons into a massive fire breathing, human eating vicious beast..
See.. look at those teeth.. LOOK AT THEM!
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/hannahgilsenan/IMG_0722.jpg)
So need to get out more....
:shades:
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We have a similar set here! Oh so sharp and fond of fingers >:D
Callie's nails are getting like pins as we don't have much hard surface in our garden and she's not allowed out until Monday (can't wait!) so she's had her nails done once so far and that was with Mum holding her like a baby to keep her still (thankfully she is easier to do than the Parrot I have scars I tell you!). I'm hoping with nearly two weeks of grooming table manners practice we should be able to leave the wrestling and just clip them with her stood up or at least a couple of them. Just got some scissors off eBay so hoping to trim feet soon :D
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See.. look at those teeth.. LOOK AT THEM!
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/hannahgilsenan/IMG_0722.jpg)
So need to get out more....
:shades:
How gorgeous Dave is, Hannah!! :luv:
I trim Domino's feet about every 7-10 days; when he was a puppy he used to squirm & try & pull away but we persisted & gave him lots of treats throughout & now although he isn't keen on having them done I can usually do them fairly easily.
On the base of his paws I pull the fur away from the pad & snip it around, also taking as much as I can from the bottom of his feet; then I trim around the outside of the foot before putting it down & then gently pushing his toes together which raises the hair between his toes which I then trim away. :shades:
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my friend is a qualifies dog groomer so she trims the fur and his nails just a tiny bit everytime we vist (about 1 a week) to get him used to it. he was really good last week so he must be getting used to being messed with :005:
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Ah thanks Jo! Good tips there!
Lucky you Fran...!
Note to self: Find a dog groomer and become good chums :D
Hannah x
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Oh my Dave, what big teeth you have!
Hannah Dave is such a cutie pie! Obv loves the camera too!
Won't be long till his teeth start dropping out and with it will come a whole host of new problems ::) Milo has lost his four front teeth and has once again turned into 'a crocodile' trying to get his teeth (or gums, he's now known as 'gummy-bear') around anything and has got reeeaaaallly hyper/mardy. Oh how I long for a sulky teething puppy :005:
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Thought I'd update this with some newly founded tips for you Hannah :D
Our scissors arrived this morning and are this set here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SET-OF-PRO-DOG-GROOMING-SCISSORS-AND-THINNERS_W0QQitemZ170139862946QQihZ007QQcategoryZ20751QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SET-OF-PRO-DOG-GROOMING-SCISSORS-AND-THINNERS_W0QQitemZ170139862946QQihZ007QQcategoryZ20751QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
I knw they aren't the reccomended size but we thought start small as she is and we'll get bigger ones later when we get bolder.
We tried initially to trim the feet with her stood up, but after taking tiny amounts off and there being lots left we decided to go for the baby cradling method to ensure they were tidied properly this time. So mum held her and foot by foot I cut the hair we cleared the hair on the bottom so it all came level with the pads and trimmed slightly around the edges of the foot just to get her used to it. We did it in four sessions one for each foot, Overall she looks tidy now and the mud brought in is significantly less and hopefully she is more comfortable with it this way. HTH
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When Penny was little I'd roll her onto her back and pin her between my legs gently but firmly if you know what I mean. I would hold onto 1 paw until she had finished wriggling and put the other hand on her chest just so she knew I wasn't going to give in. When she relaxed, which didn't take long I would do each paw underneath, then make a big fuss of her when she stood up.
Now with the 3 of them, if I sit on the floor in the kitchen they know it's feet or knots under the pits time and just queue up. They have the same routine for the hair dryer and the grooming table. :D Start
Start your routine early even if you can only manage one or 2 feet ATM their co operation will increase in time.
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Tried a bit this weekend but have to confess to giving up.. his biting has reached an all time spectacular this week (after lulling me into a false sonse of security last week >:D) I've really had enough and am having to time myself out from him at the moment ::) grrrrrr. Meeting Carys & Griffin and Jen and Monty tomorrow so hoping those two will educate him a little in the way of the teeth!!!!!!!! He's driving me nuts! His toilet trianing is brilliant and he doesn't make a peep at night so guess you can't have everything but THOSE TEETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hannah x
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would some small hand held clippers do the trick for the hair on the feet or would it be better to do scissors? have just looked at my monsters ph34r feet and there is no way she would sit and let me do her feet. I would be to scared too incase i cut her leg off :'(
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DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEY!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, have 'done' two paws front and back on his right side... he slept all the way through it.... If you would like to do the same just call Griffin and Monty over for a playdate for the afternoon and the result is guaranteed! Might even brave the other side in a minute :D
Hannah x
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I was just going to start a new post on here. This morning i have just trimmed inbetween Rubys' pads. I was very unsure on using scissors as i did not think that she would stay still. I am a hairdresser and in my kit i have some Palm Pro trimmers by Forfex.They fit into the palm easily and the blade is only an inch wide. They were FANTASTIC ;) Ruby just stayed there and let me do all inbetween. They cost roughly £10 and can be found on a website called salonsdirect.com.