It's a Cats Life

NCGIA Cat Grooming School

A couple quick pics.

Monica, the school cat. I love her

My first groom, she started out matted and greasy. Now look at her!

I wish I had gotten a before picture

Winter weather, looks like snow, but it's really ice

 

Cat School!

Today was the first day of cat school and I learned a TON of stuff! Today we learned about the need for cat grooming and what we should accomplish during a groom, the myths surrounding cat grooming, breeds and colors.

Whew!

You can follow along if you like. Rowdy has become my tour guide for this trip and will be happy to show you what I'm doing down here. Check back every day to see what Rowdy got up to!

I'm also getting a cold. Ugh. So I'm gonna take some meds and a hot bath and hope I can avoid anything too bad. More fun tomorrow!

Long Time Gone

Oh, hello there. I, um...I'm sorry I haven't been around much recently. I haven't forgotten you, I promise! And, uh, I...I'll be gone again for awhile. Here, let me explain.

I've been gone from twitter and typepad for no interesting or exciting reasons, I simply haven't been feeling well and sometimes getting up, putting on pants and getting to work was about all I could handle. Of course, I have no exciting reason for feeling poorly. I know, I know! I'm boring.

I'm happy to report I'm finally feeling better! Just in time to head off to Cat Grooming School. Sunday I fly down to South Carolina where I'll be spending 2 weeks immersed in cat grooming. I'll learn so much there, and prove it, too, by taking 9 (NINE!) tests to prove my grooming prowess, cat and business skills and become a Certified Feline Master Groomer (CFMG). I'm nervous! And excited. And nervous!

Heads up: Clip Clip Hooray will be closed January 23 and reopen February 8. January 22 (tomorrow) I'll be closing early, about 2:30pm.

And now a cute picture to smooth things over.

Super Cute. Molly the Cockalier.

At Home Care - Brushing Your Pet Part 1

Kicking off my new weekly posts to help teach the pet owner how to best care for their pets at home is something every pet needs, and that's brushing.

Yup, every pet. Short haired cats, Labs, Shih Tzus, bunnies...no matter what kind of pet you have, if it has hair, it needs to be brushed. Now, it depends on the type of coat your pet has as to how often, why and what tools to use. For example, a Shih Tzu has a non shedding coat, so you'll be brushing to separate the hair to prevent painful mats from forming, NOT to remove lots of coat. But a Husky will need brushing to keep the soft under coat from building up, 'packing' against the skin as well as to kept the hairs separated and from matting. Yes, even a short haired cat or dog can get matted!

But first we need to talk about what to brush with. There are three main tools you'll need. A slicker brush, a greyhound type comb and a detangler. For short haired animals I also like to use a Zoom Groom. These are your basics.

The Slicker Brush comes in several sizes and types. This is your basic hard back brush with wire teeth that are bent slightly at the end. The size depends on your pet and your hands. A tiny brush would take forever to brush a Golden Retriever but might be just right for your Yorkie.

 

I really like these slicker brushes by U Groom, available here at Clip Clip Hooray. They have a comfortable, easy to hold handle, and are large enough for a big dog, while small enough for a smaller pet as well. The best part is the metal pins. Strong enough to actually go through the coat, but soft enough to not hurt the pet.

A very important thing to look for when choosing a slicker is that the metal pins aren't so rigid that they have no give. Gently press your hands against them. If they don't give and feel painful to you, they're too rigid to use on your pet. But, if the pins are very soft and fold down under gentle pressure, they'll be too soft to brush through the coat and the brush will be useless.

Not all slicker brushes are created equal! Be sure to ignore all packaging and advertisement when choosing a slicker. Hold it in your hands, make sure it's comfortable - you won't use a brush that isn't! Check the strength of the pins. Not too strong, not too soft. I can't tell you the number of times a frustrated owner has brought in a tangled Shih Tzu complaining "My brush just doesn't seem to work! But it said it was a brush for small dogs, so I got it." Almost always they're a soft wire slicker brush that wilts at the first touch against the coat.

Now that we know how to select the right brush, let's talk about why we need one. A slicker brush is a great all purpose brush. It has three purposes for the pet owner. First, it will separate the individual hair strands. This prevents mats from forming. Second, it will remove dead hair. Finally, it will help pull apart loosely matted coat. Anything tightly clump will have to be clipped out, it can't be saved. All pets will have hair that either falls out or breaks. These hairs can get stuck in the coat for various reasons and need to be removed. A slicker brush is the best brush for removing these hairs, removing undercoat and breaking apart loose tangles in the coat.

Next, is The Greyhound Comb, or at least greyhound type comb. A one sided metal comb with the teeth placed fairly close together. Often one side is spaced differently then the other. Some are fine/medium for example, with a portion of the teeth very close together and the rest spaced a bit wider.

 
 Using a comb after brushing with a slicker will check your brush work. The comb should be able to glide effortlessly through the coat after a good brush out. If it snarls or gets stuck you'll have to go back with the slicker. The comb is perfect for making sure the coat is 100% tangle free, all loose undercoat is removed and great for picking apart burrs or tangles. But no matter how useful, this should never be used as the sole detangler/ coat remover. It will pull too much on the skin and be painful for your pet.

Finally, a good leave in conditioner spray or coat polish is essential for brushing your pet. Be sure whatever you're using is safe for the kind of animal you're using it on! Remember, anything applied to the coat often will end up licked and digested by the pet, so make sure it's safe.

Remember those Pantene Pro V commercials? Where they showed a damaged, scaly hair shaft? Often matting and tangling is caused by the hair shafted being damaged or scaly. Those loose scales lock together. As more and more damaged hair shafts get locked together mats form. A spray will help smooth the scales down, making it easier to break apart any mats formed and to help prevent mats from forming. 

Here's the thing: dirt is abrasive. And unless your pet is freshly and thoroughly bathed and immediately dried all the way to the skin, he's got dirt on his hair. Doesn't mean he's covered in mud, but he's got dander, dust, and dirt particles on him. These things are picked up outside, on the couch, on the floor...it's just a part of life. And if you brush your dog without being perfectly clean, what you're really doing is scraping tough metal against abrasive dirt, against the delicate hair shaft. Which becomes damaged and scaly, which will then tangle against its neighbors, which will mean you'll brush even more, which will make the hair more damaged...see where I'm going with this?

 I like Tangles Away, since it seems to work for a variety of coat types. It can be tricky finding the right conditioning spray. It needs to be easy to apply, so it doesn't leave greasy patches. Some can be too heavy for a fine coat. It's one of those things you might have to play around with a little to find one that works just right for your pet. You'll want to lightly mist the entire coat before you brush. You can also add more to any trouble areas to help ease the hair apart. Even if your dog is cleaned and perfectly dried out, a nice misting of a conditioner or polish will make it easier to brush everything out, as well as protecting the hair shaft and preventing static.

So those are your basic brushing tools. Useful on almost every type of coat (and yes, a slicker can work wonders on a short haired cat or a Lab!) but there's two more 'brushes' that are very handy for short coated pets, or on short haired areas, such as the back of Goldens or Cockers. First,  the Zoom Groom. This is basically a soft rubber curry comb with conical 'fingers' to massage, loosen and even remove dead coat. It's fun to use a Zoom Groom in the bath, too!

You can use the Zoom Groom in circular motions, or in long strokes with the lay of the hair. This is exellent for loosening up all that extra coat short hair cats and Labs/Pits/Boxers etc have.  

The other is a De-Shedder. Most famous is the Furminator, this type of brush is a short toothed metal blade attached to a plastic handle. Perfect for power removing shedding hair from short haired pets. If fact, it can be so easy and satisfying that you can rather easily abrade the skin or bald the area you're working on! Be careful using these. Don't dig into the coat and constantly check the skin to make sure it's not getting red or irritated. These tools work best after a through brush out with a slicker brush, since they can't separate the hair themselves. Also, loosening up the coat with a Zoom Groom will allow you to de shed less.

My personal favorite is the Andis Power De Shedder. For me it's easier to hold than the Furminator, pulls out more coat more easily than the Furminator and also vibrates!  This type of tool can be used on short and long hair pets alike. Be especially careful to brush and detangle long hair before using to prevent pulling the hair.

All these tools are available to purchase at Clip Clip Hooray. We always carry the best products that we use every day in the salon for professional grooming. In additional to the products above, we always carry a selection of professional shampoos and conditioners for most coat and skin types.

There you have it. Sure there are lots of other tools available to groom your pet with, but these are the most important. Next, I'll be sharing how to use each to get the most out of every brush stroke.

oops

Ok, so I promised to start my weekly At Home Care tips today. But I'm rearranging my shampoos (I got a "new" shelving unit at the swap shop. Yay!) and everything is kind of a mess. And I really need to get that straightened out first.

I'll get Part 1 of brushing up by Friday.

A super cute dog to make up for it!
 

Doing as You Say

Ok. Here's one of my biggest pet peeves about people: they SAY one thing and DO the opposite.

I'm so original :)

All day long I have people telling me how much they love their dog/cat/horse/goat/rabbit etc etc etc. And I believe them. I mean, I love my dog, cats, guinea pigs, horses and my brother (he's kinda like a pet), too! It's easy to understand why people love fuzzy creatures. It's a little less easy to understand why some people love the slimy or scaly critters, but whatever floats your boat! We're taught as children to love, adore and admire the cute, fuzzy and cuddly. We're genetically programmed for it. We release feel good chemicals when we pet them.  We love creatures that want to be with us and will watch bad movies at 2 am without teasing us. That we can complain about our jobs to and will just enjoy the fact that we're talking to them. That waggle and lick our faces. We can imagine they're saying "yeah mom! You totally should have gotten that raise instead of that annoying, back stabbing *%#& co worker! But I love you! You're the best person EVAR!" At least, that's what my dog says to me.

I'm devoted to my pets. Loving them, to me, means making their lives as good as possible. I want them to be healthy, clean, socially capable with both humans and their own species, to eat the best food for them, to play lots, and to be kept in clean, safe environment. So I spend alot of time learning about how to provide all that for them. Instead of learning about food from TV commercials, I read about nutrition and look at the ingredient list on bags of food. I spend time learning about psychology and the hows and whys of training instead of getting seduced by the lastest Big Name Trainer and gadgets. I wash their bedding, groom them before they 'need' it and make time every day to exercise and play with them. To me, that's what loving and owning a pet is all about.

Granted, I'm not perfect. Sometimes I do things wrong. No one can really make their pets life 100% perfect for their pet all the time. But we do the best we can. I strive to keep them happy and healthy. And I think I do a pretty good job. I hope they think so too!

So one of the things that drives me up the wall, across the ceiling and back down is when someone will be kiss-y face with Fido and telling me how much they love him, but Fido has recurring, untreated ear infections and is constantly matted. Or that Fluffy is the best dog they ever had, but Fluffy also bites their kid and can't be around other dogs. Or they love the new puppy so much but Oldie Goldie no longer gets the attention because she's old and boring.

To me, if you love something, you will want to provide the best possible life for it. If you choose to own a pet, you realize you've agreed to provide for that animal for their entire life. Providing not only food and shelter, but mental and physical activity, health care and social skills. Even if you didn't "choose" to have a pet, but have acquired one from the ex boyfriend, kid that went to college or family member that died, you still have chosen to keep him, and therefore should be providing the best life you can.

Now, providing the best life possible for a pet doesn't have to be expensive. Yes, there are a lot of expenses involved in taking care of any living being, but there are ways to minimize costs without sacrificing quality. If times are tight, don't spend $20 on a toy. Knot up an old dish towel and learn to play tug or fetch with your dog. He'll love you for it! Daily checking of teeth, ears and coat can catch problems before they get out of control. Brushing your pet correctly can reduce costs at the groomer's. There are all kinds of ways to save big money on your pets care.

Of course, you have to be careful with where and how you cut costs. Feeding a cheap food might seem like a great idea, but the wrong food will put your pets health, even life, at risk. It can be tricky to find out what will save you money, and what will cost you money.

To help you out, every Wednesday I'll have a post devoted to taking care of your pet at home. I hope to offer some money saving ideas and tips. While every pet needs to have a certain amount of professional care, be it a veterinarian,  a groomer or a trainer, there's alot you can do yourself. I'll kick it off this Wednesday with a 2 parter on at home brushing.