# Short-haired grooming plan



## MollieLoo95 (Feb 24, 2013)

Hi there,
I posted this because I see so many people taking their Labs/Beagles to the groomers when they could just do it at home! Here's a schedule that I use for my Lab. Perhaps I went a little overboard on the different kinds of brushes, so if you want you can pick and choose which ones are right for your dog.

You will need:
-Flea comb
-"Curry" brush
-Wire brush
-Soft bristle brush
-Nail clipper
-Gentle dog shampoo

Every week:
Every week, start with a thorough currying. This brings all the loose hair and dirt to the surface. Follow with a quick wire brush to get out some of the hair that the curry brought up. *Be very gentle with this brush.* Then do a quick flea-combing. (You can skip this step if you want, but I find that it gets out lots of dirt as well as hair and the occasional flea or two.) Follow it by a more thorough wire brushing, then use the soft bristle brush to slick everything down. Most dogs love this step!
Now, trim your dog's nails. I think there's a thread for this in the dog forum by someone else.
Every month:
Every month, do a thorough weekly grooming and then it's bath time! Massage some shampoo into your dog's coat and work it thoroughly around the hairs. Then rinse it thoroughly and dry your dog. You can use a human hair blow drier if you want it to dry faster.
As a last step, do a quick wire brushing and a soft bristle brushing to make your dog's coat shine!


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Most people dont have time to do this, dont want to, or dont know how and would rather pay a professional.  I am happy to be the professional. There are things that a good groomer does with short coats that one simply cannot do at home unless spending hundreds of dollars on equipment. And the people that do "groom" at home can tell a huge difference between when they are done, and when a pro is done. I am a huge advocate of maintenance at home, but it is not the same as a professional grooming.


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## MollieLoo95 (Feb 24, 2013)

Graco22 said:


> Most people dont have time to do this, dont want to, or dont know how and would rather pay a professional.  I am happy to be the professional. There are things that a good groomer does with short coats that one simply cannot do at home unless spending hundreds of dollars on equipment. And the people that do "groom" at home can tell a huge difference between when they are done, and when a pro is done. I am a huge advocate of maintenance at home, but it is not the same as a professional grooming.


Oh, I hope you didn't think I was saying anything against professional grooming. I personally think that dogs that go to professionals are frankly much nicer-looking than ones that are groomed at home. Home groomers (like me!) just don't have the knowledge and tools to do it like a pro. I was just trying to help out people who don't want to spend money going to a pro.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

You're far more ambitious than I am. My short coated dog gets nails dremeled weekly and gets a bath twice per year. I still get people stopping me on the street to comment on his shiny, healthy coat so I'm cool with my pattern.

My short haired dog "grooming" tip is a good quality food. I notice a huge difference when I switch a dog from a low-protein, high-grain food to a higher protein, low or no-grain good. I don't have to touch the dog's coat for it to get shinier, thicker and shed less if the food is better as a starting point.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

My dog is partially wirehaired and she never gets any special grooming. She looks great--shiny coat due to good food, like Shell said.


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## Sparkelina (Feb 1, 2013)

Thanks Mollie... this is helpful to me. My new kid Zoey sheds like a maniac compared to my last Chi & im learning how to manage it. 

someone here already recd a curry brush (which really gets that hair out) but i was wondering what to do as the next step


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

Shell said:


> You're far more ambitious than I am. My short coated dog gets nails dremeled weekly and gets a bath twice per year. I still get people stopping me on the street to comment on his shiny, healthy coat so I'm cool with my pattern.


This. I don't have time and don't want to go through all of your steps. But I'm also not gonna pay a groomer to do it. Luckily, my dog doesn't need it. Her coat is soft as a rabbit, clean, and shiny with an occasional bath (like a couple times a year), minimal brushing, and good food. I don't even clean her ears. The vet loves her coat condition and she's never had a hot spot or ear infection. I say don't fix what ain't broke.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I don't even groom my longhaired dogs that much. Mine get a brushing once a month or so. I'm bad.


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## MollieLoo95 (Feb 24, 2013)

Shell said:


> You're far more ambitious than I am. My short coated dog gets nails dremeled weekly and gets a bath twice per year. I still get people stopping me on the street to comment on his shiny, healthy coat so I'm cool with my pattern.
> 
> My short haired dog "grooming" tip is a good quality food. I notice a huge difference when I switch a dog from a low-protein, high-grain food to a higher protein, low or no-grain good. I don't have to touch the dog's coat for it to get shinier, thicker and shed less if the food is better as a starting point.





Kayota said:


> My dog is partially wirehaired and she never gets any special grooming. She looks great--shiny coat due to good food, like Shell said.





GottaLuvMutts said:


> This. I don't have time and don't want to go through all of your steps. But I'm also not gonna pay a groomer to do it. Luckily, my dog doesn't need it. Her coat is soft as a rabbit, clean, and shiny with an occasional bath (like a couple times a year), minimal brushing, and good food. I don't even clean her ears. The vet loves her coat condition and she's never had a hot spot or ear infection. I say don't fix what ain't broke.


This schedule is not so much a plan to a healthy coat, which I totally agree can be due to a healthy diet, as a plan to reduce shedding. I do notice that my dog sheds a lot less (because I'm weekly removing all the hair) when I do this plan.


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## MollieLoo95 (Feb 24, 2013)

Laurelin said:


> I don't even groom my longhaired dogs that much. Mine get a brushing once a month or so. I'm bad.


You are SO not bad!! Everyone has their own ways of grooming. This is just what works for me .


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## Groomer (Mar 26, 2013)

I have about 15 weekly clients right now who bring in short haired dogs for baths. Its just easy to drop off, go pickup groceries, pay $30-50 and go on their way. They just don't like getting messy, wet and then cleaning up the bathroom!


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