How to groom a dog who behaves like a bucking bronco!

August 16, 2009 8:58 AM

Can anyone please give advice on how to snip a couple matted areas from our rambunctious Newfoundland dog without anybody being hurt?

Our Newfoundland dog, Daisy, who is a year and a half old, has developed a couple of matted spots around her ears. We somehow missed these as they developed (bad parents!), and now we'd like to snip them away. Problem is, she's a very playful and strong dog, and weighs over 100 lbs, and when we brush or groom her, she thinks we're playing, and thus she bounces and bucks and wants to play or nibble at our hands. She's still very much a puppy and rarely has any time when she just wants to sit and enjoy being petted - mostly she wants to actively play with us, so when we brush her, it's quite a chore sometimes.


We have sheep shearing clippers, and scissors of course, so I'm seeking advice on how two people (wifey and I) can quickly and easily clip these matted spots away (very near her ears) without incurring too much damage to ourselves!

posted by newfers to pets & animals (13 answers total)

How does she respond to treats? Does she like peanut butter? You can try having one person hold a spoon with some peanut butter (takes a while to lick off, you know) while the other one clips. Depends some on her reaction to the sound of the clippers, too - if you can get the matted bits with scissors, that might work better if you're comfortable that she'll eat the peanut butter and not jerk her head around.
posted by dilettante at 9:03 AM on August 16, 2009

I have no advice (aside from dilettante's) for keeping her still, but make sure to use blunt-tipped (also called ball-tipped) grooming scissors.
posted by The Deej at 9:09 AM on August 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

Do not, I repeat DO NOT use scissors! Even if they are blunt tipped. If they are bad, take her to a professional groomer and not petco or pet smart. Some clippers are better than others. Whatever you do, be careful and good luck.
posted by TheBones at 9:13 AM on August 16, 2009

My wife IS a vet and she says that the price for a visit to the groomer is alot cheaper than the price for a visit to the vet for cutting your dog.
posted by TheBones at 9:22 AM on August 16, 2009 [2 favorites]

Do not, I repeat DO NOT use scissors! Even if they are blunt tipped.

Yes, this. Especially around the ears. I've accidentally cut my dog's ear trying to do the same thing. There are a lot of folds of skin around the ears, and it's easy to mistake furry skin for a mat. Get electric clippers, let them buzz for a bit while she sniffs it and understands it's ok, then starting at the base of the mat, next to the skin, start clipping. You'll have to do a lot of short, chopping-type motions with the clippers. It's hard to explain without a visual aid, but it's kind of like chopping wood with an axe. You'll make a "chop" with the clippers, pull them out of the mat, make another "chop" etc, until the mat falls off.

As far as getting her to sit still for this, I like the peanut butter suggestion above. I've also noticed with my dogs that they love having their necks massaged. If you grab that big handful of skin right under her collar (the skin that her mom used to carry her around by when she was a puppy) and just sort of knead it, that sholud relax her. I can usually put my dogs to sleep with neck massages. Of course, your dog weighs a good deal more than mine, so you may have to be more creative in the sitting still part, or enlist another person (one for peanut butter, one for neck massages and one to clip).

Good luck!
posted by dogmom at 9:32 AM on August 16, 2009

I was going to suggest doing it while she was asleep, and then realised that the clippers would wake her up (and probably scare her).
posted by Solomon at 10:00 AM on August 16, 2009

I was going to suggest doing it while she was asleep, and then realised that the clippers would wake her up (and probably scare her).

You obviously don't have much first-hand experience with dogs.
posted by jayder at 10:24 AM on August 16, 2009

(Meaning, the fact that you would ever think you could do something to the dog while it's asleep suggests you've never experienced the razor-sharp alertness to their environment that even sleeping dogs have!)
posted by jayder at 10:26 AM on August 16, 2009

Take a look at a Hair Cutting Razor Comb (Google for other options). Cheap and effective. I've used them successfully on both dogs and cats over the years.
posted by torquemaniac at 10:41 AM on August 16, 2009

Do it while she's sleeping.
Get her used to being rolled around a bit and inspected. (Especially with her being such a lump :) It's good when cats know the "other side now" cues.. but it's really handy with a great behemoth of a dog.)

Check for ticks, look in her ears, poke around for mud in her paws, peek in her mouth - all that kinda stuff. They build trust and get used to it pretty quick. But best of all a lot of tedious tasks can be over before they even know it's happening!
(Never dread ear medicine again.)
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 11:08 AM on August 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

Have you tried playing with her for a couple hours first to wear her out? Take her to a dog park or just run around in the back yard with her for a good long time, then she might be tired enough to sit still for some quiet petting time, giving you a chance to clip them off. (Of course if they are bad or difficult to get to, seconding taking her to a groomer.)
posted by platinum at 11:33 AM on August 16, 2009

Definitely nthing taking her to a groomer, but for future reference, when it comes to keeping her calm for brushing/combing, I've found that almost every dog gets almost mesmerised if you take its ear and rub it gently between your fingers (picture picking up a piece of velvet fabric in your hand a rubbing it between your thumb and index finger). Doing this ear-massage with one hand keeps them quite still while you brush with the other hand.
posted by Oriole Adams at 12:31 PM on August 16, 2009

Seconding the razor combs torquemaniac links. I just got some and used them on my skittish Chow-Pyr. I got huge chunks of matted fur cut off that I couldn't get with any other method. No way to cut the dog with them, either.

Also, furthering the peanut butter advice: I haven't tried this, but my sister smears peanut butter on her refrigerator and lets the dog lick it off while she grooms her. Says it works very well.
posted by bricoleur at 1:39 PM on August 16, 2009