First real bath/grooming/trimming

[Mirg]

Simetra had her first real full grooming today! She did great!

Ever since she got here about 2 weeks (?) ago, she had very long nails, a shaggy, untrimmed, dirty coat, and a huge pink stain on her neck from her collar. I didnt want to freak her out after she just got here by torturing her in a grooming session. J/k, Accually, my grooming must be pretty good because A.j. LOVES grooming time.

First i got her in a bath with whitener shampoo. She did great, no whining or howling, but she did act like i was going to kill her when i poured some water on her chest. The bath didnt get all of the stain out.
When she got out, i dryed her off as good as i could with just a towel and brushed her out with my little cat brush for the head and legs and my wire-bristled brush for the body.
After i got most of the loose hair out, i trimmed her nails, cleaned her ears and eyes, and brushed her teeth.
Then came the clipping. I got the hair out from between her toes so that ice would stop getting stuck on her feet. I trimmed her forelegs and chest (i had to trim the rest of the pink stain off). I also gave her an ESS-type head trim (trimming the top of the head and very top of the ears).
After all that, i let her rest in her crate until she was almost completely dry, then i brushed her again to get the trimmed hair all off.

Not only did i do all that grooming, i also washed her collar for her. Spoiled dog.

Dont worry, A.j. is going to get his turn tomarrow. He wont be as much work since i regularly trim and groom him, but he does need a bath!

Also, i measured and weighed all the dogs (these arent all exact). I also wrote down if it was a good size for the breed from AKC.

Simetra:
-Height: 21"
-Weight: 52 pounds
(2" and 12 pounds over AKC's ideal ESS size)

A.j.
-Height: 22"
-Weight: 57 pounds
(2" and 7 pounds over AKC's ideal ESS size)

Sophie
-Height: 19"
-Weight: 50 pounds
(She's a Mutt, so all sizes are right , even though i think she is heavier than she should be, about just 8 months ago she was 20-30 pounds)

Wiener
-Height: 10"
-Weight: 25 pounds
(Good weight for a standard Dachshund, not sure about height)


Over all, Simetra did great with hearing/seeing clippers for the first time. I didnt try her on a grooming table yet, mainly because my grooming table is being used as a computer desk right now. The only problem is that she seems TERRIFIED of standing up in front of someone. If i try to pick her up into the stand position, she starts trembling really hard and you can just see the fear in her eyes. I wish i knew what happened to her at her previous owners.

[TribalRats]

Congrats, thats great.

[SpringerLover]

Aww! I want to see pictures!

You're doing such a fabulous job with her!

Any news on the spay yet?

[Mirg]

Thanks!

I will get pictures as soon as shes done eating.

Not yet, my mom is slacking, i asked her nicely if she could help me find out the right price, she said she would call the vet but she never did. My sister started having bank problems all of a sudden, but, depending on the price, she will probably still be able to help. If not, im sure i could talk my parents into helping and ill work for them instead. Simetra isnt fat at all, yet, but her belly is getting really flabby.

Oh, shes done eating now, ill go take some pictures!

[Mirg]

Ok, here are the pictures, i have a few from before i groomed her, but not very good ones, i should have at least got a picture of the stain on her neck, but i guess if forgot. Anyway, here they are:


Before and after the grooming.



Her newly-trimmed nails.


Her collar after being washed.


Trimmed leg feathering.


Got the hair out from between her toes and off her feet so the ice would stop getting stuck on her feet. She used to sound like a horse when she came in, so much ice was stuck on her feet.


Where the stain used to be, its still faintly there.


Her beautiful trimmed head and ears.









Some pictures of her relaxing.

And, of course, like always, A.j. had to come in and be a picture hog.




You can see my ratties in some of those pictures.

Ok, thats all i got of her. I really wish i could have gotten a "before" picture of the stain, but i guess its too late now. Im really happy with how nice Simetra is looking now. I will take pictures of A.j. after his grooming today, too, even though there wont be much of a difference.

[Mirg]

Oh, and on the standing pictures, that pole is under her belly because if i physically force her into a stand position, she starts trembling really bad, so with a pole there, if she tries to sit down, the pole will make it uncomfortable so she has to stand up again.

[SpringerLover]

She looks so pretty!

[Mirg]

Thanks!

[Estie]

Fabulous pictures!! Don't you just love it when they lay on their backs and just "chill"!??
Cassy is on a little "weight watcher" program right now. We are working on getting her "holiday pounds" to go away!! The vet wants her at 40#'s or below, and when I weighed her last week, she was 43.4! It's not much, but I think the extra lbs. made her lack some energy, but she's looking better already!!

I always call this picture "The Fate of the Rescued Springer"!! Just livin' the good life!!


Thanks for all the springer news!! It's great!
Estie & Cassy-girl

[Mirg]

Lol, yeah, my springers always do. Simetra mainly only lays like that when she is on a human bed, but A.j. constantly is laying like that.

Wow, shes light compared to my springers! A.j. and Simetra are the results of careless byb, unfortunatly. They are both over-sized for an ESS. A.j. is really oversized, everyone who knows dogs good and sees him are always like "Wow! Hes big!".

Lol, cute picture!

No problem! I love sharing Simetra's progress in getting healed and A.j.'s progress in training.

[Rivsky]

Looks like you've done a fantastic job with Simetra - well done!

[Mirg]

Thank you!

[Swiftwind]

You did a great job with grooming Simetra! .. Her lovely feathering on the legs is gone now, though.. but that doesn't change the fact that she's still such a pretty girl.

[Mirg]

Thanks! Yeah, i usually trim off the feathering since i dont show. It isnt too good to have a long-haired dog while out in the sagebrush and weeds.

What suprises me (i just noticed) about the "before and after" pictures is that the hair on her chest and belly look a lot shorter, but i mainly just washed and brushed that hair. I trimmed a little of her chest, but the brushing really made a difference!

Im just about to go get A.j. into the bathtub. Im not looking forward to it, he has never liked the bathtub, im not sure why. Ill take some toys and treats this time and maybe he will calm down. Ill try to get some pictures of him in the bath and ill take "before and after" pictures of him too.

[Swiftwind]

Originally Posted by Mirg

Thanks! Yeah, i usually trim off the feathering since i dont show. It isnt too good to have a long-haired dog while out in the sagebrush and weeds.

Ah yeah, I can imagine she'd get thistles (or whatever they're called) tangled up in her feathers. Good luck washing AJ, I hope all goes well!