christinme11
New member
Hank Photos
We adopted Hank 7 months ago and he came with a matted and dirty coat. He was terrified of brushes and nail clippers off the bat. His first (with us) trip to a groomer did not go well. We were going to get his nails and teeth done but I believe the groomer was only able to clip a duclaw (which bled) and got a few hits on his nails with a grinder.
We have been able to give him a bath since we adopted him. We use a shampoo and conditioner and bathe him once a month. He is pretty good about baths.
A few months ago, I was able to sit on the couch with him for about 4 nights (separate sessions) and pull apart/out all his matted fur. It took so many hours, but he finally did not have any icky knots and seemed to tolerate it well. After the knots were gone, I used a Fulminator brush on him. I was aiming to get rid of all the fuzzy frayed hair left from the matting, but I fear I should have not done this after reading other posts on this subreddit.
Since then I started very slowly introducing the brush with praise and treats. I have been using a human "Wet" brush. I thought it would be a good start since it is so soft. I now brush him very regularly with the Wet brush to keep his fur from matting. Any advice on brushes that would be better suited to Hank’s coat are welcome. I have looked at all the suggestion posts but am struggling to know what would be best for his type of fur.
We have been working on getting him used to the nail clippers next. I picked up the orange handle Miller’s Forge nail clippers and have been able to clip one nail (which seemed like a huge milestone). He has awfully long duclaws and I am kind of struggling to tell where the quick is on them.
I also am concerned about the hair in front of his eyes and his beard, but do not know how to go about cutting it myself. I have a pair of blunt tipped shears but would like advice on how to eventually go about this.
I am just trying to do right by my dog and keep him well-groomed at home for now since he did so poorly at the groomer’s last time. Hopefully, once he is better trained and less anxious, we can revisit going to see a professional.
Additional Info: Hank will be turning 2 in January and currently cannot take sedatives because of liver issues, seizures, and probable heartworm infection (which is a whole other post).
TLDR: Adopted, almost 2 yo, dog is fearful of all grooming, got matted fur off, used a Furminator (bad, I know), would like advice on maintaining coat and trimming eye/beard hair. Advice on clipping giant hard nails also welcome.
1. Hank when we adopted him
2. Hank after a few baths and a lot of love but before brushing/dematting
3. Hank after the dematting and Furminator use
4. Current photo of Hank's profile
5. Current photo of Hank's face
6. Current photo of Hank enjoying Fall
7. Current photo of Hank lying down
8. Duclaw of shame
9. Unclipped toenail
10. Another unclipped toe nail
We adopted Hank 7 months ago and he came with a matted and dirty coat. He was terrified of brushes and nail clippers off the bat. His first (with us) trip to a groomer did not go well. We were going to get his nails and teeth done but I believe the groomer was only able to clip a duclaw (which bled) and got a few hits on his nails with a grinder.
We have been able to give him a bath since we adopted him. We use a shampoo and conditioner and bathe him once a month. He is pretty good about baths.
A few months ago, I was able to sit on the couch with him for about 4 nights (separate sessions) and pull apart/out all his matted fur. It took so many hours, but he finally did not have any icky knots and seemed to tolerate it well. After the knots were gone, I used a Fulminator brush on him. I was aiming to get rid of all the fuzzy frayed hair left from the matting, but I fear I should have not done this after reading other posts on this subreddit.
Since then I started very slowly introducing the brush with praise and treats. I have been using a human "Wet" brush. I thought it would be a good start since it is so soft. I now brush him very regularly with the Wet brush to keep his fur from matting. Any advice on brushes that would be better suited to Hank’s coat are welcome. I have looked at all the suggestion posts but am struggling to know what would be best for his type of fur.
We have been working on getting him used to the nail clippers next. I picked up the orange handle Miller’s Forge nail clippers and have been able to clip one nail (which seemed like a huge milestone). He has awfully long duclaws and I am kind of struggling to tell where the quick is on them.
I also am concerned about the hair in front of his eyes and his beard, but do not know how to go about cutting it myself. I have a pair of blunt tipped shears but would like advice on how to eventually go about this.
I am just trying to do right by my dog and keep him well-groomed at home for now since he did so poorly at the groomer’s last time. Hopefully, once he is better trained and less anxious, we can revisit going to see a professional.
Additional Info: Hank will be turning 2 in January and currently cannot take sedatives because of liver issues, seizures, and probable heartworm infection (which is a whole other post).
TLDR: Adopted, almost 2 yo, dog is fearful of all grooming, got matted fur off, used a Furminator (bad, I know), would like advice on maintaining coat and trimming eye/beard hair. Advice on clipping giant hard nails also welcome.
1. Hank when we adopted him
2. Hank after a few baths and a lot of love but before brushing/dematting
3. Hank after the dematting and Furminator use
4. Current photo of Hank's profile
5. Current photo of Hank's face
6. Current photo of Hank enjoying Fall
7. Current photo of Hank lying down
8. Duclaw of shame
9. Unclipped toenail
10. Another unclipped toe nail
I hope some of this made sense. Goodluck and happy parenting!