Hey /r doggrooming! Need advice

[joywillcome37]

Hey groomers! I'm wanting to get my feet wet in grooming my own two dogs. I have two Alaskan malamutes and I keep them brushed and bathed religiously. Recently our groomer has been getting more and more popular and they decided to increase the price to 150/dog which puts it out of our budget, but I don't want them to go without being trimmed. So my question to /r doggrooming is, how did you get started? Are there any tutorials or classes to take? Any YouTube channels or sources I can learn from? What tools do you recommend?

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@joywillcome37 Grooming Malamutes? Your feet will get very wet.

 

[joywillcome37]

@imagebeastmarkbeast I'm prepared, I just need need a tutorial or literature to get me going in the right direction. My gf and I spend about 2 hours on each dog 3x a week keeping them brushed and cleaned. They are indoor dogs with their own window unit to keep them cool, they are walked and socialized near dusk when the sun is going down. They are very well brushed and cleaned, my gf and I just want to try our hands at grooming them.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@joywillcome37 I was making a joke because you said you wanted to get your feet wet lol

 

[joywillcome37]

@imagebeastmarkbeast =)

 

[owaink]

@joywillcome37 There are some good tutorials on YouTube for very simple grooming. Look up "dog sanitary trimming" and some lovely videos should show up. The rule of thumb for sani's is feet/butt/tummy. So cleaning up the foot pads and fuzzies between the toes, cleaning up the private area beneath and trimming hair away from their buttholes so their poop won't get caught it in

For tools, get some good cordless clippers with an adjustable blade. Bravura and Figura are 2 really good ones and are worth the price. Also get comfortable trimming their nails if you don't already. Get a pair of large nail clippers and a dremmel to file them of you'd like. You'll also need hair scissors for the feet, I recommend a small curved set to make it easier to get the shape. Please do not use kitchen scissors. Your dog will look bad, and you will feel bad.

Best of luck to you guys and your fluffybois

 

[joywillcome37]

@owaink We've trimmed their nails and played with their feet all the time so they actually don't mind us trimming it and brushing their teeth. But I was definitely get those, this answer is what I was hoping for, thank you so much. =)

What do recommend to keep their coat flowy and fluffy? It seems when we get them back from the groomer their tails stay fluffy for days, but when we brush them out their tails look fluffy for about an hour then it starts sticking together again.

 

[owaink]

@joywillcome37 There's some sprays you can get, at my salon we use one called Marshmallow Fluff. It smells sooo good and it's amazing for detangling. You can also rub them with Silk n' Finish which is like a hair shining serum that keeps the hair soft and separated

 

[joywillcome37]

@owaink I found the silk n' finish, but I couldnt find the marshmallow fluff ready to ship. Any suggestions? Thank you again, this is exactly what I was looking for!

 

[owaink]

@joywillcome37 Well there's also a similar spray called quicker slicker. That works well too but doesn't smell as good lol. Also I forgot to mention, a force dryer would be a good investment. It'll make your dogs super fluffy and will get some deep undercoat out that the brushes can't reach. You're welcome, happy grooming!

 

[joywillcome37]

@owaink lol yeah I invested in a SHELANDY 3.2HP Stepless Adjustable Speed back when the first one was getting out of puppy phase, best investment ever. Does your salon sell or ship the marshmallow fluff? I'm very intrigued by it, if not thank you and all of /r doggrooming for taking your time to help us out! You guys are awesome.

 

[owaink]

@joywillcome37 I found a link for it (I'm on mobile, sorry)
https://www.marshmellodematt.com/st...ally_'SLIPPY'_to_Dematt!__Silicone-FREE!.html

 

[heatherpedz]

@joywillcome37 With double coated breeds and malamutes especially, you need a high velocity dryer or youre not going to get the kind of finish you get at a pro groomer. It blows out a lot of the undercoat while drying, and cuts the drying time immensely which means no wet dog smell.

Other than that, good deshedding shampoo and conditioner. Brush each through the coat with a rake or curry. Conditioner soak 10-20 minutes. After fully dry, apply a conditioning and detangling spray. Brush with slicker, then comb, then undercoat rake, then a furminator.

After all that, you can also ask your groomer if they do brush outs / pads sani as a walk-in service, and have them let you know if you missed any spots while brushing.

 

[joywillcome37]

@heatherpedz Early on I got tired of using the blow dryer so I ended up getting a SHELANDY 3.2HP Stepless Adjustable Speed Pet Hair Force Dryer and a butterfly tent so I could setup inside to catch all the hair lol, changed the game for me. I will definitely ask though, thank you!

edit/P.S.: In my excitement to add more tools to the dog grooming arsenal, I tried to look up a dog curry....... I wouldn't suggest that

 

[dancibutterfly]

@joywillcome37 Have you ever bathed and brushed one or both of them out on your own before?

 

[joywillcome37]

@dancibutterfly Yes, all the time. I have a deshredding tool an undercoat brush and a wire brush.

 

[dancibutterfly]

@joywillcome37 Okay I just wanted to make sure I read the context of the post correctly. So honestly, youve got the hardest part of the job down! Trimming is technique, which takes awhile to learn but wont be terribly overwhelming depending on what youd like to do. Im assuming you're looking to do something like an outline trim? It is also referred to as a perimeter trim. Where you basically scissor up the belly, furnishings on front and back legs, and the tail? Or are you considering doing an all over haircut where you take one length all over the body with clippers?

 

[joywillcome37]

@dancibutterfly Yes, definitely perimeter trim/shape, we want to maintain their natural shape and coat especially on the sides. We really like how flowy and two tone it looks when they run. =D