OESG question

[Poochie1]

Suggestions on clipping back a matted old English sheep dog. Ok the lady I work for is a sheepdog person but she is old school. She tells me I should clip them down first than bathe. I think maybe I should wet shave the dog – re-bathe- dry and do a finish clip.

Also: Does anyone have a copy of something that I can show the owner about the health reasons why she should not let this dog get this bad? I think this could be one of those people that I can get on a regular bath and brush routine.

[Debbiedogs]

OES - good luck.

If the OES is "that bad", you already have an uphill battle. Shave the dang thing. Don't try to save coat. Make it easy on you AND the dog, but suggest to client that she return in 8-10 weeks and see if you can do a tidy or a longer trim, blah, blah, blah. That way you don't waste time and effort if owner just wants to get it cut down now and see you in the late summer or again next spring.

I dislike bathing and drying gobs of hair that I'm going to clip later. The thought of wet shaving makes me cringe because: 1) I actually hate working with wet hair 2) I am not going to do the contortions needed to shave that horse in the tub instead of on my hydraulic table!!!!

This does not mean I am right. I am just giving you my perspective. Others LOOOOOOVE wet shaving. Good for them - go to it. Knock yourself out. Do wonderful stuff for ****** clients. Yippeeee. (sorry - getting sarcastic about ****** clients)

My thing with matted dogs is that I use skip blades, not F blades (usually) to shave down before the bath. Skips usually stay sharper longer than F blades, in my experience. 7's will work through more ****, coat and dirt than 5's or 4's. So I let those blades DO the work, and make my life easier. Many groomers just hate their blades touching dirty coat. Different strokes for different folks.

Other people don't like breathing in dirt when they preshave a dirty dog. I don't like it, but I will do it for the relatively short time it takes me to get the coat off.

Just my preference and priorities. If you are using YOUR equipment and would prefer not to use a blade on a dirty dog, then you might be able to make the argument for wet shaving. However, what about the tub?? Will you delay bathing of other dogs while you try this out? Takes a lot longer to SHAVE in the tub than it does just to BATH - could mess up the scheduling for the whole day!! Sometimes we just have to try new things on other days....

[Poochie1]

Oh my!!! I didn’t realize my question was so dumb.

[SwissNChow]

I don't know of any printed material that will help convince an owner to take better care of their pet. I'd explain the reasons to them in person, but other than that I don't know there is much course than either just do what needs to be done each time you do groom their pet and perhaps drop subtle hints now and again. Definitely I would not coddle the client that only grooms their dog occasionally, and their grooms get charged so that my time is well compensated. I don't go out of my way to keep length on a dog when the owners don't take any care with it.

As for the pre-clip debate...I've done it enough to know when it is justified. I do pre-clip some dogs, and others go straight to the tub. If they really are a horrible matted mess, then I am probably going to pre-clip. If it is a dog with a maintained coat, then I am going to bathe first and not do any pre-clipping. I went through grooming school and learned to pre-clip everything. I got out of school and started grooming in reality.

Ultimately though, you work for someone else, you follow their rules. If they are insisting on pre-clipping, then you pre-clip. Some bosses are willing to give you a chance to prove that it isn't quicker, and if yours is like that, then set the timer and prove it. Next time you groom that OES, set your timer and groom that dog in the manner the boss determines. The time after that, set your timer and groom that dog in the manner you think is best. The timer will tell the boss if you are right or the boss is right. Cutting time is better for both you and the boss.

[Briarpatch]

It's my experience that most OES owners let their dogs get pretty bad before doing anything about it. I like to shave them first cause they dry REALLY fast that way. I did one yesterday that was really thick and had some matting. It took me about 20 min. to get it ready for the tub. The dog was almost completely dry after hving it. Put it under the fans until I was ready for it and it was completely dry.

[pinkgroomer]

I would wet save re-bathe and dry too. But I ike too. It is easier for me. It seems to be easier on the dog, I have never nicked a matted dog wet shaving, and I have done some absolutely disgusting dogs. I can get it done quicker by wetshaving, rebathing, finishing than I can any other way.
It was not a supid question Have you ever wet shaved before? It can be tricky the first time or two that you do it.
good luck!

[Poochie1]

Briarpatch- My Maryland friend how much did you charge? And did you use a skip blade?

Pinkgroomer- I have clipped back a wet dog before but not in the tub. I washed the dog and then just toweled it so it would not be dripping wet. I have done this with some rescue dogs that were really badly matted it helps me because I can see through the mats better. OES have a very different kind of fur so I wasn’t sure if it would work or become a train wreck.

[pinkgroomer]

Pinkgroomer- I have clipped back a wet dog before but not in the tub. I washed the dog and then just toweled it so it would not be dripping wet. I have done this with some rescue dogs that were really badly matted it helps me because I can see through the mats better. OES have a very different kind of fur so I wasn’t sure if it would work or become a train wreck.

I have successfully done an OES,a Briard, and several lhasas. As long as you are comfortable with the prcedure it will be fine! As an extra hint, I do hv them while soapy to help pull the dead coat away from the skin, then rinse per usual. I had a table on wheels, I would wheel it to the tub, then put a towel on the table and shave them on hat, so as not to create a slip fall hazard.

[Jadenlea]

I hate wet shaving. No judgement there. I speak only for myself. OES is one of the few dogs I will preshave before bathing.

It takes 10 mins maybe to shave through even a very matted OES, but, if you dont shave it will take MUCH longer then ten mins to bath and dry all the wet matted hair.

[Poochie1]

Thanks for all your suggestions… I chickened out with the wet shave, this dog was very matted. So I did a little of both, I clipped back with a #7 ST. This was the first time I have ever used a ST blade so I was careful not to get to close to the sensitive areas. Then bathed, conditioned and wet shaved the rest of the mats with the #7 FB.

I also spoke to the owner, I had a huge pelt that I had clipped off the dog and I held it up and explained why this was so bad for this dog’s skin. I told her she had to either get the dog clipped more than one a year or she had to start brushing him on a regular basis. I hope I got through to her… We can only try…

[4Sibes]

Yup. 7Skip blade prior to bathing is exactly what I would I have done. Good call.
I'd type alot more...but Debbiedogs saved me the trouble, .
I pick and choose my battles...and a matted OES is not a battle I chose to pick.

[onions]

Old school here... strip 'em down with a 7skip, 10 where necessary...throw 'em in the tub, air 0r fan dry..quickie go over with 7f, trim feet & head & scissor those "spots" on the legs where the hair "hides", do head...DONE!!!

Sheet....I'd MUCH rather do a OES strip than a "puppy cut" on those beasts!

And "surprise!"....I have 2 matted OES coming in next week....spring shavedowns, yippee!!!

I wouldn't even waste my breath trying to explain upkeep on an OES....no one will or can do it proper & they sure don't wanna pay for it.....