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Grooming the Samoyed: Essential Tips & Tricks
| Samoyed Information | |
|---|---|
| Name(s) | Bjelkier, Samoiedskaya, Sobaka |
| Nickname(s) | Smiley, Sammy |
| Origin | Northwest Russia and Western Siberia |
| Weight | Male 20–30 kilograms (44–66 lb) Female 16–20 kilograms (35–44 lb) |
| Height | Male 51–56 cm (20–22 in)Female 46–51 cm (18–20 in) |
| Color | White |
| Life Expectancy | 12–13 years |
A glistening white coat, almost pristine in its after-bath cleanness, is one of the hallmark features of a Samoyed.
A well-groomed Samoyed is one of the most breathtaking and beautiful sights in the dog kingdom.
The admiration your meticulously groomed Sammy will draw, even from the most non-doggy folks, is worth what small portion of your day it will take to keep them looking their best.
Because a “Sammy” has no doggy odour and because their coat will shed most dirt, daily brushing with a pin brush is usually all it takes to maintain an immaculate dog.
Samoyed Grooming Tools:
The bare-bones essentials for samoyed grooming are a good pin brush, slicker brush, and a pet nail clipper.
Nice to have are a stainless steel comb with coarse and fine teeth, a natural bristle brush, scissor and thinning shears.
Absolute luxury means a grooming table, professional blow dryer on a stand and a nail grinder.
Getting Started
Most Samoyed puppies have had some grooming, as the little rascals were probably digging up the breeder’s favourite garden display before you came to see them and have had at least one bath already.
Grooming, however, does not begin with a bath, but rather with daily brushing. You will find that your pup will learn to love it, too.
Adult Samoyeds have been known to jump up on their grooming table, or any table available—in eager expectation of their grooming routine.
A stand-off coat is brushed in the direction of tail to head-just the opposite direction of the way the hair lies.
The actual method is to take the pin brush in one hand and with the other handhold the coat down using this method:
Starting at the neck, just behind the ears, part a section from ear to ear, then with a lifting motion, from the skin out, brush forward.
When you’re satisfied there’s no goose hair or matted fur left, make a second part about an inch further down the neck. Work up a good lather and shampoo the entire coat.
Tricks and Tips
Continue brushing up and out from the skin to the tip of the fur, right on down to the base of the tail. The dog can sit or stand.
When you brush the dog’s sides and around the under part of the neck and chest, it’s convenient to have the dog lie on his side, although it’s not essential.
The Samoyed tail is a beautiful plume. When brushing it, take care not to rip the fur.
The dog’s tail is a sensitive area and gentle brushing is required here. Starting at the base and brushing from the skin out, use the same parting method all the way around until you get to the tip.
On the legs, lift the feathering up and brush from the bottom of the leg to the elbow in front and from the hock to the rump in the rear, still taking one small section at a time to insure that all loose hair and mats are removed.
Now you’re ready to clip the toenails. Grasp the foot firmly but gently in one hand, and with the other clip the clear tip off
where the nail hooks slightly. You can see the quick in a Samoyed’s nail.
Take care not to cut it or the toe will bleed quite profusely. Such bleeding can easily be stopped by using a styptic pencil at the point of bleeding.
Never Brush a Dry Samoyed Coat
There’s an axiom around the grooming tents at the dog shows that says,
“Never brush a dry
coat.”
You are less likely to rip the fur and the end result gives a nice stand-off effect if the coat is slightly moistened before brushing.
This grooming trick can be accomplished with a plastic trigger-spray bottle of cold water—the colder the better. Set the spray on “fine mist.” A light misting of the area you are working will make the end product a beautifully polished, stand-off coat.
Quick cleaning between baths can be accomplished by sprinkling the coat with a 50-50 mixture of corn starch and talcum powder. Just be sure to brush all the powder out, as powdered coats are not allowed in the show ring.
A Sammy who is shedding can develop mats, especially behind the ears; along the neck, back, tail and leg feathering; and underneath the belly. This is where deft hand work is useful.
Most mats can be worked out with your fingers, by gently pulling them apart, and the loose hair removed.
How to Deal with Tough Knots While Brushing
Tougher knots will require a de-tangler. You can make your own by mixing one part Wella Balsam Shampoo with three parts water and using a trigger spray.
You can also buy a professional de-tangler from your local pet store. From here, spray the matted area and work as before.
Really Tough Knots
A really tough mat that won’t respond to treatment will usually give way to the “divide and conquer” method. This takes skill and care not to cut the dog.
What you’ll want to do is slip one blade of a partially opened pair of scissors under the mat near the skin. Cutting through the mat with the scissors in a vertical position, simply divide the mat into smaller sections.
From here, resume working the smaller mats apart with your fingers. Be absolutely certain that no skin is between the scissor blades before you cut!
Remember, if you brush your Dog frequently, you won’t have this problem!
What to do if the knots still wont come out?
There are times when a once-glistening white coat just won’t come up white. This is the time to have your Dog checked for worms or other health problems.
If everything is ok with your pupper, then try putting the Dog on one teaspoon of corn oil daily and add a teaspoon of wheatgerm to their diet. If the coat feels too dry, add a tablespoon of Wella Balsam shampoo to the spray mist you use during brushing. If the problem seems to be a stained coat, use a shampoo with a bluing agent.
If the stain doesn’t respond, then make a paste out of beauty salon peroxide and Ivory Soap Flakes. Spread the paste over the problem area and let it dry. From here, rinse thoroughly and bathe the dog.
Giving your Samoyed a Bath
Once all the loose hair is brushed out, you are ready to bathe your Samoyed.
Place a skid-proof mat in the tub, so they won’t slip. Have a good dog shampoo on hand (or a mild liquid, non-detergent soap), a short bristled brush to scrub extra dirty hocks, a spray attachment for the faucet, mineral oil (a few drops in the eyes), two large wads of cotton for the ears and lots of towels!
Begin wetting the coat with tepid, not hot, or even warm water. Start behind the ears and work down the neck and back.
Apply shampoo liberally over the wet area. Scrub, getting your fingers down to the skin. Wet and scrub again, working loose any stubborn dirt.
Work under the neck and chest, down the shoulders and sides, the front legs, elbows, under the belly and back legs and feathering. Wet the tail and shampoo the top and bottom sides of it.
Now you are ready to wash the ears and face. It is not desirable to put shampoo inside your dog’s ears. This is where the wads of cotton come in. Put a cotton wad in each ear to prevent the shampoo from going in while you are bathing the dog.
Shampoo the stand-up portion of the ear and later wipe the inside of the ear—only the part you can see—with a soft moist cloth. You will find that a no-tears baby shampoo on the face is a good idea until your dog and you have more of an idea of how the bath proceeds.
Rinsing & Drying Your Samoyed
Begin by getting a good grip on the fur under the chin and carefully rinse the face with slow- running water. Start with the
cheeks and top of the head, the ears, and the muzzle. Talk to your pupper and reassure them all the time. At the same time, hold them firmly so the pup doesn’t make for the hills—leaving you to ponder the error of your ways— while he splatters shampoo all over the house.
If water gets in the puppy’s eye, wipe it out with your finger, across the closed eyelid, as you would your own eye. Once the face is done, turn the water pressure up for a good strong spray that will get through that dense coat. Adjust the temperature to make sure that the water is still tepid. Rinse from the back of the ears down the neck, in the same pattern used to shampoo.
Rinse, rinse, rinse! Make sure that all the shampoo is removed.
After the Bath, fluff dry your Samoyed. Gently brush through the coat while aiming warm from a hair dryer at the Dog.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed this article on samoyed grooming, and how to groom your samoyed puppy! Grooming a samoyed is not an easy task by any means, and will require a lot of patience and practice. However, give it enough time and you’ll be a pro samoyed groomer in no time at all!
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoyed_(dog)
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