# Grooming a Louie Dog, before and after pictures



## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

OK, I think I'm about ready to start so I took a few before pictures so you could see what I am dealing with. The time/date is wrong because I forgot to reset it. As you can see the face is cute but a mess, he is less than pleased and I think he knows whats coming.










The next picture is his butt, thats leaves not poop. And its just as much of a mess as the face.










The next are a couple shots of him standing in the yard barking at any dog that dares to bark while Louie is outside. You can see he does need a good grooming so we are getting ready to start.





















Ok, Now we are going to start the brushing/combing/Kinky knot before the bath. I'll get more pictures once we get started.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

OK Louie be a good boy!!! You look pretty handsome just the way you are, but it will be easier getting combed and brushed after your haircut!


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

I agree, right now he is a mess and very hard to brush. he is not happy about whats coming but I'm the one that will get the worst of it!


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

I think he looks good in his current cut, but I do understand about time consuming snarls and tangles. Good luck with his new cut.


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

sassy's mommy said:


> I think he looks good in his current cut, but I do understand about time consuming snarls and tangles. Good luck with his new cut.



His current cut is just something I roughed out with scissors a few months ago. Today will be his first real grooming with clippers and scissors. I have a couple hours before I am going to get started because the grand kids will be here and I'll be interrupted every few minutes if I start before they leave.


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## Zoe's Mom88 (Apr 25, 2011)

Louie looks adorable and handsome just they way he is....leaves on the butt and all. :HistericalSmiley: But once he has shorter hair it will be a lot easier for you and Louie when he gets brushed. Hope it goes easy for you both. :w00t: Can't wait to see after pics!!


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

I am curious, does he look like a full blooded Maltese or a mix? I really don't care if he is a mix since he won't be making any puppies or be a show dog. I love him just the way he is, messy or not.


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## Zoe's Mom88 (Apr 25, 2011)

Rocks said:


> I am curious, does he look like a full blooded Maltese or a mix? I really don't care if he is a mix since he won't be making any puppies or be a show dog. I love him just the way he is, messy or not.


Jerry, he looks like a full Maltese to me. I don't see any mix in him at all.


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## Daisy's Mommie (Sep 24, 2012)

Rocks said:


> His current cut is just something I roughed out with scissors a few months ago. Today will be his first real grooming with clippers and scissors. I have a couple hours before I am going to get started because the grand kids will be here and I'll be interrupted every few minutes if I start before they leave.


 
Do most furbaby Mom's let the beautiful white hair grow and grow or do most use the "puppy cut'? I use the puppy cut because of time constraints but one day I would love to let Daisy Grace's hair get as long as it can grow!


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

Daisy's Mommie said:


> Do most furbaby Mom's let the beautiful white hair grow and grow or do most use the "puppy cut'? I use the puppy cut because of time constraints but one day I would love to let Daisy Grace's hair get as long as it can grow!



I can't speak for furbaby moms since I'm a "lets roll in the dirt" garage dog dad. I thought about letting Louie grow out but I simply don't have the time to groom him for a couple hours a day just to see him go right out to rolling in the dirt.


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## ladodd (Jan 8, 2012)

Louie is a handsome guy. I think he's very cute shaggy, but short cuts are so much easier. I keep Lily pretty short, but since I got the 2 babies at 14+ wks, their hair was already kind of long. I've been able to maintain it with daily brushing, weekly baths. They've gone to a groomer twice, but really it was just for a sani trim.


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

Louie knows he's handsome, thats part of the problem! I just don't want to be battling matting every day. His face I did about a month ago with just scissors but now its time to do him from one end to the next. I'm just waiting on the grandkids to go home so I can get started with this. The way it looks I may have to start this battle tomorrow. Oh well, it gives me more time to look at pictures of different cuts and learn as much as I can before I do a full grooming for the first time. I may just get some scissoring done tonight. I can rough out a little before tomorrows battle.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh sigh. Jerry, I spent hours combing MiMi today, because I failed to finish her brushing for days in a row. Now, are you calling tangles MATS? A mat is hair tangled so tightly it is like felt...impossible to comb out. MiMi has had some very nasty tangles, but never a mat. It really takes many days of neglect to develop an actual mat. It is just terminology, but that's what words are for..to communicate. 

Think about it...do you really think a dog gives a flying phluck what they look like? He doesn't know he is handsome, he places no value on being handsome...all he cares about is that you love and accept him...that his soul is bonded with yours.

We love our dogs so much, because they are so innocent, so honest and pure. They have absolutely no concept of the value that we humans put on good looks.
Do they?


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

This isn't my first rodeo, I know the difference between mats and tangles. You may not have known this but I was out of commission for a while after a surgery and the following medications so his brushing was not kept up with for plenty of time for mats to develop. I've been trying to brush or comb them out but they are so bad they are only causing excessive pulling on his skin no matter how much I try and hold it from pulling. I was trying to get them out by bathing him with a good shampoo and conditioner and brushing/combing but I was only getting the smaller ones, the bigger ones are just to bad and too big, mostly around his belly. His back and legs are pretty much mat free, just his lower body got bad and isn't coming out easily. Thats why I bought the Kinky curly knot today this afternoon. I'm planning on using it first to see what I can clear up. He is getting groomed because his fur is getting uneven and growing out wild and I want it easier to manage.

Of course Louie doesn't care what he looks like, why else would he roll in dirt? He seems like I could clean the whole floor except one spot and he'd lay in that spot! :smilie_tischkante:


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## .13124 (Jun 1, 2012)

Rocks said:


> I've been trying to brush or comb them out but they are so bad they are only causing excessive pulling on his skin no matter how much I try and hold it from pulling. I was trying to get them out by bathing him with a good shampoo and conditioner and brushing/combing but I was only getting the smaller ones, the bigger ones are just to bad and too big, mostly around his belly. His back and legs are pretty much mat free, just his lower body got bad and isn't coming out easily. Thats why I bought the Kinky curly knot today this afternoon. I'm planning on using it first to see what I can clear up. He is getting groomed because his fur is getting uneven and growing out wild and I want it easier to manage.
> 
> Of course Louie doesn't care what he looks like, why else would he roll in dirt? He seems like I could clean the whole floor except one spot and he'd lay in that spot! :smilie_tischkante:


I'm going through the same struggle with Cici right now. We were doing so good up until a few days ago, I think she might be changing coats, even though it looks the same to me! But I've read some threads talking about it, so I hope it goes away. I brush her daily, and she still gets tangles, and if I miss a day, it turns into an actual matt that I have to snip off if kinky kurly doesn't fix it. 

And I know what you mean about the last part :HistericalSmiley:. Out of all the places, Cici picks that one spot that's dirty, or where something was spilled. Yesterday she dyed her hair red with some strawberry juices that was spilling from the table:HistericalSmiley:

Goodluck with your battle:chili:


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

Ok, I am getting ready to start. It is a bit cold today so I turned up the furnace to warm up the house and bathroom (Louie gets baths in the tub because he doesn't fit in the sink) I'm going to start with the brush then follow with the Kinky Kurly Knot Today and a comb to get out all the matting I can. Most of the matting is on his under side, belly, and chest. His back and legs have very little matting most of which I can get out with a brush and a comb with a little effort. 

I think to easiest way for me to work on his underside will be to put a leash on him lay him on his back on the floor and sit on the leash so he can't get up. I think its the only way I'll be able to keep his wiggly butt reasonably still while I work on him.

When I use the clippers I'm going to leave it a bit longer at first so I can always adjust to get a better look since its easier to cut a little more rather than put some back.


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## StevieB (Feb 2, 2012)

Rocks said:


> Ok, I am getting ready to start. It is a bit cold today so I turned up the furnace to warm up the house and bathroom (Louie gets baths in the tub because he doesn't fit in the sink) I'm going to start with the brush then follow with the Kinky Kurly Knot Today and a comb to get out all the matting I can. Most of the matting is on his under side, belly, and chest. His back and legs have very little matting most of which I can get out with a brush and a comb with a little effort.
> 
> I think to easiest way for me to work on his underside will be to put a leash on him lay him on his back on the floor and sit on the leash so he can't get up. I think its the only way I'll be able to keep his wiggly butt reasonably still while I work on him.
> 
> When I use the clippers I'm going to leave it a bit longer at first so I can always adjust to get a better look since its easier to cut a little more rather than put some back.


Also, for the first go round, maybe clip in the direction the hair grows, it won't cut as short, but then you can ease your way into the length you want. I like it when the body and neck hair is short, the ears and face are cut blunt (like a bob), and leave the leg hair a little longer. And leave the tail hair long for sure! Louie is a handsome fella! I LOVE the shaggy look - my boy is shaggy too! Post pics when you're done!!


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

Just stopping by to wish you luck with your first go with the clippers. Even after years of experience, it takes me forever to give my dogs haircuts. It seems that I have them completely brushed out, but the clippers get snagged in a tangle, then the hairs that have been cut cause more tangles. Those dogs are so lucky that they don't have to groom themselves.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I want the after pictures


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

OK, here we go. This first picture is a very wet, not happy Louie.











The next few pictures are Louie after the bath running around like a nut.










In this picture you can see Miss Boo in the top right corner by my laptop, I swear I can hear her laughing at Louie. Little does she know she is getting the next bath. I already bought the bandages since she is not declawed, lol.



















As you can tell this may take a few minutes for him to settle down. I'll let him tire himself out a bit before we go on to the next step. I raised the temperature in the house for him so he doesn't get cold. I just noticed he is done running around and is now laying there with his eyes closed so I'll give him a few minutes before we get out the hair dryer. I got lucky and only had to clip off a few of the really bad mats, the rest I wrestled out with the Kinky Curly Knot and the comb. I used a toothbrush with some baby shampoo on his face to get most of the goop off. A little work with fingernails and toothbrush and the goop is gone, still some stains but thats ok, we can work on that later


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

Now that you all had a good laugh looking at the pictures above and I got changed into dry clothes (how did I get wetter than he did?) I'll move on to what happened next.

I used the pearl white shampoo and conditioner on his body and Johnsen's baby shampoo on his head and face. Once he was completely lathered I let him stand for 5 minutes to make sure any fleas he may have would be drowned and dead. He cried like a baby waiting for the rinse and he hated that more than the shampoo and toothbrush on his face. I think I'm going to start with grooming his face first because he gets more figity towards the end and I'd rather get the face done while I can keep him somewhat still. When I do the clippers I'm going to do it with the grain of his fur with the longest clipper comb I have which is 1/2" I'll probably tilt it up a bit to get it closer to 1" on the first grooming so I can see how he looks and then make adjustments if needed.

Now I'm going to prepare the table he is getting clipped on since I don't have a grooming table yet I'll just use a cheap old computer desk I had laying around. I think it will work fine but I'm going to have to make/get the groomers arm thingy that holds them in place. For today I'm just going to have to wrestle with him.


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

It took some effort to tire him out. I had to play fetch with him until he had enough. now that he has worked off all the excess energy I got my work area setup with the clippers, brushes, comb, nail clippers etc. I've almost got him brushed out and ready for the clippers. He looks twice his size now that he is clean and brushed. Unfortunately every time I get him brushed and reach for the camera he takes off and makes a mess out of his fur again so I'm going to have to brush him again after this picture and get right to the clipping/scissors. Don't mind the mess back here, its my work room/studio so I have guitars, parts and other things piled back here.

Here is my work space....










And here is a brushed Louie after I reached for the camera and he made himself a mess again. I'm going to do the final brushing on the work table while the clippers are running so he can get used to their sound.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

Louie says, "What the heck is going on?" Ha Ha Ha!!!


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## Zoe's Mom88 (Apr 25, 2011)

Good luck Jerry or should I say Louie. :HistericalSmiley: It doesn't matter how he comes out...he will still be handsome Louie. In time you will get it perfect.


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

ok, I now know I hate clippers!!!! He squirmed one one pass and some how it got real short in one spot. I have since put the clippers away and I'm doing all scissors (I know you are all thinking OH NO!) But I feel like I have better control with the scissors and its much easier to stop if he moves. So far I've done around his feet and removed some of the bulk on his legs and underside. I've also got part of his face and head done but he seemed to want to take a break. I took pictures but honestly you can't see much difference yet. I also cut off the excess by his privates, you know the part that always looks dirty on a boy dog, thats trimmed down so now when he pees it won't be dripping off fur. I got his eyes more clear so he can see better without hair in his eyes. I also trimmed his butt fur so he can poop without anything clinging to his fur. I'm going to give him some time to relax and then I'm going to get some more done. I'll keep brushing him so I know what needs more work.

I just caught him trying to steal his fur back out of the garbage can, I think he was trying to find a way to put it back.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

Ha ha this is one fun adventure!!! At least for me!!! Can't wait until Louie's done!! He probably can't wait either!!! He'll look handsome no matter what!!!


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

Furbabies mom said:


> Ha ha this is one fun adventure!!! At least for me!!! Can't wait until Louie's done!! He probably can't wait either!!! He'll look handsome no matter what!!!



He is done for today and sleeping on the floor. Little does he know I'm not done for today and his furry butt will soon be back on the table. Now that I've got some of the excess trimmed off I can get a better feel for what parts of him mats the worst. I've noticed a lot of matting on his butt and its way too close to scissor or clip. I think its from him sitting in wet grass. I think the only way I'm going to be able to get the mats off his butt is I give it a good coat of Kinky Curly Knot today and just keep going over it with a brush. This won't be easy and he certainly won't like it but it has to be done.


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## LoveLucy (Mar 18, 2012)

Stealing his fur back from the garbage. That's FUNNY! I spit my diet coke out at the computer screen.


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

LoveLucy said:


> Stealing his fur back from the garbage. That's FUNNY! I spit my diet coke out at the computer screen.


Not only did he steal it back he hid it in a few places. I'm still finding fur in weird places. Now the garbage is emptied so he can't steal it back. I don't get it, when I brush the cats they don't steal the fur back. What was he thinking he was going to do? make a wig?


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## LoveLucy (Mar 18, 2012)

Rocks said:


> Not only did he steal it back he hid it in a few places. I'm still finding fur in weird places. Now the garbage is emptied so he can't steal it back. I don't get it, when I brush the cats they don't steal the fur back. What was he thinking he was going to do? make a wig?


 Oh MY God! Are you trying to kill me here? :w00t::w00t:
That is really funny. I can see your little boy trying to piece together fragments of his former silky self....


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## socalyte (Nov 15, 2010)

Maybe he thinks there's a "Locks of Love" for doggies LOL :HistericalSmiley:


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

He has a thing about hiding stuff. When I give him treats he'll run off with them and I was thinking he was eating them and then coming back. What I didn't know was he hides them and munches on them when he feels like it. He has munchies stashed in a few places. Now that I know I am careful when I give hims snacks to make sure he doesn't have any stashed still. I don't mind if he hides a couple here and there, heck I have chocolate hidden in my desk so I understand hiding munchies for later. I just want to make sure he has finished the ones he hid before I give him more.


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## hoaloha (Jan 27, 2012)

LOL! Jerry, your play by play story of Louie's grooming is so entertaining  I love Louie in his post-bath pics! Those clippers are tricky because one small movement can take a HUGE chunk out-- it's definitely happened to me before~ 

Can't wait to see the final results!

Obi also likes to go after his freshly cut hair and attempt to eat it ::crazy dog::


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

hoaloha said:


> LOL! Jerry, your play by play story of Louie's grooming is so entertaining  I love Louie in his post-bath pics! Those clippers are tricky because one small movement can take a HUGE chunk out-- it's definitely happened to me before~
> 
> Can't wait to see the final results!
> 
> Obi also likes to go after his freshly cut hair and attempt to eat it ::crazy dog::



I know, the clippers are going back. From now on I'll just use scissors and my fingers. I've been trying to get pictures of him after the bath but he seems to know exactly when my finger is going to click the camera and he plops down and licks something.

Here are some I saved out of the ones I took. 



The first one is him after the rough cut with the scissors, he is punishing his chewy, picks it up, gnaws on it and then flings it and chases it down to do it again. You can see I cleaned up some of his face and head with the scissors. 











In this next one you can see where I cleaned up his sides and underside. Now instead of looking like a fat cotton puff you can actually see the taper of his body.










I tried to get his side but he turned at the last second. You can at least see his back and neck after the rough grooming. I'm just trying to even things out and clean up some excess. 











Here is another face angle. He's already got his feet dirty again but I'll worry about that once I finish brushing him out. I'm doing the brushing in stages since he is still a bit uptight after the bath and everything. So I'm brushing him 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there through out the evening.










I got all the goop off his face but there is still staining, at least the fur brushes through, just darker then it should be. I have gone over all of him with the scissors, I was surprised when I found out how much fur was around his feet. I found the legs are the hardest part to scissor trim. I'm still working on them but I have removed quite a bit of excess around his feet and lower legs. I think by tomorrow I'll have him pretty well done. Just taking my time so I can let the fur settle and see how it lays, then I can make adjustments from there.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

You are looking good Louie and I bet you feel better!!!


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

Furbabies mom said:


> You are looking good Louie and I bet you feel better!!!



I'd ask him but after the last brushing he went into his hideaway in my studio. I bought the crate a few days after I got him. It has a nice plush bed with a pillow and I've always just left it open on the floor and withing a couple days he started going in by himself. I have never closed him inside it, I just let him use it as a place to sleep and feel safe. This way if I ever do need to close the door on it he is already comfortable in there.


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## Zoe's Mom88 (Apr 25, 2011)

Jerry.....Louie looks great. Grooming takes time to learn how to work the scissors. I don't really cut but when I do I use scissors. I find clippers difficult to use. I am sure Louie feels more comfortable now and looks handsome no matter what. Good job!! :aktion033:


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## Just A Girl (Oct 13, 2012)

do most of y'all do your own grooming? I would love to try it, but Daisy is too much of a wiggle worm for me! I'm scared I'll hurt her. 

I'm gonna have to get my hands on this Kinky Kurly Knot Today stuff. I've never heard of it till now. Sounds like a huge help. Daisy has a cottony coat that loves to get knotted within less than a day.


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## StevieB (Feb 2, 2012)

Jerry, I thought for sure you would have put a bow in Louie's hair! haha! Just kidding. He looks great! I like how he turned his back to you in his hideaway. I guess that means he's done with the grooming!


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

StevieB said:


> Jerry, I thought for sure you would have put a bow in Louie's hair! haha! Just kidding. He looks great! I like how he turned his back to you in his hideaway. I guess that means he's done with the grooming!



Louie wants your address, he wants to bite you for mentioning a bow in his hair. And yes he was done by that point, I'd surprised he didn't close the door. I still have more work to do on him but today was too hectic. I'm at least going to get some brushing done.


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## zooeysmom (Aug 1, 2011)

Rocks said:


> Louie wants your address, he wants to bite you for mentioning a bow in his hair. And yes he was done by that point, I'd surprised he didn't close the door. QUOTE]:HistericalSmiley:
> Louie is such a cutie!


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