Grooming Tips for Remy?!?

Bill Porter

Bill Porter

Forums Enthusiast
Howdy Folks,

We are now 2+ years with Remy and have been getting into a rhythm with him and his craziness. Remy still freaks out with opening/closing doors both inside and exterior doors, he's terrified of going on walks or really just out the front door, and will cry for hours on long car rides even though he is sitting in the lap of his "mother" and being pampered the whole way. We work through these issues now and have given up on trying to train him out of the unusual behavior. This is just how he is and we hold pride that our dog is truly like no other on the face of the earth :)

When taken to the groomer, Remy pees, he throws up, he overstresses. They say he's wonderfully sweet but he's just so anxietied up that he loses control over his bodily functions. Even having a mobile groomer that parks in front of the house is no better and believe me, we've tried. Therefore, I think it would be better for him if I groomed him at home. In this regard, I'd like some help with what I will need to get this done properly. I have shampoo and hair dryers (3 women in the house), and a really good coat brush. I've seen kits on Amazon that have curved scissors & a thinning shear (with a comb) but I don't know if I need those particular items. I have great/sharp scissors and also a full Wahl trimming set up (we cut our own hair during the first 6 mo of covid). I'm not sure I can clip nails well, but I plan on buying a specific clipper and/or bit for my Dremel.

Would really appreciate any assistance you fine folks might have in this regard.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Bill Porter
a/k/a Remy's Dad
 
PS - I'm not talking about show dog quality grooming here. I'm talking about trimming up the wily fur, trimming the scraggly paws, cleaning the ears and helping clear some of the undercoat. Basic, hot weather Texas trimming for a furball Sheltie ;)
 
Poor Remy for being so anxious but I think it’s great that your wanting to do this yourself, it really isn’t that hard.I’ll post links for some of the things I use, granted I’ve purchased these things over the past 6 years...more as an example of what I use.
For the scissors I use a mid range thinning scissor, you want 47 teeth otherwise it’s choppy and the cheaper you go the faster they go dull. I’ve never had mine sharpened yet...
https://www.renspets.com/products/g...yU3QiUyMnElMjIlM0ElMjJibGFjaytwZWFybCUyMiU3RA this is what I use, I also have a blunt end shears, one with a short blade and one longer. I use the thinning shears on ears and paws and clean up the edges with the regular shears https://www.renspets.com/products/g...TJDJTIydXRmOCUyMiUzQSUyMiVFMiU5QyU5MyUyMiU3RA these are similar to my regular shears.
I use Chris Christensen 20 mm pin brush and a T pin brush and lots of combs.
A regular blow dryer is ok, just make sure you dry on cool as the hot air will dry the coat and skin out. If you want to splurge I use a Metrovac Quick dry blower. This one is a single speed so a bit less in price but it’s loud however if Remy is used to the groomer he’s probably been dried using a blower already. I do find a blower is essential in getting the old undercoat out. For nails I use a Dremel pet...be careful if using a regular Dremel that the speed isn’t too high as it heats the nail up fast.
And of course a grooming table is a must, check out buy and sell sites because you may find an inexpensive one.
Good luck and I can’t wait to see pictures of Remy!
 
We use electric clippers to trim poop chute and feet like Piper's mom. I personally don't trim ear hairs or whiskers, etc. We use a rake, a slicker and a pin brush depending on what is going on with the coat and what the body part is. You can definitely groom him yourself and just give him treats and breaks in between if he seems worked up.
 
LOVE my Chris Christensen brushes! Expensive, but slide through the fur. Some prefer slickers, I have a few but don't like them as well. My personal favorite is a Fusion Oval 20mm brush. I use that initially with Brodie laying on his side and line brush - look for you-tube videos on line brushing shelties. Then I go over with a 16mm t-brush and lastly just run a cheapo comb through the coat to make sure I got all loose stuff. Flip to the other side and repeat. I think I do it backwards, but it works for me.

I use a Peanut trimmer which is a small handheld trimmer, runs quiet. I do feet with that, then dremel the nails, then clean up any stray hair with the peanut again. I always trim the paw hair before the dremel even though it requires a second go round - once I caught fur in the dremel so now I do things my way and don't risk it.

I use blunt scissors for the poop shoot and thinning shears for the ears.

I started Brodie out as a pup. Every day after breakfast he got whatever he would stand for, gradually moving in to the family room, laying him down. All involved lots of treats, or course! The boys now gets uber excited when I ask if mommy should go get the brushes. They consider it like a love fest from mommy where they get all my attention. They love their 'spa day'! I brush weekly or bi-weekly and do nails and poop shoots bi-weekly. Bath time is like 3 - 4 times a year and more involved. It really doesn't take me long to do sine I do it often. Deacon's coat is heavier and does require more attention than Brodie's.
 
First let me say that you folks are AWESOME! I watched some YouTube videos and tried a first run at just cleaning up the paw fur and cleaning the poop area with my Wahl trimmer and #8 blade thingy. I was thinking that should try to trim him up a little BEFORE I bathe him and then go back over. I was going to buy some thinning shears off Amazon but the negative reviews scare me to death. Don't really want to spend $150 on thinning shears when I'm not certain I can do this long term but I trust your opinion on the quality of those: https://www.renspets.com/products/g...yU3QiUyMnElMjIlM0ElMjJibGFjaytwZWFybCUyMiU3RA

I have a really nice corded Dremel (low speeds too) and Remy will lay still for me while I mess with his paws. 1/2 of his nails are black and impossible for me to see quick line. I was thinking that if I just ground and rounded the nails a little, it would be enough but that may be naive of me. I have grinding stones and sandpaper attachments already but do I need a specific grinding bit for him? I also see some sanding discs with paw attachments but don't know if that would work better.

Let me know your thoughts.
 
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