Small Dogs Need Grooming, Too!

Houdini is one of the small dogs that don't shed ... he is the perfect example that grooming is essential for these little guys.

Maltese have hair, not fur like most dogs ... in other words there is no undercoat and he must be combed, brushed, trimmed and cut, or his hair will continue to grow, like humans, until their hair reaches the floor.

We call these grooming sessions laughingly a "spa day" .... everyone in the neighborhood knows about Houdini's spa days ... lol!

The routine begins with a flowbee cut ... now I don't know if you remember the flowbee from TV, but these things are great! They hook up to your vacuum and it hair is literally sucked into the trimming head ... it has several spacers that allow you to trim as much or little as you want off your pet. The really neat part is there is no messy hair flying around ... too cool!

Actually their are human and pet flowbee models and we have the human model because BigAl began using one on his head many years ago! For the Pet Flowbee you can click here ... it is worth its weight in gold ... do you know how much money they want to groom a Maltese these days? YIKES! In my area it runs about $55 per session. You can pay for one grooming or buy one of these "bad boys" and have a lifetime of use!

Next on the menu of grooming services is the scissor clip for around the face, eyes and paws ... it is very important to make sure that the hair between the pads on the paws are clipped short ... paws that never dry out can get a yeast infection.

Houdini's very favorite part of spa day is the bath ... NOT .... I don't know why he hates this part so much. We always use warm water, he gets a wonderful massage and he has our total attention for at least 10 minutes while the shampoo whitens and brightens his coat, but alas, he would rather do just about anything than to hop into the sink. We use a special soap for white dogs Synergy Groomer's Blend Ultra White Shampoo, 17.3 Ounce this stuff works like a charm ... it keeps Houdini in dog show condition! A quick rinse with conditioner ... remember he has hair, not fur and he is ready for the blow dryer!

Once dry, we finish up the session with the toe nails. The best thing that we have run into is the nifty pedipaws gadget that actually files the nail rather than cutting. How many times have you accidentally cut into the quick because you couldn't see it .... well, this totally eliminates that ... the PediPaws Pet Nail Trimmer is the BEST!

Small dogs that don't shed are truly the best, but they do require attention to look their best