Grooming

Grooming the boys is an everyday task. I do maintenance grooming on them just about everyday, where I will sit down next to them and brush/comb them for a few minutes to a few hours.

Twice a week I get really into it…and what that means is they get up on the grooming table and all the tools come out.

Here we have:
-grooming table
-grooming spray
-grooming coat(complete with brown newfie)
-high velocity dryer
-Mars coat king
-thinning shears
-rake
-small comb
-large comb
-ear cleaner

So first what I like to do is blow their coats with the dryer. This gets a lot of the dust and debris and loose hair out from the undercoat.
Then I mist them with grooming spray to help prevent  breakage of the hair.
I then use the pin brush and go over their coat a few times.
Then I use the wide tooth comb to get to the undercoat.
Sometimes I use the rake and sometimes I do not. It all depends on how much they are shedding at the time.
Then I clean ears, trim nails.
The whole process takes about an hour, sometimes 2 hours on Sherman because at this point in time he has a thicker undercoat than Leroy.

Here is just some of the undercoat I got out of Sherman the other day.

I very rarely use the Mars Coat King because it scares me. I am afraid I will make them bald.
I do very little trimming, I leave that to their handler, the awesome guy who shows them, I will only trim if they are not going to be showing for awhile.
(Gracie tried to trim Sherman once when I wasn’t looking the day before a show and I almost had a heart attack.)

Here is Sherman demonstrating how you do
NOT want your dog on the grooming table.

There is a lot that goes into maintaining their coats.
During show season they are given a coat supplement to help keep their coats nice and strong.
I searched for a few years to find a shampoo that I really liked for them, and worked well for their coats.
Of course there are other secrets that I have, but if I tell you I would have to have Sherman throw a flooger on you.

Now these are the things that I have found that work well for us, but I know many other Newfoundland owners that do things differently because it works for them.

Sherman demonstrating again, how one should
NOT be positioned on the grooming table.
With his butt down.

Here are a few questions we got yesterday:
Amy from The Life Story of Miss Layla wanted to know:
Is there any Newfoundlands born without webbed feet?
-As far as I know No, but I am sure it could be possible. Any Newfoundland that I have ever been in contact with has had webbed feet.
Do Newfoundlands have any disqualifying faults?
–Yes. In regards to showing and breed standard yes there are many, specifically color.
Black, brown, grey, black and white are the only exceptable colors in the U.S. A splash of white is allowed on solid colored dogs on the chest, tip of tail and paws.
Brown and I believe grey are not acceptable colors in Canada, at least for showing.
Houndstooth wanted to know:
How long ago was the breed established
-I had to go to the books for this one and this is what I found:
“The origins of the Newfoundland are somewhat indistinct. The breed may have descended from the Bear Dogs brought over by Leif Ericson in 1,000 AD, or it is possible that the Tibetan Mastiff, on it’s journey over the Asian continent, has a part in the Newfoundlands development.”
“In the 1600’s, a breed of dog whose description bears great resemblance to the Newfoundland was being traded in North America.”

Two Pitties in the City asked:
Do they still have Newfoundland competitions?
Yes.  Newfoundlands can enter  Draft competitions, and Water Rescue competitions where they can earn titles towards these.

Great questions everyone, keeping my mind working!!!

Here is Sherman finally in the correct position:)