I am a new owner of my first mali. Her 11 week old nails are very sharp, is it to early to clip them. And I have had other shepards in the past , how often do you all recomed a trip to the groomer?
We always do clip them ourselves just when it is time to do so. We start with the puppy's at the age of 12 days, second time with 25 days, once in the 2 weeks till they leave to their new parents.
After the age of 12 weeks for most of the dogs it is not neccesary anymore. It is really easy to do it your self but you must know how to clip, if you don't know or don't dare just go to a groomer or your vet.
I have naver clipped the nails of my Mal. If you walk or play with him on a rough surface it isn't necessary they wear of naturaly. ANd about grooming euhh i rather train my dog than groom him so it is down to necessity when he is shedding his coat and for the rest he is self-cleaning (lucky me )
I agree with Johan although we have a very different type of dog.
I never clip the nails of my dog and they are never too long. With regards to grooming, I only brush my Terv maybe once per month (and then mostly his hind legs) or when showing (which is a lot less than last year). When he is shedding I comb him more often but that also depends on my mood. While shedding I comb him once or twice very throuroghly which may take a few hours and Yentos really enjoys this but I do this myself and I don't take him to the groomers because they wash him and blowdry him. He is now 6+ and he has only been washed with shampoo once. When the dog has a good coat they don't need to be washed and need too much grooming and that should also be the case for show dogs.
One tip: when a dog is shedding, take him for a swim and let the dog dry in the sun. You will see it snow in summer but this is a way to get the dead hair out a lot quicker with less brushing and grooming.
Saskia
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Well I never cut nails either, since I do bealive when running or playing a lot that problem is not existing. Regarding the grooming. I do wash my dog from time to time, and now when he is sheding a lot I brush him like one a week. For me him beeing clean is important since he stayes in the house and sleeps in bed. My dog loves brushing or any activity with me so that is not a time wasted in any way.
Yentos also stays in the house and he also enjoys the grooming but I try to limit is because it is better for his coat. You just need to check for clitting now and again. Of course, when we have been training in the mud, I will brush him to avoid my whole house being covered with sand. Yentos is a low maintenance dog.
Saskia
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He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
Wargas (mal) nails grow like grass I started to cut them when she was a puppy, cut them when she was sleeping or really tired. Then I accidentally cut too much a couple of times and she really hates it now, every time it is time to cut nails it is a big argue But I try to cut at least twice a month, if I've been lazy with it for a month, her nails are very long and I hate it. I only brush her when she's shedding. She's two years and I maybee shampood her a couple or three times, but that's been when she's been rolling around in something really disgusting, like when fertilizer (cowpi and poop) was newly put on fields...?
I'm new and I hope I'm doing this right. I groom a tervuren,every two weeks,brushing and every six weeks a bath,and all that for almost a year. My customer went to his previous groomer for a bath every month. I told them that was too much,therefore we changed the schedule. Shaman,is five years old,and his coat looks awfull.Very dry and the hair breaks when I comb him. The owners say that they never had problems like this before.What am I doing wrong?? Is it me??I only use naturel products on him. They changed his food last year,and he has no thyroid problems. Can anybody help me??? Thank you.Flavie.
Not that I am expert at grooming or anything but this doesenīt sound like a grooming problem. We donīt bathe our dogs a lot (probably like 2-3 times a year) and we brush them arround every 6-7 weeks.. Raider a bit more sometimes especially when shedding.
It is probably either that dog needs more vitamins, minerals or on the other hand there is a problem with brushes (now every working person is probably already laughing their asses off but anyway) I did a little reading on internet and it can be brushes fault.
Maybe someone will give you a hands on experience since our two boys are pretty healthy and problem free.
Raven
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Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. ~Dandemis
We donīt bathe our dogs a lot (probably like 2-3 times a year) and we brush them arround every 6-7 weeks.. Raider a bit more sometimes especially when shedding.
I recall the we did give both dogs a bath last year only once . Well, we do have our dogs in the apartment and when they come home really shitty we only use water ( no shampoo ) to take away the dirt. The shampoo destroys the long haired varieties "undercoat". Its ok to brush the dog, but not more then a few times every year. Only brush more when the dog is shedding.
If the dog you are grooming eats same food as he did before, then there maybe isnt a problem with vitamins. It can also take some time before the coat starts showing that too much bath with shampoo is not good.
hunden
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Yentos goes for a swim and that is it. No baths no shampoo - nothing. A dog with a good coat does not need a bath because it is self-cleansing.
The only time he has had shampoo on his coat was when he came back from a walk really smelly and it had to be done for my sake.
Combing is only needed when I feel that it is needed. I run my fingers through the coat and determine that it is necessary. Otherwise not. I gets a thourogh brushing when I have show. When he is shedding I comb him more often.
What you can do is add olive oil to his diet. One spoon per day over his food. I works beautifully against dry hair.
Saskia
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He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
Thank you guys for your reply.I'll see him tomorrow,and discus this. Tonight I'll talk to his breeder,I just got her number,and pass on this site,I hope she speaks English!! Greetings,Flavie.
Wargas (mal) nails grow like grass I started to cut them when she was a puppy, cut them when she was sleeping or really tired. Then I accidentally cut too much a couple of times and she really hates it now, every time it is time to cut nails it is a big argue It was that way with my guy too. It was a huge argument. Until I bought a grinder. Now he sits and hands me his paw.
Hi, my Mals front nails are unevenly a bit long. I only trim them when we go to the city or I know I'll have alot of company over. I'll explain why. My Mal runs on a turf track that's a cement base with sand/clay as the filler. My horses have Queens Plates that have a grip only on the toes, my Mal when her nails are cut she struggles to keep up and she's hitting harder in the fronts to get that grip to pull her body forward lightly (cut nails slows her down on turf and make her dig her fronts to the base), a horse will have the same problem without the Queens Plates. She's a much happier dog with her front nails natural to daily elements, when her nails are cut she doesn't give up, but the horse and I is way further infront of her and she frantically cries while running because she's used to being right there with us. I also noticed with her front nails cut, she has a harder time climbing up my mountain at speed. We go scouting regularly on horseback, and going up on an incline her nails work as grips on the side of the mountain. Just a few things I notices.
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. Well, we do have our dogs in the apartment and when they come home really shitty we only use water ( no shampoo ) to take away the dirt. The shampoo destroys the long haired varieties "undercoat". Its ok to brush the dog, but not more then a few times every year. Only brush more when the dog is shedding.
