Grooming pet-peeves

I was wondering what pet peeves you have about the dogs grooming/appearance.

Long nails is my biggest pet peeve... I can't stand long nails on dogs at all, for some reason I always notice the dogs nails. I always want to say something about long-nailed dogs but am afraid that I might hurt someones feelings or an argument will start. I know I should say something because it affects the dogs health but unless I can offer some help (like clip the nails myself) or it is a good friend/family member I usually just shut up.


Of course I have other pet peeves (almost anything that has to do with the dogs health & level of comfort). Like matts on dogs. Luckily I don't see matted dogs nearly a sixteenth as much as I see long nails. Runny stained eyes and very long fur on the feet too (mainly if the fur is VERY long & the dog has mobility issues or lives with a lot of tile/wood floors etc..).

I don't like to see:

- Long nails
- overly fuzzy feet
- overly long, fuzzy fur on ears
- long, messy leg featherings
- dirty teeth
- matted coats
- dirty, greasy feeling coats

I like a neat, tidy looking dog like the ones you'd see at shows....

For me it's nails too!
I carry nail clippers with me when I visit family and friends houses and I offer to clip nails all the time!!! :D
Dirty ears bother me too, but that's more health than grooming.

I don't like to see dirty ears either, or long nails. Matts are probably my worst pet peeve though.

Matted fur!! :mad: :mad: This really bothers me. If you could have seen my Ripley when I first saw him you wouldn't have looked twice. He was a mess. Fortunately for him (and me!) I was able to see the wonderful little guy underneath all of those mats and mess. Why don't people research breeds and see what is involved, as far as grooming, before they select a dog. :mad:

Long nails bother me too, and Ripley's are longer than I would like. His nails are black and when I first got him I cut one of them too short and it bled. I have been trying to cut less each time and just do it more often but they are still longer than I would like.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pitc9

For me it's nails too!
I carry nail clippers with me when I visit family and friends houses and I offer to clip nails all the time!!! :D

---

OMG, I do the same thing! I have 4 pairs of nail clippers, I keep 2 pairs at home, one at work & one in my car. (yes people bring their dogs to my work so I can clip their nails) LOL

Jillian and Frankie both have long nails. Frankie has to go to the vet to get his trimmed which is $12. Jillian's risk of seizure is to bad to put her through it often.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pam

Matted fur!! :mad: :mad: This really bothers me. If you could have seen my Ripley when I first saw him you wouldn't have looked twice. He was a mess. Fortunately for him (and me!) I was able to see the wonderful little guy underneath all of those mats and mess. Why don't people research breeds and see what is involved, as far as grooming, before they select a dog. :mad:

Long nails bother me too, and Ripley's are longer than I would like. His nails are black and when I first got him I cut one of them too short and it bled. I have been trying to cut less each time and just do it more often but they are still longer than I would like.

---

You have a heart, thats why you were able to see past his messy matted fur. I love people like you!

Raustyks nails are a little longer than I'd like them to be and I clip them twice a week. :eek: She obviously came from a BYB or puppy mill. Her nails grow funny, like straight out not really curved that much at all and her quick fills up the entire nail. My vet said she has seen it before in some Rotts & Greyhounds that came from bad breeders. Its hard to explain without really looking at them but it's kind of difficult to trim them. Her nails are also black and they also grow WAY faster than almost every dog I have ever met before.

Ginger's nails are hard for me to clip, her quick is also like that, fillnig the whole nail and they are pretty long. I cut the front off and square it down to make the breakover easier for her but with her bad arthritis she doesn't walk much either to it's a constant chore. Cracker's one bad thing is i can keep his eye stains away no matter what I do. I have bought and tried everything but the sun makes his eyes water so much because he's white that nothing seems to help. I'm glad his nails stay short! I hate seeing matted dogs that have never seen a brush. I knew I didn't want to spend a lot of time brushing, they only get it once a week or so, so I got a short haired dog.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lv4dogs

Raustyks nails are a little longer than I'd like them to be and I clip them twice a week. :eek: She obviously came from a BYB or puppy mill. Her nails grow funny, like straight out not really curved that much at all and her quick fills up the entire nail. My vet said she has seen it before in some Rotts & Greyhounds that came from bad breeders. Its hard to explain without really looking at them but it's kind of difficult to trim them. Her nails are also black and they also grow WAY faster than almost every dog I have ever met before.

---

I absolutely hate long nails on dogs, I am obsessed with nail cutting. But...Shadow's nails are really long, and I am sooo afraid to cut them. They are just like you described Raustyk's. They are impossible to cut because of the quick, they're black and they grow so fast!! And on top of it she absolutly HATES it, we usually have to take her to the vet to get it done but they can't take much off either, and of course she behaves perfectly for them :rolleyes: I try to take a little off each week but its impossible. :(

But nails, Mats and long fuzzy feet, I can't stand.

For me it's long nails and mats. My other pups nails I keep fairly short, but Nikka's nails are a lot longer than I'd like, but she's so nail shy I can't clip them, she requires a trip to the vet. Last time they had to muzzle her, it took 2 techs to hold, 1 to clip and still took them about 45 minutes. They were almost ready to give her a tranquilizer just to mellow her. She'll let us do anything else, needles, clean teeth, ears, whatever, and usually adores the vet and techs, but don't touch her nails.

I don't like smelly dogs! DBF's parents have a very sweet old chow chow (Susie)who doesn't get bathed or groomed very often and she frequently smells, and my hands come away oily when I pet her. :(

Mats are another one, but I know that every now and again a little one slips by my attention on Wilbur, but I always end up taking care of it quickly. Susie's hips and behind her ears gets really matted and makes me CRAZY because it's really obvious and wouldn't be that hard for them to spend five mins a day brushing her. Heck, I brush Wilbur almost every day and I don't live with him!!

I try to keep my dogs' nails trimmed weekly, but they've both got solid black nails and I'm scared of trimming too deep so I just nick off a tiny bit frequently and haven't had a problem yet.

I also hate long nails on them, I hate seeing people bringing their dogs into the shop and being so mumsy to them and being really fussy only to see the dog is matted solid and has "curly" nails, That makes me so mad, I understand dogs dont always like it done but surely the nails growing up into the claws must hurt alot more?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Muddy4paws

I understand dogs dont always like it done but surely the nails growing up into the claws must hurt alot more?

---

Oh I know, even when they are just plain long & not growing into the pads (I think you ment pads instead of claws) they must hurt a bit when the dog walks, they hit the ground before the pad does so it has to put a lot of pressure on the nails instead of the bottom of the pads like it's supposed to be.

Shaved dogs that aren't supposed to be shaved. Which includes those people who get their dogs fur shaved once a year, and that's all the grooming their dog gets simply because they're too damned lazy.

Also, I guess it comes from being good friends with Amy but when Huskies/thick undercoat dogs have clumps sticking out. I just want to tear them all out LOL.

Okay.. another one. When you pet someone's dog and you get a nasty filmy dirty residue on your hands. GROSS.


My dog's nails are looking pretty bad right now. I've been working and so busy I haven't been able to clip them weekly like usual - but, however hypocritical at the moment, that bothers me to no end. There's no reason to let a dog's nails get so long. My brother just adopted another kitty and the first thing I made him do is buy clippers so I could clip her nails! They were gross.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kfamr

Also, I guess it comes from being good friends with Amy but when Huskies/thick undercoat dogs have clumps sticking out. I just want to tear them all out LOL.

---

I know what you mean, Nanooks hair is like that. It bugs the crap oout of me, but no matter how much you brush you'll always find them. LOL
For some weird reason I actually like plucking the little clumps of fur. LOL

no matter how much i brush my lab she always has clumps of hair in her coat, the only thing I know works for sure is to take her to work with me ( I'm a trainee dog groomer ;) ) and we have a hydro- bath which gets deep into the coat really easily and then I use a " Blaster " to get to all the dead coat and she looks like a new dog! I'm sure it makes her feel better aswell because she is always willing to come with me lol but If you have the big clumps of hair I would definatly reccomend taking them to a groomers and have them use the blaster it works so well

lv4dogs - Thanks 4 correcting me I'm glad someone knew what I was on about :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Muddy4paws

no matter how much i brush my lab she always has clumps of hair in her coat, the only thing I know works for sure is to take her to work with me ( I'm a trainee dog groomer ;) ) and we have a hydro- bath which gets deep into the coat really easily and then I use a " Blaster " to get to all the dead coat and she looks like a new dog! I'm sure it makes her feel better aswell because she is always willing to come with me lol but If you have the big clumps of hair I would definatly reccomend taking them to a groomers and have them use the blaster it works so well

lv4dogs - Thanks 4 correcting me I'm glad someone knew what I was on about :)

---

Is the hydro bath & blaster VERY easy on the dog? I'd like to have that done to Nanook but his mobility is not good at all and he has 2 tumors that don't heal and can't be removed.

long pants. I abosultly HATE long pants on dogs, I always clip them short because it drives me insane. long nails bother me on my own dogs, It does not bother me on other peoples dogs though lol umm ear fuzzyness and feet fuzzyness depends on the dog, like on Blair he has long hair on his ears, I would never dream of cutting, and his feet are very fuzzy, however the fuzz goes all down his legs, it just makes him look more like a bear(the breed is required to look like a bear) however on dogs who have smooth heads and legs no fuzz is allowed, I keep feet and ears trimmed short. oh and teary eyes, THAT annoys the heck out of me!

As one who's dog WILL NOT let you cut her nails... come on over and trim them. I dare ya. I promise you'll get your hand bitten off -- Even WITH a muzzle on her.

It took, me, two vet techs, a muzzle, and a vet, and we only got ONE nail clipped on Nicki. I occasionally try when she's mellow and sleepy, and the second I go NEAR her paw, she snaps at me. This is a dog who is the sweetest, mellowest pup in the world.... she has a thing about her nails being cut.

Dont tell me to use the Dremel because that spooks her more.

lv4dogs, I've PM'ed you, get a cuppa its long! :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Muddy4paws

lv4dogs, I've PM'ed you, get a cuppa its long! :p

---

Got it, thanks a bunch! Sent ya one back.

I hate to see eye stains also.
As far as nails go - Keegan's are really long right now. Not to the point where they are growing into her pads or anything of course but too long for my liking. BUT I have worked with her from the time she was 6 weeks old to cut her nails and it is a battle everytime. I simply can not do it myself. I try doing one at a time. I try waiting until she is sleeping. I try giving her lots of yummy treats including chicken, cheese, hot dogs etc. There is no way. As soon as I get the clippers out - she freaks. When she was at the vet - it took 3 of us laying on top of her to cut them and then she tried to bite them! :eek: Trust me I have tried EVERYTHING. Even different clippers.
BUT I take her to the groomer and this teeny tiny lady - can do them all by herself! :rolleyes: Soooo maybe some people whose dogs have long nails have a dog like I do!

Like everyone, it really saddens me when I see dogs with matted fur, greasy caked-on dirty coats and curled nails. Nails that are just a bit long don't miff me too much, because a lot of the time I'm sure it's just that the dog was not acclimated to nail clipping at a young age and hates it as an adult, which is understandable. But, I've seen dogs (mostly small breeds) with nails SO long and there is NO reason for it. I only trim at most 1/4" from Gonzo's nails weekly, just to even them out... they're already worn nice and short from exercise and being walked/jogged several miles twice a day.

Kay... -_- heh, your first sentence described me! I hope you aren't peeved when you see Gonzo's cut, I know plenty of people with working BC's who shave their entire belly/underside and even some that shave the entire body for over-heating reasons in the summer. BC's are redunkulously active dogs, and sometimes their cooling system just doesn't keep up with their activity - hence why we teach them to lay down in kiddy pools or buckets full of water after running hard, in Flyball, Agility and Herding. In shaved areas, the coldness of the water immediately gets to the skin and cools them much faster. Also, I'm not THAT lazy. maybe a little. I just got done brushing him with an undercoat rake and a bristle brush for 30 minutes 0.0

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kfamr

Shaved dogs that aren't supposed to be shaved. Which includes those people who get their dogs fur shaved once a year, and that's all the grooming their dog gets simply because they're too damned lazy.

---

It irritates me somewhat, too, but I'm starting to like that philosophy for my own hair... time to shave it all off and start over from scratch ;) . Although I don't blame people who resort to some strategic dog shaving when the temps here are 110 or even higher.

Eye stains are an aesthetic pet peeve of mine. A bigger pet peeve is people who don't make sure their dogs stay clean uh, under the tail area. Don't they realize how uncomfortable and unhealthy that has to be?

I hate it when people don't clip their dogs nails. I mean, I can understand sometimes they get long, but when they are actually risking injury that's not right. Matts really bother me too.

I like for dogs to look perfect --- I don't like long nails, dirtiness, bad haircuts, etc. I groom Visa once a week so that she is maintained perfectly. She gets bathed with the hydro-surge and blowdried, then I do her nails, pads, her feet and hocks get trimmed, I scrape the plaque off her teeth, etc. I only brush her out when she is shedding, otherwise she needs her coat for show. I also brush her teeth everyday. She gets 4 different kinds of shampoo for different parts of her body, and she gets sprayed with perfume. I can't stand having a dirty, disheveled dog. I like sinking my face into her fur and smelling lavender and feeling softness. Everyone tells me they would never have a showdog because of the amount of work I put into Visa, but it's not because she's a showdog -- her next show isn't even until July. I would do it whether she was in conformation or not.

Sounds like you take great care of her!!

Thanks, I try really hard to take good care of her. :) I see badly groomed dogs on a daily basis and feel sad for them --- I would never want people to feel the same about my own dog! I am just thankful that there are people who don't groom their dogs or cut their dogs' nails who do take their dogs in to get groomed. Even if it's because they are lazy, atleast their dogs can feel and look good for a while.

Orangutango:
"- overly fuzzy feet
- overly long, fuzzy fur on ears
- long, messy leg featherings"

Just described your favorite breed: toller. I am constantly shaping Autumn's featherings and feet for the same reasons. Love the dog, could do with a more clean cut coat. I hate little dogs that get a pet cut but the tail is left long and ratty. My grandma's two little mixes have tails that get all matted and gross because they are never cipped.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by IRescue452

Orangutango:
"- overly fuzzy feet
- overly long, fuzzy fur on ears
- long, messy leg featherings"

Just described your favorite breed: toller. I am constantly shaping Autumn's featherings and feet for the same reasons. Love the dog, could do with a more clean cut coat. I hate little dogs that get a pet cut but the tail is left long and ratty. My grandma's two little mixes have tails that get all matted and gross because they are never cipped.

---

Yes, I know that but I really enjoy grooming so it doesn't matter to me :) Most dogs (if not all) with long coats get everythig I described as not liking anyway, so even if I didn't like Tollers I'd still be stuck with it seeing as I seem to be attracted to the long coated breeds...lol

Fuzzy Poodle feet! unplucked ears and long nails.(on any breed)
i cant keep my dogs nails as short as i would like.
he screams like a girl with every nail trim.
and people who dont groom their dog/s. :rolleyes:

whats the point of getting a long haired dog and not groom it.

I hate mats, and really really long nails. Especially if the owner claims the dog has back problems or something... and the nails are almost curled under. :rolleyes:

On a personal level, and no offence to anyone that has their dogs like this, but I dislike corded poodles (it looks a mess!) and the lion clips on any dog. I just don't think it looks attractive.

smelly dogs, filthy fur, long nails & really bad breath.

I use to groom a few of the neighbourhood dogs when I was younger & living at home. I also did the same with my friends dogs & they joined in & gave me a hand with my own guy.

it was rare that my dog ever smelled or had non-soft fur (well as soft has his fur could get), his nails were good, ears were cleaned when I did mine (every few days), unless he went swimming, then they were cleaned when we got home.

Grooming is something I just love doing :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by IRescue452

Orangutango:
"- overly fuzzy feet
- overly long, fuzzy fur on ears
- long, messy leg featherings"

---

Bear has really fuzzy feet and fuzzy ears and I'll be honest I think their cute, although I will admit to trimming the feet simply because if I don't, it just take 1 trip into the yard and he brings the yard back in with him. :rolleyes:

I'm nervous hearing all this talk about fuzzy ears, Kaige has fuzzy ears/ :eek: :p
I did buy a pair of thinning shears for Christmas, I used them on his rear already and it looks good. When I get the nerve I will try it it on his ears, hopefully I don't mess up too bad. lol

I'm really lucky to have dogs that are easy to groom! Short fur, don't mind their nails clipped, and they stay pretty clean most of the time (Marta side-steps mud) so I don't have to give them baths all the time (I do about every 3 weeks).
But, my pet peeve is stinky dogs. We were pet-sitting a dog a few months ago who was 13 and never had a bath in his life! :eek: Yuck. I mean, he was really nice but whenever I petted him I felt stinky. I didn't give him a bath either because I thought it would be too traumatic for an old guy like him (he has seizures when he's stressed) and I didn't want to end up getting bitten. I just cleaned really well when he left.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pembroke_Corgi

I'm really lucky to have dogs that are easy to groom! Short fur, don't mind their nails clipped, and they stay pretty clean most of the time (Marta side-steps mud) so I don't have to give them baths all the time (I do about every 3 weeks).
But, my pet peeve is stinky dogs. We were pet-sitting a dog a few months ago who was 13 and never had a bath in his life! :eek: Yuck. I mean, he was really nice but whenever I petted him I felt stinky. I didn't give him a bath either because I thought it would be too traumatic for an old guy like him (he has seizures when he's stressed) and I didn't want to end up getting bitten. I just cleaned really well when he left.

---

13 YEARS?! Whoa... :eek: