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Brussels Griffon Grooming.
Informtion on how to groom your Brussels Griffon
DBT highly recommends the How To Professionally Groom Your Dog At Home ebook when learning to groom your dog or pet.
There are three types of Brussels Griffon: the Bruxellois, the Griffon Belge and the Petit Brabancon. The first two of these have longer rough and wiry hair. The Petit Brabancon is short-haired, smooth and glossy.
The flat and glossy coat takes little grooming, and a run over with a soft brush and chamois can make all the difference.
The wiry-haired Brussels Griffons often need hand plucking or stripping and combing.
Hand Plucking or Stripping:
Hand plucking or stripping is pulling out dead hair from your dog. Clipping this hair alters the texture and color of your dog's coat. Your wiry Brussels Griffon will often accumulate alot of this dead hair and it detracts from the healthy look and shape of its coat. Stripping is a way of thinning this hair and is called trimming.
Tools: Rubber glove or finger caps, Stripping knives, Mars stripper, powder of chalk.
Always pluck or strip before a bath. Wet hair is impossible to grasp and it's a good idea to bathe away irritation and clean any cuts or abrasions that may occur.
Perfectionists always hand pluck. This involves holding the pelt of your dog down with one hand, grasping some hairs between thumb and forefinger, and giving a fast tug.
Dead hair should come out easily.
Never twist the wrist. This cuts the hair rather than pulling it from the root.
If needed, apply powder or chalk to the dog's fur or your own fingertips for better grip. Some swear by a rubber glove.
Stripping is plucking with a tool. Stripping knives come in many different sizes.
A common one for the thick hair of the brussels griffon is the Mars stripper. You roll this tool like a pizza cutter and it catches and pulls away dead hair.
Make sure this knife is dull. The purpose is not to cut the dog, the hair or yourself but to grip the hair.
With a traditional stripper, grasp the stripper and hold it perpendicular to the dog's hair growth. Grab some hair between the stripper's teeth and your thumb, rotating the blade away from the thumb and give a quick pull.
Hand plucking and stripping are time and labour intensive. Work in sections as your dog can only tolerate it for a short length of time.
More details on the trimming the Brussels Griffon can be found at the end of this article.
Eyes: Check your dog's eyes daily.
Debris is flushed to the corners of the eyes and daily wiping with a wet cloth or paper towel can prevent the build up of bacteria.
Ears: Check ears once a week.
Your dogs ears should be pink and healthy inside. If not, don't do anything to them until you see a vet. Keeping your dogs' ears clean minimizes odour, removes dirt, bacteria and mites trapped in wax. Never use a cotton swab on the inner ear.
Tools: cotton wool balls or soft cloth and ear solution.
There are solutions made specifically for dogs but substitutes include: hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, mineral oil, witch hazel, and tea tree oil.
Place a few drops of ear solution in ear and rub and massage to loosen wax. Swab out with cotton wool balls or cloth.
Ear Hair Plucking: Every two weeks.
Hair growing into the ear canal can prevent the canal from drying properly and trap bacteria, causing infection.
Tools: Tweezers, powder, chalk, rubber gloves all optional.
Lift the dog's ear and lay it back. Grasp the hair along the inside of the ear between thumb and forefinger and then pull firmly. This hair should come out easily.
Use tools to help grip slippery hair.
Teeth: Regularly.
80% of 3 year old dogs have periodontal disease. Cavities and gum disease are painful for your dog; they diminish its pleasure and ability to eat. Bacteria that develops can infect the heart, kidney, liver and brain. Really bad breath is usually a sign of gum disease.
Tools: Toothbrush/finger cap/cloth, doggie toothpaste, tooth scraper.
Never use human toothpaste. It is not edible.
Starting your dog off with this practice takes patience. Reward it constantly, no matter what its behavior to get it used to grooming.
Start off by getting it used to its mouth being handled.
Progress to touching the teeth with your finger.
Get some meat-flavoured toothpaste and apply with your finger.
Then introduce the brush. Clean a few teeth at a time and soon you will have a routine that takes just minutes.
Brush in a circular motion and get under the gum line.
If you don't want to brush everyday, use a tooth scraper to get rid of the plaque buildup once or twice a month. Most accumulation is on the outside of the teeth and on the back molars. Lots of bones and hard, crunchy foods can minimize plaque but not to a truly effective degree.
Nails: Every two weeks.
Nails that aren't trimmed can splinter and infect the quick or grow and curl into the flesh. This can be painful for your dog to walk on, affect it's gait, posture, and eventually it's skeletal and ligament health. Nails should never touch the ground. When your dog is standing its nails should rest above the ground. If you hear clicking on the kitchen floor, clipping is overdue.
Tools: Doggie Nail Clippers (Scissors, pliers, guillotine), Dremel or file, Styptic or Kwikstop.
Sit beside your dog and put your arm around its shoulders if you can so that you are clipping from underneath and at the right angle.
Lift the paw and press on it to expose the claw.
If it has a clear nail you should be able to see the quick: a dark bundle of nerves and blood vessels. Clip from underneath close to the quick but do not cut into it. If you do, your dog will soon let you know. Use Styptic pencil or Kwikstop to staunch the bleeding.
Buff the ragged edge with a file or Dremel.
Some dogs can handle their nails being buffed by the Dremel regularly, rather than clipping.
If it has a dark nail, clip just under the curve of the nail and then you will be able to look inside and see the quick if you look close enough. Clip using tiny snips at a time.
Don't forget to check for dewclaws: an extra claw dogs may have farther up on the leg that works like a thumb. It is better to clip your dog's nails frequently as this encourages the quick to recede farther away from the tip.
Paws: Check daily/Trim every two weeks.
It is very important to Check between your dogs pads for foreign objects that may have wedged there and check the pads themselves for cuts, scrapes and infection.
Tools: Small, blunt scissors, straight scissors, slicker brush, comb.
Brussels Griffons have hair that grows between pads that can mat and trap bacteria as well as becoming painful to walk on.
Trim hair around the paws to keep them clean. Only do this when the dog is standing on the paw.
Then, Push the feathers growing on top of the foot down through the toes and trim to pad level.
Lift the paw from the back, brush or comb out the hair and then trim to pad level.
Push feathers back up through the toes and trim from the top.
Hygienic trimming: 2 to 4 weeks.
Tools: Thinning shears, electric clippers
Thinning, trimming and clipping at the ear opening, base of the tail, around the anus and privates keeps your dog feeling better as well as keeping it and your house cleaner.
Expressing Glands: Every 2 to 4 weeks
This is a task normally done when you take your dog in for professional grooming. Your dog uses scent glands in the anus to mark its territory.
These glands also excrete when your dog defecates. At times, they may get impacted. Signs of this include: increased doggie odour, excessive licking and chewing of the behind and worst of all, scooting (when your dog drags its bottom along the floor or carpet).
There is no risk of overly expressing these glands so it's best to get accustomed to doing it regularly as it will lessen dog odour.
Tools: Warm cloth
Lift the dog's tail and hold the cloth against it's behind. Place your fingers at 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock and press inward and squeeze to expel.
Bathing: As needed
Most dogs do not need regular bathing. They have natural oils that moisturize their skin, keep their coat glossy and resist dirt and water. Stripping these oils with frequent bathing dries out the skin and prevents your dog having a healthy coat.
Rough and wiry hair is altered dramatically by frequent bathing.
Tools: Non-slip mat, sprayer hose, dog shampoo, conditioner, leash, towels.
Choose a place where you can block escape routes and expect 1-3 water-spraying shakes.
A leash tied to a higher point than your dog's head will keep it standing and prevent it from escaping. This is highly recommended as it's really difficult to hold a slippery dog.
Never bathe your dog in standing water. A sprayer hose is a must.
Wet your dog using your hand so as to massage and lift the hair to get to the undercoat.
Avoid getting water into the eyes, nose and ears.
Massage lather down to undercoat.
Rinse thoroughly as leftover shampoo can severely dry out and irritate your pet's skin.
Condition the feathers well.
Squeeze out excess water by running your hands along its body and pressing.
Dry with a towel.
A salon style blower is recommended for blowing this dog dry. Brush against growth.
Stripping The Brussels Griffon:
Tools: Stripping tools, greyhound comb, thinning shears, slicker.
Leave the eyebrows and beard long. Some plucking of these loose hairs is needed to shape the dog.
Remove long hair from thighs.
Thin the hair from the back and hindquarters and front of the feet.
Scissor under the stomach.
Leave the body hair short, and the head long.