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Gordon Setter Grooming.
Informtion on how to groom your Gordon Setter
DBT highly recommends the How To Professionally Groom Your Dog At Home ebook when learning to groom your dog or pet.
The Gordon setter has silky, medium-length hair that is water-resistant. Its full leg and chest furnishings along with the feathering of its tail, legs and underbelly make this dog look like much work. In fact, the Gordon setter has low to moderate grooming needs.
Regular brushing is one of the most important things you can do to keep your pet healthy and happy. The Gordon setter needs brushing twice a week.
Brushing:
. Removes dirt and debris
. Invigorates skin
. Spreads oils to moisturize skin and keep a shiny coat
. Prevents mats and tangles which are irritating painful and can harbor bacteria, fungus, other infection
. Keeps your house cleaner especially during shedding seasons
. Bonding, massaging, loving interaction
. Early detection of fleas, ticks, eczema, infection and smells
that may notify you of sickness
Tools: Slicker, Medium-toothed steel comb
Line brushing consists of holding hair up and out of the way and then brushing/detangling a small amount of hair, a line or row, a bit at a time from underneath.
Always work from the inside out on a coat and from the bottom to the top of the hair.
Brace the skin of your dog with one hand while working on knots and always brush in the direction of hair growth.
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.
The Gordon setter has hair growing into the ear canal. This can prevent the canal from drying properly, trapping bacteria and causing fungal infections.
Trim this hair with thinning shears as needed.
Teeth: Regularly.
Brush your Gordon setter's teeth? Yes. 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 this dog off with this practice takes patience. Reward it constantly.
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 once or twice a month to get rid of the build up of plaque. It accumulates mostly on the outside of the teeth and on the back molars. This won't be much fun for your or your dog though. Lots of bones and hard, crunchy foods can minimize plaque but not to a truly effective degree.
Nails: Every two weeks.
Nail care is very important for your Gordon setter. 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. It will affect its 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.
Introducing your dog to nail clipping should start off by getting it used to its paws being handled. Stroke, touch and play with your dog's paws whenever you are giving it affection.
Getting it used to the Dremel is your best bet to avoid clipping altogether.
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, slicker brush or comb.
The Gordon setter has hair that grows between its pads. This hair can mat and trap bacteria, besides 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 and from the back, brush out the hair and trim to pad level.
Push feathers back up through the toes and trim from the top.
Hygienic trimming: 2 to 4 weeks.
Tools: Blunt-nosed scissors, Thinning Shears, Electric clippers
Trimming at the front of ears, under the tail and around the 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 to moisturize their skin and keep them resistant to dirt and water. Stripping these oils with frequent bathing dries out the skin and prevents you dog from having a healthy coat.
The Gordon setter's long silky hair and outdoor lifestyle make it more apt to pick up debris, fleas, ticks, tangles and mats that can get infected. It needs to bathe more frequently than most. A bath can help to remove a large amount of hair during shedding as well.
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 and never use human shampoo.
If you choose to bathe your Gordon setter outside, attach the hose to the tap of your kitchen sink for warm water. Grooming salons often offer self-service use of their well-equipped facilities.
Wet your dog using your hand to massage it.
Avoid getting water into the eyes, nose and ears.
Cotton wool can be stuffed into the ear canal to deter water.
Massage shampoo into lather.
Rinse thoroughly as leftover shampoo can severely dry out and irritate your pet's skin.
Condition the feathers well.
Rinse and squeeze off excess water by running your hands along its body and pressing down gently.
Dry with a towel.
Blow-dry and comb feathers.
This dog needs to be thoroughly dried to prevent hot spots. If your blow-dryer gets too hot and doesn't have enough power, opt for the self-serve grooming salon.
The Salon Treatment:
Semi-pro trim tools: Slicker, comb, Thinning shears, Straight scissors, Electric clippers, clipper wash, #10 or #15 clipper blade (15 is a closer trim.)
Trim all facial whiskers.
Using electric clippers, shave face completely from muzzle to behind the top skull bone.
Clip under the chin, down the cheeks and down the throat to a point two inches above the sternum.
Clip from behind the ear, working your way around the ear and then down the side of the neck and shoulders coming around until you meet a point a bit below the sternum. You want the chest ruff to come to a crisp point at the sternum from the front.
Use the thinning shears to trim inside and outside of the ear. Do not clip the bottom fringe.
Use the thinning shears and comb to trim the back and sides of the Gordon setter. This pattern should look as if a smaller shadow version of the dog was draped over its back; the trim dipping down the outside of each leg and the side feathering starting from halfway down the ribs. This is to show off the front leg feathering.
With straight scissors trim the insides of all legs. Thin the feathering on the hocks and round them.
Thin fronts of all legs. Trim tail from underneath 2" from base. Thin tail as close as possible on top.
Thin toe feathers and trim around feet.