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Japanese Chin Grooming.
Informtion on how to groom your Japanese Chin
DBT highly recommends the How To Professionally Groom Your Dog At Home ebook when learning to groom your dog or pet.
The Japanese Chin is a high maintenance pet. Why? It's has an enormous amount of hair. If you keep up with the daily brushing and combing, then its maintenance could be considered moderate.
The Japanese Chin has one layer of long, thick and silky hair.
Regular brushing is one of the most important things you can do to keep your pet healthy and happy. You must brush and comb your Japanese Chin daily.
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 Comb, Spray Conditioner
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, 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.
There is a specific combing method for grooming the Japanese Chin. Any professional groomer can demonstrate this for you. Each brush stroke occurs with a lifting wave-like motion that settles the hair in a soft plume. Very Zen.
The Japanese Chin is typically a show dog and is not supposed to be clipped or scissored. If you're not interested in showing your Japanese Chin, there is a basic grooming technique listed at the end of this article that gives your dog cleaner lines and lessens the brushing.
Eyes: Check your dog's eyes daily.
The Japanese Chin is prone to eye infections.
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.
Teeth: Regularly.
Brush your Japanese Chin'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, 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 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 Japanese Chin. 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.
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 Japanese Chin has hair that grows between its pads. This hair can mat and trap bacteria, besides becoming painful to walk on.
Use the slicker to brush out the hair on the bottom of the foot. Use straight or blunt-nosed scissors to trim the hair level with the pads.
If you don't plan on showing this dog, trim around the paw as well.
Hygienic trimming: 2 to 4 weeks.
Tools: Blunt-nosed or straight scissors, thinning shears
Trimming 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
Japanese Chins do not need regular bathing, but due to their long, silky hair and the fact that they can easily fit into a sink, they tend to be bathed frequently.
All dogs have natural oils that help to keep their skin moisturised and their coat healthy. Keep in mind that baths are drying.
Spot cleaning of the hair is always an option.
Tools: Non-slip mat, sprayer hose, dog shampoo, conditioner, towels.
Expect 1-3 water-spraying shakes.
Never bathe your dog in standing water and never use human shampoo.
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.
Be especially attentive about getting water in its upturned nose; Japanese Chins are susceptible to respiratory infections. Cotton wool can be stuffed into the ear canal to deter water.
Massage lather down to undercoat.
Rinse thoroughly as leftover shampoo can severely dry out and irritate your pet's skin.
Condition. Rinse and squeeze off excess water by running your hands along its body and pressing down gently.
Towel dry, then blow-dry with low heat as your slicker and comb. Comb ear fringe while wet.
The Salon Treatment:
If you'd like to show your Japanese Chin, cut nothing except to neaten the feet, leaving some hair long there as well.
If you're not interested in showing your Japanese Chin there is a basic groom to neaten your dog up.
Basic Styling Tools: Slicker, Comb, Thinning Shears, Straight Scissors, Mars Stripper
The basic idea is to give your Japanese Chin body definition and flow. Thin hair so that you can see the outlines of its body and check to even out bumps and denser areas.
Bathe your Japanese Chin.
Comb ear fringe while wet.
Slicker and comb as you blow-dry.
Brush out the top and bottoms of paws. Use thinning shears on top of paws.
Push some of the toe feathers through between the toes. Brush bottoms again and trim with straight scissors so that hair is level with pads. Trim back of foot bottom as well.
Lift hair along bumpy or dense sites and use the Mars stripper and thinning shears on bottom layers, combing and checking your work frequently.
Give the chin and neck and shoulders more definition by lifting hair and thinning underlying layers with the same method as above.
Thin the denser hair of the rump in the same way.
Brush out leg hair and thin.