Welcome To Dog-Behavior-Training.co.uk
Papillon Grooming.
Informtion on how to groom your Papillon
DBT highly recommends the How To Professionally Groom Your Dog At Home ebook when learning to groom your dog or pet.
Papillon means butterfly and refers to this dog's ears. Although there are droop-eared varieties, these too can lift their ears. This dog has also been called the Phalenes and the Squirrel dog. It has very fine, silky, straight hair that is very full and fragile. This dog needs daily brushing and combing.
Tools: Soft pin brush, greyhound comb (1/2 medium-toothed, ½ fine-toothed), 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 one hand against your pet's skin while working out tangles. Knots tend to gather behind the elbows and in the haunches of this dog.
Spot wash and comb the face and around the eyes frequently to clear up staining. Whitening formulas are available for this.
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.
This dog is also prone to ear infections.
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 hair along the inside of the ear between thumb and forefinger and pull firmly. This hair removes easily and will not hurt your Papillon. Use tools as needed to help grip slippery hair.
Teeth: Regularly.
80% of 3 year old dogs have periodontal disease due to lack of brushing. 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.
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: Frequently.
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.
Scissors are usually adequate to clip a Papillon's nails and the Dremel can accomplish the same task very quickly.
Sit beside your dog 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, electric clippers.
The Papillon grows hair around and between its foot pads which 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 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: 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
Papillons tend to get bathed often because they fit into the sink so easily and their long hair can get dirty and tangled.
Keep in mind that frequent bathing strips the dog of its natural oils and dries out its skin.
There are whitening shampoos to remove stains on your dog and help it to glow.
Tools: Non-slip mat, sprayer hose, dog shampoo, conditioner, towel, slicker, blow-dryer.
Never bathe your dog in standing water. A sprayer hose is a must, luckily this little dog can easily fit into the kitchen sink but always remember a rubber mat to prevent slipping.
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.
Stuff cotton wool balls into the ear canals to deter water.
Massage lather down to undercoat.
Rinse thoroughly as leftover shampoo can severely dry out and irritate your pet's skin.
Condition and rinse well. Leftover conditioner will dull the silky coat.
Squeeze out excess water by running your hands along its body and pressing.
Towel-dry by pressing.
Comb and blow-dry using the soft slicker in the direction of hair growth and on low heat, checking frequently for overheating and drying of your dog's skin.
The Salon Treatment:
The Papillon is trimmed a bit for show. The feet are clipped as well as under the tail.
The hock is trimmed within a ½ inch and thinned.
Depending upon how narrow or wide the face is: The whiskers are trimmed. If the whiskers are trimmed than the eyebrows are as well.
The inner 2/3 of the ear is shaved.