Poms are notorious for getting mats under their arms and legs and behind their ears. Sometimes it seems like they appear overnight and are the size of marbles before we know what hits us!
If you have looked online at all you have probably not just read, but been screamed at to not shave your pom, no matter what!!! Well, while this is excellent advice as shaving can cause permanent damage to your Poms coat, it is not always reasonable.
If you are adopting Pom from a shelter or found a stray on the street, you may have no choice but to use clippers to remove excess mats. Excessive matting can not only be painful to any dog, it can also cause serious health problems by cutting off circulation to limbs, forcing hair into the eyes, or preventing waste from falling free of the animal causing urine burns and infected anal glands.
This method is simple and I call it “dissecting the mat”. It can help salvage the hair that may be able to be freed from the mat without causing much discomfort to your pet.
You can do on your own in between trips to the groomer, or if you elect to do your own grooming (only use sharp, hair cutting scissors):
Keep in mind that while this method of “dissecting the mat” may help free the majority of mats without resorting to cutting it out, you will come across those that you will need to just cut out for one reason or another, it could be too thick, too big, in too sensitive an area, or just for times sake, etc…
If you do need to cut a mat out, gently hold the mat taught, hold the scissors parallel to the skin and as close to the bottom of the mat as you can get, then gently snip away the mat being careful to avoid the skin. You may want to try a pass with thinning shears to see if the mat pulls away with being completely severed.
The main thing to remember is to take your time, hair grows back if you cut it a little crooked, if you need someone to help keep your pom calm and distracted while you work, by all means do so and always follow up with love and treats!
This is a little lengthy, but I hope it sheds some light on why we sometimes do things the way we do…
I recently was involved in a discussion where someone felt a puppy had been “sold out from under them” because they were still deciding. While I primarily am only involved in rescue transactions which are a little more slow paced, recently I helped a breeder by listing 8 of her retirees and “brokering” their adoptions to get her numbers down as she is overwhelmed. This is based on my my experience:
It gets very frustrating when you write out a detailed, yet concise description about a Pom only to be inundated with questions from a dozen or more people and only one or two of those people have questions that were not in your bio to begin with. So now I am answering comments, some of them rather nasty, and in conversations with say half of the initial 12 that asked questions.
Of the 6 respondents I’m now in conversations with;
1 of them proceeds to tell me their life story and about every Pom they’ve ever owned, over the last 30 years, but they aren’t ready for another one right now,
1 tells me how the Pom in the picture Iooks just like the one that died last year and spends an hour telling me about that Poms battle with cancer,
1 keeps me on the phone for a half an hour before she mentions that she is in California and asks if we deliver the dog from Virginia as part of the price;
We are now down to 3 interested families
via 4 S urprisingly Durable Dog Toys That Might Actually Survive The Grip Of Your Destructive Pup
For our dogs, experience has shown us that GoDog Chew Guard and Kong Low Stuffing work the best! GoDog’s are next to impossible for them to tear up even after multiple washing’s and the Kong’s have replaceable squeakers. We keep both on our Amazon Wish List for our rescue.
All dog owners, remember that February 23rd National Dog Biscuit Day! This day is also observed around the world as International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day.
Man’s best friend deserves a special treat, whether it is a reward for good behavior, as part of their training or just because we want to show our dogs how much we love them.
HOW TO OBSERVE
The following are a few homemade dog biscuit recipes you may want to make and give to your furry friends.
Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats
Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Biscuits
Homemade Dog Treats
Diabetic Dog Treats
Bacon-Flavored Dog Biscuits
via NATIONAL DOG BISCUIT DAY – February 23 | National Day Calendar
via Best Harness and Collars for a Pomeranian
