Breed Profile - Saluki

The Saluki was originally breed as a hunter to hunt gazelle. They are incredibly good at running and hunting prey over long distances and different terrain.
They appear to be a fragile and delicate dog but do not let appearances fool you as this breed is agile and solid built.

Puppy Saluki from puppy gallery blogspot 

They can be long coated with feathers, long ears and a long tail, Or they can be smooth coated.
They have a loving temperament but can be aloof at times, they are a breed that attach themselves to one person and are very loyal and devoted to their owners.
Saluki's need a loving and understanding owner as they tend to be submissive, making them nervous in situations. They need a strong and confident pack leader.

The Saluki can stand from 23 to 28 inch and weigh around 13 to 30 KG. Males tend to be larger than females.

Saluki's taken from finnhoward.wordpress.com 

This breed suffers from sun burn as they can be very rex coated in areas, watch out for their legs, belly and nose for burning.

The Saluki need a fair bit of exercise but must never be let off the lead, in some countries it is even illegal to have them off a lead. They are sight hunters and will ignore all commands and recalls.

Glamourwoofs resident "Millie" Rex Saluki 2013

Breed Profile - The Irish Wolfhound

The First of our dog breed profile is the Irish Wolfhound.
It is the first in our blog as we love them!!!

The Irish Wolfhound is an ancient breed of dog which dates as far back as the Roman records in 391AD. (The AKC.org 2013) In ancient times this breed was often given to royalty as a gift. Often refered to as "Ch" which is Irish Wolfdog. As the breed relayed on Elk and Wolfs when they had hunted the prey to extinction the Irish Wolfies or wolf doggies started to decline. I wasnt untill 1800's when a Scottish Deerhound breeder "Captain George Augustus Graham" took an interested in the Irish Wolfies (the true Irish Wolfhound) and decided  to re introduce the breed. Obviously the gene pool was very small so he needed to create a larger gene pool, He breed the true wolfies with other breeds such as deerhound, borzoi and hreat danes. The Breed was accepted into the Kennel Clubs in 1885 as a reg breed. However the Wolfhounds we see today are not true wolfies. (iwcc.ca, 2013)

They are hunters and worked as a hunter, war dog and a guard dog although not aggressive their size was useful. They are so good at hunting that the species they hunted mostly wolfs and large Elk, went into extinction in Ireland, this had a huge impact on the breed and by 1900's the Irish Wolfhound had almost disappeared.

The Irish Wolfhound is a very easy going temperament, very kind, loving and intelligent, making them excellent family pets! They are easy going with other animals, but must be watched at first as they can give chase.
They tend to be slow to mature however they do tend to grow fast making them very large puppies!, they need moderate exercise to ensure there joints are not over worked when young, like with all giant breeds they need a good high protein feed when growing.

It is a good idea to train this breed at an early age due to its size and straight, it is very easy to train as they are very intelligent and learn fast

Like with any hunting hound you should be careful when having this breed off the lead as they will hunt instinctively.

They are extremely large, the tallest of the dog breeds at a standard 35 - 39 inch to the withers, and when standing on hind legs can reach around 7 feet tall! Although large they do not need a lot of exercise, but they do need a large home.

When buying an Irish Wolfhound is it wise to have them checked as this breed can suffer from Hip Dysplasia, Bone Cancer, Von Willebrands and Cardiomyopathy. Most of these are common in large and giant breeds. You should make sure to have their food off the ground to prevent  bloat and twisted stomach which is caused by having the food to low down for large breeds.
They do not live as long as most breeds with a life expectancy of 6 - 8 years.

The AKC Breed Standards = Taken from AKC.org 2013.

General Appearance
Of great size and commanding appearance, the Irish Wolfhound is remarkable in combining power and swiftness with keen sight. The largest and tallest of the galloping hounds, in general type he is a rough-coated, Greyhound-like breed; very muscular, strong though gracefully built; movements easy and active; head and neck carried high, the tail carried with an upward sweep with a slight curve towards the extremity. The minimum height and weight of dogs should be 32 inches and 120 pounds; of bitches, 30 inches and 105 pounds; these to apply only to hounds over 18 months of age. Anything below this should be debarred from competition. Great size, including height at shoulder and proportionate length of body, is the desideratum to be aimed at, and it is desired to firmly establish a race that shall average from 32 to 34 inches in dogs, showing the requisite power, activity, courage and symmetry.

Head
Long, the frontal bones of the forehead very slightly raised and very little indentation between the eyes. Skull, not too broad. Muzzle, long and moderately pointed. Ears, small and Greyhound-like in carriage.

Neck
Rather long, very strong and muscular, well arched, without dewlap or loose skin about the throat.

Chest
Very deep. Breast, wide.

Back
Rather long than short. Loins arched.

Tail
Long and slightly curved, of moderate thickness, and well covered with hair.

Belly
Well drawn up.

Forequarters
Shoulders, muscular, giving breadth of chest, set sloping. Elbows well under, neither turned inwards nor outwards.

Leg
Forearm muscular, and the whole leg strong and quite straight.

Hindquarters
Muscular thighs and second thigh long and strong as in the Greyhound, and hocks well let down and turning neither in nor out.

Feet
Moderately large and round, neither turned inwards nor outwards. Toes, well arched and closed. Nails, very strong and curved.

Hair
Rough and hard on body, legs and head; especially wiry and long over eyes and underjaw.

Color and Markings
The recognized colors are gray, brindle, red, black, pure white, fawn or any other color that appears in the Deerhound.

Faults
Too light or heavy a head, too highly arched frontal bone; large ears and hanging flat to the face; short neck; full dewlap; too narrow or too broad a chest; sunken or hollow or quite straight back; bent forelegs; overbent fetlocks; twisted feet; spreading toes; too curly a tail; weak hindquarters and a general want of muscle; too short in body. Lips or nose liver-colored or lacking pigmentation.

How to cut dog's nails!

OK so here we all have to cut our dogs nails at some point, or have the vet or groomer do so.

If you are cutting your own dogs nails, here are some tips and advice on how to do so in an easy and controlled way.
You must be careful not to cut the "quick" in the nail shell, this is the fleshy part of the nail with a vein. If you cut this your dogs nail will bleed and it can be difficult to stop, it is advised to have "quick stop" which is a blood clotting antiseptic powder. If you clip the quick you can quickly apply quick stop which will help stop the bleeding.
you can clearly see  the quick in dogs with pale / transparent nails but it can be very hard to see in dogs with dark or black  nails.

The tip is to hold the dogs feet (like you would pick up a horses foot) grab the paw at the joint and flick upwards so that you are now looking down onto the dogs pad.

Picking the pad up n the way, able's you to see the nails and quick better. it also helps support the weight of elderly or nervous dogs giving you more control. 

You can clearly see the pad, nails and where to cut at this angle. 

You can move the hair around the nail and on a clear nail you will see white and then pink, you must only cut the white parts. On a black nail you can see the nail growing over the fleshy parts of the nail. This is the quick, so I advise to only cut the part of the nail that is hanging over the fleshy or solid part of the nail.

You can see here the white that can be cut and the start of the pink. The pink is the quick.

Here is the nail after been cut, this is a little to short as you can see the quick and pink flesh. I personally like to cut a little less than this.

I like to cut like this, this is Just on the quick, you can see in the centre the pinkish quick coming through but it is not fleshy or raw looking. You can grind the edges to make nail appear shorter if you wish.

You can see when you are getting close to the quick as you will start to see a small round white spot with a smaller black dot in the centre. the white and black dot is the start of the quick.

I hope these little pointers help you out!

Fleas on your dog and in the salon!

Fleas on your dog.

When your dog has fleas you will notice the following signs-
Itching
Scooting
Thinning hair or bald spots
You may even see small back spots on the dogs coat, this is flea poop.
Some dogs are also allergic to fleas and have a serve reaction.

What are Fleas 

Ctenocephalides canis "http://www.dpd.cdc.gov 2013"

Fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) are a small parasite found in the coats of dogs. The flea lands on the coat of the dog to lay eggs and mate, the bite the dog as females need blood to produce eggs. Once the eggs are laid the eggs drop to the ground and form maggot like larve, once hatched the cycle starts again. Here is an image to show the life cycle of the flea.

The flea life cyle "http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com 2013"

Treatment

You should treat your pets regularly for fleas I personally advise "Front Line" this is a product that is available from your veterinarian or chemist as it needs to be sold by a licensed person.
You can also treat fleas with a flea and tick repellent shampoo, I personally use "Animology Flea and Tick shampoo"

If you have a bad infestation you may have to treat the carpets and yard with a flea repellent.

If you have a dog with fleas in your salon I always hoover after each dog and treat all the salon with a flea killer spray that is safe to use around animals.

Once you have killed the fleas, I would use a flea killer like "Front Line" every month or 2 months to prevent future fleas!

Itch Itch XoX

Skin sundays - Swollen ears, Greasy Coat and a strange smell?? YEAST!!

Yeasty Skin Problems.

I see a lot of of dogs (mostly) Westies in my salon, a lot with poor coats and sore skin, usually the same symptoms.
Itchy,
Smelly,
Sore Ears that are swollen,
Swollen ear canals,
Thick skin,
Black patches.
Greasy oily coats.

Greasy Oily coats.
The Greasy, yellow oil issues is caused by the sebaceous gland in the hair follicle that produces a natural oil. In westies the gland can produce too much oil and produce a thick yellow oily coat. This is solved with a good shampoo! (I personally like to use a coal tar shampoo with sulphur for westies with sensitive and sore skin.

Diagram of the Sebaceous Gland of a dogs skin.  "merkmanuals 2013"

Sore / Swollen / Waxy / Sore Ears.
Swollen ears, sometimes seen with dark thick skin or red sore skin. These can sometimes be very swollen and weep a smelly wax. - This is an Ear Infection, they can be caused by different bacteria's and mites, usually the bacteria is yeast and has a yeasty off smell. Ears need to be plucked, the hair that grows from your dogs canal needs to be plucked out, this will help air the ear canal, cool the skin and help prevent infection. The ears need to be cleaned out and treated with an antibacterial ear drop and cleaner. In some cases the dog may need a cause of antibiotics and in chronic cases steroids and antibiotics may be used to help. (You should always consider your natural options, instead of using steroids and antibiotics as these often cause issues with organs and skin if used on a long term basis)

Ear Infection caused by Yeast, The hair has not been plucked from the ear. 

Skin Discolouration 
This is caused by the level of bacteria on the skin, in these places the dog often loses the hair and has a strong off / yeast smell. The bacteria again is often yeast, but this can be caused by eczema and scratching at the area. This is best treated with a coal and sulphur based shampoo every 2 weeks and ensure your dog is dried after it gets wet!

Skin discolouration, Oily Coat and losing the hair on a westie.

How to Solve these issues.

Drying off after getting wet!
When your dog gets wet, make sure you thoroughly dry them. Make sure not to forget about the ears, under arms, paw pads and bum as this is where your dog will heat up. Bacteria will multiply in warm, damp conditions and this is an important step in treating a dog with yeasty skin!

Diet
Make sure your dog is on a good diet, These dogs are best suited to hypo-allergenic diets such as, raw diet, Burns, Home Made, James Wellbeloved, Royal Canin, Flint River Ranch, Nature’s Variety etc there are many brands of natural dog food. Stay away from mainstream brands that are full of additives and fillers.  This includes treats!

Shampoo's
Treatment that I have found successful is "Furstaid Shampoo for Dogs by Double K" is my favourite but there are others available such as "Coatex medicated shampoo" and "DermOpt". These Shampoos are also good for treating yeast infections, high bacterial levels in skin, sensitive and dogs with allergies, it is also good for eczema and psoriasis in dogs.

"Veterinary notes for Dog Owners" advise bathing dogs with bad skin every 2 weeks in medicated shampoo (this is classed as a medicated shampoo), I always advise to dry the dog thoroughly before it leaves the salon, as bacteria will multiply in warm, damp conditions.

Grooming
I have found that often groomers shave these dogs short and they look awful and bald. I have found the best way is to not shave too short as the hair is coarse and wired, When the hair is growing back it often irritates the skin (spiky), I have found the best way to groom these dogs is to use a short clip comb so that the hair is not as short. For example I often use a number 2 comb attachment (whal combs, dark purple) instead of a number 7 (andis / oster blade) which is often used on the back of these breeds.

Long haired / Natural coated dogs.
Dogs who are not clipped and suffer from these condition for example GSD, Labs and Golden Retrievers.  I would advise been blasted (using the blaster to get rid of as much dead hair and scurfy skin as possible) before the bath and then again after the bath. This get rid of some hair leaving the skin to air and breath.

If you have any questions or advice you would like to add to this please email us here 

Finishing Tips Friday

Wool coated breeds.

A great tip for helping you to style those labradoodles, cockapoos and poodles is to not condition them, fluff dry and have a mixture of conditioner and water.

Labradoodle without conditioner :D

I use a small spray bottle with a conditioner and water mix, it is very very dilute. This helps take the static out of the coat when trying to fluff the coat for cutting, it also leaves the coat feeling less heavy than when you condition the full coat.

Glamourwoofs XoX

Glamourwoof grooming!

I have been grooming dogs for some years now, working in the U.K and Los Angeles California.
As a groomer I always get asked .. "Where can I find details about anal glands, diets, coats etc" so I have decided to do a blog.
Basically somewhere to show my clients but it will be useful for other dog lovers as well.

I am focusing on dogs as this is my speciality but anything interesting a pet related I will blog about.

I am not a veterinarian so please take everything you read on this blog in an "opinion" format as only a veterinarian can help you with a sick or injured animal.

So lets get started!!
I hope you all find this interesting and enjoy reading my blog.
Glamourwoof XoX