I discovered that my dog has allergies to certain products that I routinely used for cleaning. So I have had to switch to more natural and environmentally friendly ones. That is of course good for my pet and the earth, but I may not have made the changes, at least not now, except for the health of my dog.

By learning to groom my own pet, I have discovered many things about animal care in areas where I was clueless. Some of that training cost me tuition but it was well worth it.
Ed DeJoliet recently posted..Do It Yourself Dog Grooming

My life with Jasmine can now be divided into two distinct periods – the “Pre-FURminator” era, and the “Post-Furminator” or “Bliss” era.

For nine years I have struggled with Jasmine’s aversion to all things grooming related, and with her Alaskan Malamute double coat grooming is a necessity. I have spent a fortune on all manner of different brushes, rakes, combs and blades to no avail. Jasmine would sit still for about four strokes of a brush and then either flee the room or squirm around making further brushing near impossible.

Then a few months ago while shopping for yet another kind of dematting blade to try I had a chance to chat with a groomer who recommended the FURminator for Jasmine’s thick coat. She won me over when she said she had used one on a Husky a couple days earlier and it performed better than anything else she had tried on that kind of coat. So I ordered a FURminator, and was soon dubiously eyeing the tiny teeth of my new tool wondering how they would ever make a dent on Jasmine’s double coat. But work it did – I’m still not sure how – and not only did I soon have a mountain of Jasmine’s fur brushed out, but even more impressive was how she sat calmly the entire time and didn’t try to flee once, that had never happened before! I was in awe – my only regret was I hadn’t found out about the FURminator earlier. Grooming is now a pleasure, although whenever I try to sneakily use a different brush or comb on thicker parts of her coat Jasmine still bolts…oh and she still howls at the top of her lungs the entire time the hydrobath man washes her (no FURminators available to fix that!)

As for the nail clipping, here’s a nifty tip that works for me since Jersey *loves* to get her nails clipped. I put her leash on & sit her on the couch. For some reason, it calms her down & makes puppy toe clip time less stressful. This also worked on one of my Mom’s dogs that wasn’t a toe clip fan, either.

Mary, I’d love to know the name of that nail clipping tool. I only know about the plain clippers and the dremmel-style drills, which are a little frightening because of the noise. If you’ve got another option, I’d love to include it.