James had a puppy clip, removing much unwanted fur. He’s smiling and wagging his tail.
Trimming an English Setter takes time, under the best of circumstances. Trimming the Senior Dog needs to be expedited as much as possible. Standing for a long period of time is difficult for a senior dog, even with breaks.
My Senior Dog James was in dire need of a trim. I had put it off way too long – for many reasons: I don’t like to put him through it too often, the intense heat and humidity would make it that much harder a task, and I came down with Lyme disease – so I had no energy to take it on. As time went on, James began to look like a sheep-needing-shearing! As soon as there was a two-day break in the weather, I seized the opportunity. Part One, brushing and bathing were covered in yesterday’s post. Today, Part Two, the trim…
Tub with roll-out ramp
While I put off James’ trim, I was pondering a way to make the whole experience for my Senior Dog one that would be more relaxing and enjoyable for him. Up until his hind legs became arthritic about a year ago, James would jump right up on the grooming table all excited about having a trim. Yesterday, while bathing James, it dawned on me that he was totally relaxed in the tub, surrounded by the security of the steel walls. The roll-out ramp had made it possible for him to walk up into the tub with assistance from me. (Waiting for him in the tub was a cookie! Now, that was a pleasant experience!) I decided, why not trim James in the security of the tub, vacuuming up the fur as we went along? The whole thing would be easy on me and on my Senior Dog. I figured it would be worth a try.
The tub proved to be the perfect place to get the major trimming
Smooth transfer from tub to table
accomplished. I was able to trim James’ feet without him feeling like he would fall. It’s so important to keep the fur between the dog’s foot pads trimmed. This helps with traction. Even more so for the Senior Dog whose pads become smooth with aging. Once James’ neck and body were trimmed, it was time to make the transfer to the grooming table. I had given a lot of thought to how this would be done. Easy: I moved the table right up next to the tub and James’ walked out from the tub onto the table. Very smooth transition. Once he was stationed on the table, I worked quickly to trim his head, face, legs, and scissor his body feathers and tail feathers. Done! He was happy to be clean and looking good! He looks quite youthful with his cool puppy clip! Throughout the entire event, James wagged his tail and smiled – and got lots of hugs and cookie breaks.