Trimming the coat: How to get the dog's hair right

Whether shiny and smooth or bristly and rough, whether short or long, with or without undercoat - your pet's coat not only makes him unique, but also has an important protective function: he regulates his body temperature with his hair. Therefore, your four-legged friend changes his coat twice a year, in spring from the winter coat to the thinner summer coat and in autumn back to the winter coat.

Some breeds, however, have such long or dense coats that they suffer from the heat in the summer months despite the lighter coat. If your dog's coat does not thin out sufficiently when it changes coat, it will be difficult for your four-legged friend to regulate its body temperature in particularly hot weather. Your pet may scratch constantly because the thick coat is not ventilated enough and causes itching. To make your pet feel comfortable again, you can shear or cut and trim his coat. We explain to you how to trim correctly and what you need to bear in mind.

Trimming, shearing or cutting?

When trimming, you first brush out the loose undercoat and the dead top coat and then pluck it out of your pet's coat. Regular trimming is particularly important for some breeds of dog, as they are unable to change their coat easily due to years of breeding (e.g. for human needs or specific tasks). The breeds concerned include, among others

• West Highland Terrier

• Spaniel and Setter

• Parson Russell Terrier

• Rough-haired Dachshund

and other hard-haired dog breeds.

Caution: If you shear dogs with this coat texture instead of trimming their coat regularly, it may spoil and you will need a lot of time and work for your pet's coat to recover.

Shearing is the process of shortening the dog's coat completely to the desired length using shearing machine. Shearing is only suitable for breeds with soft, fast-growing coats, such as Maltese or Poodles. For dogs with an undercoat, we strongly advise against shearing, as it has some disadvantages, such as:

• loss of top coat

• excessive regrowth of the undercoat

• matt and/or dull dog coat

• poor ventilation of the skin

Cutting is particularly recommended on all sensitive areas of the body and can be optimally combined with trimming.

How much does it cost to trim a dog?

Especially in the summer months, your dog is not only bothered by the undercoat that grows back. External dog parasites also prefer to hide in long, very dense fur and, in the worst case, not only cause unpleasant itching, but can also transmit diseases such as Lyme disease. Your dog's coat should therefore be trimmed regularly, especially in summer, at intervals of 3-4 weeks.

For a visit to the groomer, you will pay between 40 and 80 euros per appointment. The amount is calculated based on various factors such as

• dog size

• dog coat length

• matted coat

• pollution level

• paraiste infestation

Dog groomer: It also works without!

Trimming your pet's coat is not as complicated as you might think. It just requires a little skill and patience. If you are unsure, it may help you to observe the groomer's movements and learn a few tricks the next time you visit.

If you trim your animal yourself, you have to reckon with purchase costs for the tools of approx. 90-160 Euros. If you take good care of the material and treat it carefully, there will be no further costs for spare parts. It is therefore certainly worth considering trimming your dog yourself.

Trimming the dog yourself - this is how it's done!

Before you start trimming, it is a good idea to buy all the tools you need and have them ready in the right order:

1. metal comb
2. coat king (optional), a small stripping rake that loosens strong tangles and plucks them out of the coat during grooming.
3. plastic comb
4. rubber curry comb
5. soft brush
6. the actual trimming tool, such as a coarse-toothed trimming knife, a fine-toothed trimming knife or alternatively a trimming machine with coarse-toothed and fine-toothed attachment
7. effiliation scissors, a scissors with serrated blades that thin out and finely trim the coat
8. nail scissors (or other commercially available small household scissors)

Your tools are ready? Great - now it's time for trimming! First create a pleasant atmosphere and help your pet to relax. If your four-legged friend is nervous and tense, let him sniff the tools and calm him down by stroking him and talking to him gently in a low voice. If he is calm, reward him with treats for each of the following steps or rub his favourite spot with praise.

Trimming the dog: Instructions in 5 steps

1. remove dirt: first thoroughly remove heavy dirt and possible tangles with the help of the metal comb. Leave out sensitive areas such as the belly and genital area. Optionally, you can loosen fur knots and heavy matting with the King Coat. Only use it on long coats with a dense undercoat and use it very carefully to avoid injuries from the sharp blades.
2. smooth the coat: Next, smooth the fine hair of the eyebrows and the sensitive coat, for example behind the ears, with the plastic comb.
3. groom the coat: Use the rubber curry comb to brush the short, smooth coat under the belly and on the flanks. The nubs of the brush massage your pet's muscles and skin and help him to relax. For the long, soft coat on the chest and back as well as on the thighs, use the soft brush.
4. trimming with the trimming knife: Once you have brushed out all dirt, knots and tangles from the hair of your furry nose, you start with the actual trimming. First pluck out the undercoat from the head with the coarse-toothed trimming knife. Then work down the neck, along the back to the tail. Repeat this process for the top coat with the fine-toothed trimming knife.
5. almost done: Finally, trim any excess hair with the effilation scissors and shape any unevenness. Use the plastic comb to smooth and fix the excess hair before cutting. This way you avoid possible cut edges.

Dont's: 3 common trimming mistakes

Du siehst: Trimmen ist nicht kompliziert! Damit dein Liebling sich wohlfühlt und er den Vorgang in vollen Zügen genießen kann, achte darauf folgende Fehler zu vermeiden:

1. trim against the flow of the coat: if you work against the direction of the coat's growth, there is a very high risk that you will pull the dog's hair out of its roots, which would cause your four-legged friend pain.
2. trim the muzzle: draw an imaginary curved line above the eyebrows from the left to the right corner of the eye. If necessary, trim everything below this line with small scissors (e.g. nail scissors). The same applies to the long hair in front of the auricle, on the inside of the ear.
3. trim genitals and tail: trim along the thighs towards the buttocks. Leave out the genital area and anus and carefully trim any excess hair with scissors. By the way, your pet's tail is neither cut nor trimmed. You only have to carefully pluck out loose fur with your fingers.