You’re just about ready to go to bed and you let your dog out for one last pee before bedtime. You let your dog back in and you smell something. Something that smells very bad. Something that smells like… SKUNK! Your worst nightmare, your dog has been sprayed by a skunk. Your dog smells and your house smells and there are no grooming shops open at 10:00pm. Now your stuck, you have to deal with the smell until tomorrow and hope that you can get the smell out of your carpet and furniture, not to mention yourself. You wish there was something you could do to get rid of the smell now. Well good news, there is. Using products you may normally find around your home you can bath that skunk chasing K9 and get rid of the smell right away. First and foremost, never wet your dog down first before using this formula. The chemicals in a skunks spray reacts with water and will spread making in almost impossible to get rid of all the smell until it wears away. Second, just to dissolve an old wives tale, tomato paste or sauce will not work unless it is allowed to full dry on your dog. That can take, on a medium to longhaired dog 12 to 24 hours. I’m pretty sure you don’t have the time to sit around and wait for your dog to dry with tomato paste covering him. If your dog is white or blond colored, you will also end up with a pink dog instead that will take quite a while to fade. To make this skunk solution you will need: 1- bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide 3%, ¾ box of Baking soda, 1 cup of dish soap, (Dawn, Palmolive). You will also need an empty dish detergent bottle to mix the ingredient together in, it will also make it easier to apply to your dog. Mix all three ingredients together well. Apply the mixture to your dog liberally. Be careful not to get the mixture into your dog’s eyes or mouth. Baking soda can be harmful if swallowed and peroxide can be dangerous to the eyes. Use a face cloth to apply the mixture to your dogs face. If your dog is anything like mine, they probably got sprayed right in the face. Rub the mixture into your dog’s skin and coat. Make sure to completely saturate your dog in the mixture. Let the mixture sit on your dog for about 5 min. Rinse thoroughly starting with the head and face. Lift your dogs head to make sure the mixture runs away from the eyes and mouth. It is always easier if you have an extra set of hands. Towel dry. This mixture has been proven to work if you follow the instructions. For more information about skunk treatments contact: thepetproject@zoomshare.com

Many clients have come into my shop at the beginning of the summer, asking to have their naturally coated dog shaved. Naturally coated dogs are: Golden Retrievers, Collies, Shepard’s etc. These clients believe that shaving their dog will keep it cooler during the hot summer months. This is not true. There are many reasons why a naturally coated dog should not be shaved. One: it ruins the coat. A naturally coated dog has two different types of hair. The longer coarser hair is called the Guard hairs. This hair sheds much less frequently. The Guard hairs have a natural oil coating that protects the dog’s skin from water. The Guard hairs are also deep rooted into mussels under the skins surface. This allows the dog to raise the hair on its back when warning another dog or human that it is not happy and might show aggression. The second type of hair is called the undercoat. This is what sheds on your dog. The undercoat is usually much softer and finer than the guard hairs. The undercoat acts as an insulator during the colder months of the year. The undercoat sheds and re-grows much faster than the Guard hairs. If you shave your naturally coated dog the undercoat will grow much faster than the Guard hairs. This causes a fuzzy barrier that the Guard hairs must try to penetrate. This leads to increased matting of the coat. Not only is matting ugly to look at, it is extremely uncomfortable for your dog because it pulls on the skin and traps moisture, which will cause any number of skin problems. Reason Number Two: Your dog’s coat works as insulation. Your dog’s coat acts much in the same way as the insulation in your home. It can keep your home warmer in the winter months by preventing the warm air from escaping and keeping the cool air out, and it can keep you home cooler in the summer months by keeping the cool air in and the hot air out. Shaving your naturally coated dog removes a natural way your dog keeps cool in the hot weather. Sunlight is a heat source. Your dog needs its coat for a barrier between the sun and its skin. This helps against sunburn and overheating. If your dog has no coat the sun is in direct contact with your dogs skin. In the same way that the insulation in your home has air pockets to trap the cool or warm air, so does your dog’s coat. These air pockets trap cooler or warmer air, keeping your dog comfortable in all types of weather. However, if there is too much of a build up of undercoat your dog will not have enough air pockets to trap the cool air and ward off the hot air in the summer. In the early spring it is always a good idea to remove the extra undercoat. A good brushing with a proper brush and technique will reduce the shedding and make your dog much more comfortable in the hot months to come. If you feel that you cannot handle such a task, contact a professional for tips or a grooming appointment. Not shaving your naturally coated dog is much safer and healthier. For more information on your pets coat or grooming tips contact Sarah @ Top Knot Professional Grooming, Ajax – 905-683-0066 or email: topknotpg@zoomshare.com

To understand matting you must first understand the anatomy of your dog’s coat. Breeds such as Golden Retrievers, German Shepard’s, Collies, and Labs etc. as well as some small breeds, such as terriers and Pomeranians have a double coat. A double coat consists of two different types of hair. The long coarser hair is called the Guard- coat. The finer usually softer and shorter hair is called the Undercoat. The undercoat is what sheds on your dog. The undercoat sheds and re- grows constantly, while the Guard-coat almost never sheds. The Guard-coat, under a microscope looks like a stem of a rose. Protruding off of the guard hairs are little briers. These briers and the combination of shedding undercoat, dander and dirt cause matting. When the undercoat is released it has to make its way up through the guard hairs and off the dog. When the guard coat is tangled with other guard hairs the undercoat can get stuck in amongst the guard hairs, trapping it. Then if your dog gets dirty or skin particles get involved it becomes a mat. The longer a tangle is left the worse the mat will become. Sometimes a mat can almost ‘appear over night’. The guard hairs run deeper into the skin than the undercoat. The guard hairs attach to muscles under the skins surface. This allows the dog to raise the hair on the back of the neck and tail when being aggressive. When a matt is formed it webs the guard hair together tightly. This not only pulls on the skin causing discomfort, but it pulls on the muscles as well. This can become quite painful for your pet. Wetting or bathing your dog when they have matting will only make the situation worse. The matt will absorb the water making it denser and harder to dry. This can lead to increased bacteria growth on your dog’s skin and additional skin problems such as, hot spots and sores. Removing bad matting can also cause skin irritation. If your pet has bad matting, do not try to brush the mats out. Some smaller mats may be able to be removed by brushing, however constant brushing in the same spot can scratch the skin and cause another problem all together. The best way to remove matting is to have a professional shave it off with electric clippers. Depending on the severity of the matting this may also cause skin irritation, however it is minimal discomfort compared to brushing. The best way to avoid matting is to routinely brush your dog. A wire slicker brush and a metal comb are the best tools. Sometimes it may look as if you have brushed your dog, but unless you check with a metal comb you may have only brushed the top layer. You must brush down to the skin where the undercoat begins. With using a comb you can make sure you have gotten right down to the skin, thus removing the undercoat and any chance of a matt starting. Many owners have said to me that a wire slicker brush looks too painful to use. Trust me, it’s not. Any brush can be painful if not used properly. One thing to remember is not to continually brush in the same spot for too long. Any prolonged brushing, or petting for that matter, can irritate the skin. Proper and routinely brushing your pet will reduce shedding and matting and make your pet happier and healthier. By: Sarah Hill – Owner Top Knot Professional Grooming - Ajax