Long Haired Yorkie

[gopack]

I am watching my neighbor’s yorkie for two weeks while she is in a cruise. I would really like to give her a bath but I have no experience with all of this hair! My shih tzu recently passed away so I have experience bathing dogs but mine always had a puppy cut. Is it hard to get the hair under control after a bath? I don’t want to end up with a tangled mess. Thanks!

 

[lorimay]

I had one many many moons ago, like right after we got married in 1987.
I would shampoo her then use cream rinse on that long hair and then brush her while using the blow dryer on a low setting.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am watching my neighbor’s yorkie for two weeks while she is in a cruise. I would really like to give her a bath but I have no experience with all of this hair! My shih tzu recently passed away so I have experience bathing dogs but mine always had a puppy cut. Is it hard to get the hair under control after a bath? I don’t want to end up with a tangled mess. Thanks!

Hmm, I thought it might be like mine, a Cairn Terrier, since they and the Yorkshire Terrier are similar.

Mine has a long-ish, natural coat and I sometimes bathe him at home, though you're not really supposed to too often, and I let the groomer deal with getting out the undercoat and dead hairs (modified stripping). I use a good quality conditioning shampoo and let him dry naturally, then brush him with a nylon people brush.

But I took a peek at grooming for the long haired Yorkie and it may be more complicated than that.
https://thehappypuppysite.com/yorkie-grooming/

You have to be very careful getting knots out as it really hurts them. (I just cut them out if they occur.)

Why do you want to bathe him, does he smell or did he get into something? Lol. Is it possible to text the owner and ask if it's ok to bathe him? Or maybe you could take him to his regular groomer. Otherwise, I might wait!

 

[gopack]

Hmm, I thought it might be like mine, a Cairn Terrier, since they and the Yorkshire Terrier are similar.

Mine has a long-ish, natural coat and I sometimes bathe him at home, though you're not really supposed to too often, and I let the groomer deal with getting out the undercoat and dead hairs (modified stripping). I use a good quality conditioning shampoo and let him dry naturally, then brush him with a nylon people brush.

But I took a peek at grooming for the long haired Yorkie and it may be more complicated than that.
https://thehappypuppysite.com/yorkie-grooming/

You have to be very careful getting knots out as it really hurts them. (I just cut them out if they occur.)

Why do you want to bathe him, does he smell or did he get into something? Lol. Is it possible to text the owner and ask if it's ok to bathe him? Or maybe you could take him to his regular groomer. Otherwise, I might wait!

Thanks for the information! Yes I think you are right that I am better off to leave it alone! I think the dog was a little confused and nervous to be staying at our house (we live next door) and she had some diarrhea. Of course I got her cleaned up and had to cut out a little bit of hair around the area but I would love to get her bathed. Unfortunately I am not able to reach the owner right now. I think I will wait until I can get the ok and take her to the groomer. That is probably the safest option haha!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thanks for the information! Yes I think you are right that I am better off to leave it alone! I think the dog was a little confused and nervous to be staying at our house (we live next door) and she had some diarrhea. Of course I got her cleaned up and had to cut out a little bit of hair around the area but I would love to get her bathed. Unfortunately I am not able to reach the owner right now. I think I will wait until I can get the ok and take her to the groomer. That is probably the safest option haha!

Ah, she needs a butt wash! If you have a sprayer that should be fairly easy to do - just do the rear end. Have all supplies on hand, towel, shampoo or soap, a helper if possible, etc. If no sprayer, you could just put some warm water in your tub or sink and have her sit in it for a few, and wash that way. It shouldn't be too hard and it shouldn't upset the rest of the coat too much. She'll feel and smell better! If you have a rubber mat it might prevent slipping around, otherwise maybe a towel in the bottom of the sink or tub. Towel dry.

 

[Hrhpd]

Thanks for the information! Yes I think you are right that I am better off to leave it alone! I think the dog was a little confused and nervous to be staying at our house (we live next door) and she had some diarrhea. Of course I got her cleaned up and had to cut out a little bit of hair around the area but I would love to get her bathed. Unfortunately I am not able to reach the owner right now. I think I will wait until I can get the ok and take her to the groomer. That is probably the safest option haha!

Hopefully this is not a show dog, otherwise you just did serious damage to their show career by trimming hair. Personally, I wouldn't do anything to the dog except taking a washcloth to the rear until you hear from the owner. Some owners are very, very, VERY particular about their dog's coat. I would be seriously pissed off if someone trimmed my dog's hair without asking me. But mine are showdogs where coats are important.

Just clean her up as best you can until you hear from the owner.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Hopefully this is not a show dog, otherwise you just did serious damage to their show career by trimming hair. Personally, I wouldn't do anything to the dog except taking a washcloth to the rear until you hear from the owner. Some owners are very, very, VERY particular about their dog's coat. I would be seriously pissed off if someone trimmed my dog's hair without asking me. But mine are showdogs where coats are important.

Just clean her up as best you can until you hear from the owner.

If the owner is that particular, next time she should board her professionally.

 

[Hrhpd]

If the owner is that particular, next time she should board her professionally.

I totally agree. However, people are weird about their animals. Since so many people anthropomorphize their animals, would anyone cut a child's hair they were watching? Some people would be as horrified about their precious doggy's hair.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I totally agree. However, people are weird about their animals. Since so many people anthropomorphize their animals, would anyone cut a child's hair they were watching? Some people would be as horrified about their precious doggy's hair.

I guess so. But as a dog owner, I would be horrified to think that my poor neighbor had to live with poop smell for two weeks! I don't think you can ever really get a dog's butt totally clean with just a washcloth.

 

[gopack]

Ah, she needs a butt wash! If you have a sprayer that should be fairly easy to do - just do the rear end. Have all supplies on hand, towel, shampoo or soap, a helper if possible, etc. If no sprayer, you could just put some warm water in your tub or sink and have her sit in it for a few, and wash that way. It shouldn't be too hard and it shouldn't upset the rest of the coat too much. She'll feel and smell better! If you have a rubber mat it might prevent slipping around, otherwise maybe a towel in the bottom of the sink or tub. Towel dry.

Haha I did not think of doing a butt wash! That is exactly what I need to do. Thanks for the idea!

 

[gopack]

Hopefully this is not a show dog, otherwise you just did serious damage to their show career by trimming hair. Personally, I wouldn't do anything to the dog except taking a washcloth to the rear until you hear from the owner. Some owners are very, very, VERY particular about their dog's coat. I would be seriously pissed off if someone trimmed my dog's hair without asking me. But mine are showdogs where coats are important.

Just clean her up as best you can until you hear from the owner.

She is not a show dog, just a sweet pet. I didn’t trim her hair I just cut a few strands around her behind where I could not get out the poop. I am just trying to do my neighbor a favor so she did not have to spend hundreds of dollars boarding her dog. I am sure you must make professional accommodations for your show dog when you travel. I am just curious how much time you have to spend brushing your dog each day? I have been brushing her some to try to keep her from getting any matted areas but it is a job!

 

[jsmith]

She is not a show dog, just a sweet pet. I didn’t trim her hair I just cut a few strands around her behind where I could not get out the poop. I am just trying to do my neighbor a favor so she did not have to spend hundreds of dollars boarding her dog. I am sure you must make professional accommodations for your show dog when you travel. I am just curious how much time you have to spend brushing your dog each day? I have been brushing her some to try to keep her from getting any matted areas but it is a job!

Haha-you really do not want to know the answer to that. I have two Bernese Mountain Dogs who are "show" dogs. We actually compete in a variety of show and performance venues. We spend about an hour a day on coat maintenance on the dog that is a "special" or competitive show dog and 20 minutes or so on the other dog. They get bathed frequently-weekly when showing and at least monthly when only doing performance events ( which include herding which takes place in sheep corrals ) Bathing is a 2 hour plus job between the bath and getting the dog blown dry and brushed out. Now there are some differences between the Berners and a Yorkie-like a 30 to 1 difference in size but also coat texture. The Yorkies silky coat is actually much more difficult to groom than my boys heavier double coats. You did the right thing doing a bit of a trim if the dog is not a show dog -if it were the owner would have probably had the handler or other professional groomer board the dog since on going coat maintenance is required.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I asked my good friend who breeds and shows this hypothetical question and she agreed she'd be upset if one of her show dogs had their coat cut. Makes sense.

She also said washing in warm water should be fine to get it out.

But since this isn't a show dog, no harm, no foul.

When my dog's coat gets longer in between groomings, if I don't trim his butt, he can get poop stuck and it becomes really uncomfortable for him (and stinky) as he tries to get it out himself. So I go to work and wash it out with a sprayer and shampoo, then trim it back. But since he's a show fail it doesn't matter. I've even completely groomed him myself and he still looked pretty good, with other owners I met even asking if I could do theirs, too. (For which I'd rather stick knitting needles in my eyes!) Thankfully scruffy is ok with my dog.

 

[gopack]

Haha-you really do not want to know the answer to that. I have two Bernese Mountain Dogs who are "show" dogs. We actually compete in a variety of show and performance venues. We spend about an hour a day on coat maintenance on the dog that is a "special" or competitive show dog and 20 minutes or so on the other dog. They get bathed frequently-weekly when showing and at least monthly when only doing performance events ( which include herding which takes place in sheep corrals ) Bathing is a 2 hour plus job between the bath and getting the dog blown dry and brushed out. Now there are some differences between the Berners and a Yorkie-like a 30 to 1 difference in size but also coat texture. The Yorkies silky coat is actually much more difficult to groom than my boys heavier double coats. You did the right thing doing a bit of a trim if the dog is not a show dog -if it were the owner would have probably had the handler or other professional groomer board the dog since on going coat maintenance is required.

Wow that is some dedication!! Thanks for the info!

 

[gopack]

I asked my good friend who breeds and shows this hypothetical question and she agreed she'd be upset if one of her show dogs had their coat cut. Makes sense.

She also said washing in warm water should be fine to get it out.

But since this isn't a show dog, no harm, no foul.

When my dog's coat gets longer in between groomings, if I don't trim his butt, he can get poop stuck and it becomes really uncomfortable for him (and stinky) as he tries to get it out himself. So I go to work and wash it out with a sprayer and shampoo, then trim it back. But since he's a show fail it doesn't matter. I've even completely groomed him myself and he still looked pretty good, with other owners I met even asking if I could do theirs, too. (For which I'd rather stick knitting needles in my eyes!) Thankfully scruffy is ok with my dog.

A show fail-ha! Thank you Pea-n-Me for your help! I honestly do not understand why anyone would want to deal with all of this hair for a pet. It seems hard on the dog and the owner!