These instructions are intended for the pet owner but may contain information helpful to the new show person.

Grooming your Pom means having the basic tools on hand and some knowledge as to care of the coat. While these instructions are basically for the pet owner, new show people may find some of the tips helpful as they begin the search for grooming tools, and products.             Click on the magic wand to be taken to the Grooming Tools and Products page.

It is very important to make certain your Pom's coat is completely brushed and combed until it is free from all tangles BEFORE you bathe him! If you wet the coat before thoroughly brushing it, you will "set" any snarls in. I like to brush with a #1 All Systems  pin brush. Cost roughly $15.00

 Begin by lightly misting the coat with a conditioning spray. We like Crown Royale Magic Touch Grooming Spray Concentrate formula #3. Cost $25.00 for a 16 oz bottle. Expensive but you mix it 1 part concentrate to 15 parts water so this would last you for a very long time. Now remember, just misting! Do not saturate! Over wetting the coat will "set in" any tangles or snarls. Brush upward toward the head working with small parted sections at a time starting with the fur right behind the ears.  After brushing a small section, run a poodle comb through the same section to make sure it is snarl free before moving on to the next. This is called "line brushing" Use a WIDE toothed stainless steel comb. We like to use what is called a "poodle comb" for this purpose. Continue working in this manner until you have gone over all the coat on one side of the dog, then turn your Pom over and do the other side. Finally finish by brushing out the tummy and skirt . In the areas just behind the ears, under the arms and within the skirt, I find that a small soft slicker brush is needed or helpful occasionally. I like to use a"#1 All Systems" or "Safari" brand. Because of their softness they are not as apt to break hair off or scratch the skin. Do be sure to brush your Pom out thoroughly once a week to avoid having to snip out tangles thereby ruining the beauty of the coat! A once a week complete line brushing and combing all the way to the skin will keep your Pom in great condition!

When you are finished "line brushing" it is time for some bubbles! I recommend that the companion Pom be bathed at least every 2 weeks. Wet the Pom and lather him with your favorite dog shampoo. Human shampoo's have a more acidic pH where as canine skin is considered mildly alkaline. I like the original "Goodwinol" A soap less, emollient based anti-bacterial, germicidal shampoo and corrective cleansing aid. Relieves itching & scratching.   If the skin is flaky, itchy or odorous, due to a skin condition I would suggest  Malaseb  shampoo which will combat any yeast, staph, or bacteria taking residence on your baby's skin. I will give you information on where to purchase these things on the grooming supplies page. You also may be able to purchase this from your vet. You can also use Extra strength Denorex dandruff shampoo on flaky skin (human shampoo sold at Wal-mart).  Heartz makes a medicated shampoo sold at Wal-mart which may help and certainly can be used for cleaning and shampooing your dog.

 If you still have flaking dandruff  or other skin irritations you might want to think about using Revolution topical treatment for dandruff mites which may be present but often not easily detected.

 Revolution  (purchased thru veterinarians) gets not only fleas and ticks, but is a heartworm preventative, kills ear mites and body mites which can cause itching and hair loss.

 Lather well rinse and repeat. When using an expensive shampoo such as the Malaseb, we usually shampoo with an inexpensive one for the 1st lathering then use the good stuff for the 2nd go :) Follow up with a detangling conditioner such as Coat Handlers, following the instructions on the bottle.

With the bath and rinsing finished, wrap the Pom in a towel to absorb excess water and unless you own a powerful forced air dryer (recommended) set your blow dryer on warm (not hot) drying the dog as you brush. Mist the coat lightly with your ever ready bottle of conditioning spray throughout the drying process. Unless you purchased  your Pom from a breeder who has already begun routine grooming sessions, I would recommend introducing the Pom to all this stimuli in small doses. You can do this by perhaps allowing him to dry naturally until 1/2 way dry. No question he would be delighted to give himself a good shake after his toweling off and then glide through the living room carpet pushing his face into the pile! When your Pom is 1/2 dry or so, finish off  the drying process with the warm blow dryer. Soon he will take all of this with no problem once he is used to your style of handling him during these grooming sessions.

Now it's time to tidy up the little tyke! Lets start with the feet beginning with the nails. It is of paramount importance to trim the nails every 2 weeks. It will be easier if you do this right after the bath while the nails are still soft. Keep the Kwik Stop (styptic powder) near you on a table and have it ready to use. Never trim nails without having the Kwik Stop sitting right there ready to use if needed! Begin by opening the container of styptic powder and dump some into the lid of the container, ready to grab a pinch if needed. Turn the little darling over on his back with his head laying on your knees. You may have to shift him about to get the right angle for clipping off those nails. First select a toe and grasp it between your fingers applying slight pressure on the pad right behind the nail bed and on top of the toe in front of the nail bed. Applying pressure to the toe while cutting the nail short, then quickly putting a good pinch of Kwik Stop on the cut tip will prevent any bleeding from getting out of hand. If you do "quick" the nail, then while you still have the toe grasped firmly, reach over and take a pinch of the styptic powder (Kwik Stop) and dab it on the end of the nail BEFORE releasing the pressure. This will stop the bleeding instantly if done correctly. For the show circuit we must keep the nails trimmed back looking like a little cats paw. Around the house simply keep them short enough not to hear clicking when the dog walks. After all imagine your nails grown out so long they touch the floor. OUCH! If you just don't feel like you can trim nails, please take your Pom in to your vet, or to a local groomer to do this for you. Also, anytime you have to go to the vet for a dental cleaning or other reasons, have them clip those nails while they are already under anesthesia! If they are already under anesthesia for some other procedure, ask the vet to cut the nail back to just an 1/8"

With the nail clipping out of the way, lets move on to the rest of the foot. Begin by trimming the hair from the bottom of the foot around the pads, being careful not to cut the skin webbing down in between the toes, or the pads themselves. You can use a small curved scissor with blunt ends which can be purchased at beauty supply houses or ordered from pet catalogs. You could use a small straight scissor if you like. Be sure it is a HAIR scissor and remember ~ be careful!

Now stand your Pom on the grooming surface. Picking up one paw at a time, round that hair off. That's right, get rid of those elf shoes! Trim the hair straight across the end of the foot where the tip of the nails are, and then just sort of round it off following the shape of the foot. The goal here is to end up with a "cats foot" appearance. Mist the foot and leg hair, then brush the hair up with the slicker brush. Using the small scissors trim any wild hairs on the top of the foot or leg. Now don't give him a "haircut" here:) Just the wild hairs! Examine your work and stop when you are satisfied with the look of it.

Let us do the ears next! You will begin by gently grasping the ear and holding it between your thumb and forefinger. Brush the long hairs back out of your way, and deal only with the tips at this time. Take your thumbnail and slide it up until you reach the edge of the ear. Cover the tip of the ear leather with your thumb nail so that it is protected from accidentally being cut. Using the small straight scissors, cut straight across to remove the pointed hair. If you are pinching the ear too tightly it will have a jagged appearance when you release it. As you gain experience, you will be able to judge this better, so for now just remember to hold the tip of the ear with very little pressure and it will not look so jagged when you let go:) As show breeders we want to soften the look. To do this we use thinning scissors. Re-cutting the tips of the already cut hair using thinning scissors gives a much improved appearance to not only the ear tips, but the over all coat. For people who want to do a more complete professional grooming we'll come back to do more trimming lessons using the thinners in a little while. For now let's move on to the fanny :)

To trim the fanny on a Pom I usually turn the dog sideways so the head is to my left and the rear is to my right hand (I am right handed, lefties will operate in reverse) Taking your small straight scissors, begin trimming in a circular pattern around the anus. You may want to trim this area in a circle the size of a quarter or as large as a silver dollar. Just clean this area up real good so that there is no problem with any fecal matter clinging to the coat. This is for the house pets only, as we do not want to see "winkies" in the show ring! While you have your Pom turned to the side you may want to trim the skirt to a length that is pleasing to you. Just trim straight across and then if you like, round off the corners making a wide U shape.

With the Pom still in this sideways stance you may wish to trim away some of the hair underneath in the tummy region. For the show ring we like to make a nice inverted "V" with the highest point somewhere in the center of the tummy area, blending out towards the front and rear legs. The key to a tidy precision show appearance is not to have any jagged edges. Everything is re-trimmed and smoothed out using the thinning scissors. For pet owners the main goal is neat, tidy, clean, so for that purpose feel free to trim away as much or as little as you like to make the coat manageable for you. I personally do not mind if my pet owners feel a need to take their Pom to a groomer for a "lion cut" or "puppy cut" I prefer this option over a dirty or matted coat. Your Poms will be happier if  they are clean and free of itchy skin and mats which can pull and hurt.

Again, these instructions are intended for the pet owner but may contain information helpful to the new show person.

Click HERE to be taken to the Grooming Tools and Products page.

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