More questions from a new mommy...

[boosiebutt]

Does anybody have a good solution for doggy eye-goober? Peanut has the fur around his eyes kind of stuck down with icky glue-y eye-goober. I tried just a warm wet paper towel, and an eye-wipe that I bougt from Petco, but it seems like it would take about 4 hours to get it done, and Peanut will stand for me doing it for about .0000000000000004 seconds. I'm afraid the goober stuff will eat up the fur on his face. Any suggestions?

Also, anyone with a yorkie or other small, longhaired dog, when did you first get a grooming? Peanut is going totally gray on the top of his head, so he's got black tips, and gray roots, and at his parting, he looks like he's going bald at those spots. I did trim the fur on his ears myself, to try to get them to pop up, and lo and behold 3 days later, they're up! :bday:

And, for random news I wanted to share, Peanut's new Yorkie neighbor came home yesterday. She's even more of a peanut than Peanut! Her owner doesn't know how old she is, gut she's still really black with dark tan on her ears only, so she can't be that old. We tried to introduce them, but Peanut was a little to rambunctious for her (plus she'd just been taken away from her mom and littermates, and driven for 2 hours, so she was a little wiped from the stress). Even though I've only had Peanut for a couple of weeks, I can't believe he was ever that tiny! (Mom says he was though.)

Plus, I bought a little blanket coat and booties for Peanut. We had a cold snap in Iowa a couple of weeks ago, and poor Peanut was shivering everytime we went for a walk. I told my sisters I'd never be one of those people who dress up their dog... but, what're you gonna do? My baby's gotta be warm!

Ok, enough of my jabber! :wink: Thanks for all of your advice! This is a great forum!

[Pumpkin the musher]

First, I would trim the hair (carefully) around his eyes. The eye wipes work , and there are also bottled solutions that you can just use with a tissue that are alittle less expensive. You have to be very commited to cleaning the eye area or a dark stain will develop that is hard to remove. My vet told me with my Pom Cricket that there could be a blocked tear duct- they have a simple test to check for it. Also, if the goo is greeninsh, that could signal an eye infection- another sign would be that the inside of the eye lid were red instead of pink. That would warrent a definite trip to the vet. Don't worry about dressing up your little guy- here's a pic of Cricket with her "winter suit" on. Little ones get cold fast!

[Guest Anonymous]

LOL pumpkin that picture is soo cute!!!

[imported_Matty]

Also, anyone with a yorkie or other small, longhaired dog, when did you first get a grooming?

Its a good idea to get a young pup used to going to a groomer as early as possible. Perhaps have a groomer trim around your pups eyes, have them trim the pups nails. Then take the pup in weekly to have the groomer set him on the table and run a clipper beside him so the noise won't upset him.
Then maybe schedule a bath the next week. Groomers appreciate it when you get your pup used to them.

[boosiebutt]

LOL, pumpkin, that picture is super-cute!


matty, thanks for the advice. Maybe if the groomer can get me started, it will make it easier for me to take care of his eyes, and maybe i could see him do it, it will help me see how to get Peanut "pinned down" to let me get it done! :D

Do groomers use blow dryers? I've given Peanut a couple of baths, and try to blow him dry a little, because he gets the shivers even wrapped up in a towel and cuddled with me, but he doesn't like it at all!

[imported_Kat]

Trimming away the hair carefully is the first thing and if you want, get into a routine of bathing his eyes every morning with a saline solution of a teaspoon of salt in a pint of luke-warm water. Handle him a lot all over his body from his ears to his toes, so that he isn't shell-shocked when he goes to a groomer. In response to the low-drying, most use a dog dryer where the dog is put into a cage type thing and warm air is blown over him, then he is finished off with a hair-dryer.

[boosiebutt]

I'm in Cedar Rapids, just down I380. Poor Peanut would just sit there and shiver. And not a pee or poo would appear until we got inside with the nice warm air and nice soft carpet.

I tried him in a little "x-small" sweatshirt from Petco, but it was still too big on him. Every couple of steps, one of his feet would come up into the sweatshirt and get stuck in there, causing him to trip around. Thankfully it's warmed up at least a little.

[imported_Matty]

Do groomers use blow dryers? I've given Peanut a couple of baths, and try to blow him dry a little, because he gets the shivers even wrapped up in a towel and cuddled with me, but he doesn't like it at all

Yes, groomers use high velocity dryers, they usually will put the dryer on low speed and hand dry to pup/dog. It takes too long to leave a pup/dog in under a cage dryer, plus if you have a coat which may have a tendancy to curl it would be pointless to put the dog under a cage dryer. I am not saying that Yorkies coat curls, just that some breeds coat will curl. It also makes the process of grooming a whole lot faster.
The idea of taking the pup to a grooming shop young is so the pup can spend small amounts of time in getting used to the athmoshere of a grooming shop. The groomer can also show you how to take care of the eye area and how to brush out your Yorkie properly. Remember, it won't be long until he has an adult coat. I myself would perfer to keep a Yorkie in a puppy trim, I find the long coat tends to tangle easily and its dreadful when out on walks, brings back half the forest on a small little dog :lol:

With a long coated breed which will probably be in to be groomed every 3-4 months, its best to get them used to the groomer a little bit at a time. Little drop in's are great(call your groomer ahead of time :wink: ).

[imported_Matty]

here is a good article for you

To properly care for your dog's eyes, be sure to:

Keep all hair out of your dog's eyes since scratches to the cornea (the clear membrane across the surface of the eye) can result from contact with hair. Trim the hair using only blunt-nosed scissors, cutting parallel to the edge of the eyelid. This is especially important where the skin folds near the eyes in breeds like Pekingese, Lhasa Apso, and Maltese.

Keep eyes clear of mucus at all times. Infections are often caused by bacteria that overgrow on mucus. Use a sterile eyewash and/or eye wipes to keep eye area clean.

Apply a protective ophthalmic ointment under the top lid to protect the eyes before bathing, facial cleanings, and insecticide treatment. Even 'tearless' shampoos can irritate if too much gets in the eyes or if it is not rinsed out soon enough.

'Tear staining' is a common problem with particular breeds of dogs (e.g., Poodles and Cocker Spaniels), and can get unsightly if not taken care of. Tears are bactericidal, which means they kill the bacteria that can cause infections of the eye. Normally, tears flow across the surface of the eye and quickly drain through the tear duct. This discoloration at the corners of the eyes is caused by normal tears that spill out and lay on the surrounding hair. For breeds that tend to have tear or saliva stains, you could clean hair in affected areas at least weekly with a tear stain remover product.