Because of his double coat, your POM will need
to be groomed regularly, so it is essential that short grooming sessions should be introduced from a very early age.
From the very beginning, a few minutes each day should be set aside so that your puppy
becomes familiar with the routine. Set aside a grooming area; ideally a grooming table with a non slip surface.
In this way, your puppy will learn to associate that place with his grooming sessions, and of course, to
behave. If your puppy is taught to behave well for these sessions, grooming will be a pleasure for both of you
for many years to come. A simple, weekly routine can keep your POM clean, neat and free of tangles.
Besides the cosmetic benefits, grooming can be a pleasant experience for your POM, and strengthen the bond
between the two of you.
SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED
The supplies you will need for your POM'S grooming are: a good quality shampoo,
cream rinse, a pin brush, a slicker brush, a wide tooth metal comb made for dogs, a pair of 4" ball
tipped scissors, a pair of cat nail clippers and a low wattage hair dryer or a commercial dog dryer. You will
also need baby powder, a plastic spray bottle, and grooming spray. Be sure that the baby powder is 100%
CORN STARCH, as talcum powder can be harmful and dangerous for your POM to breathe in. You can purchase commercial
grooming mist sprays at most pet stores or where pet supplies are sold.
BRUSHING YOUR POM
Unless your POM has an unusually heavy coat, your POM only needs to be brushed once
a week. Never brush a dry coat, as this will break off the ends of the hair. Use the spray bottle filled
with water or one of the commercial tgrooming sprays. Before you start brushing, dust some baby powder behind
his ears and leave it there. This will soak up the oil that has accumulated in this area. I use a grooming
table, but if you don't have one, your lap or another hard surface will work just as well.
If you don't have a grooming table and will be using your lap, here are some tips on
how to brush your POM there. First, find a comfortable chair, cover your legs with a thick towel,
and put your POM in your lap. Put the dog on his side, with his head toward your body. Spritz some water
or grooming mist on him and starting near the rump, separate the hair until you see the skin. Hold the top section down
with one hand, and brush the bottom section in the direction the hair grows. Move up an inch and separate another
section of hair and repeat. Keep moving forward an inch or so until you have brushed his whole side. Repeat on
the other side, then place him on his back. If you have a male, moisten the gummy area on his belly with the spray,
then powder heavily and brush out the powder with the slicker brush. You may have to spritz and powder this area
more than once. When finished, switch back to the pin brush and groom the chest, under the legs, his
back and the breast area under his chest.
Change over to the slicker brush, and brush out the baby powder around the ears.
If you find tantgles, use your fingers to pull them apart, and starting near the skin, cut through the matt,
out to the end of the hair. Use the metal comb to remove the cut sections.
Finally, switch back to the pin brush. Mist the coat lightly, and brush
the whole body, going against the grain; and fluffing the hair forward toward the head. Put him on the floor
and watch him give a good shake to settle each hair into place.
TRIMMING YOUR POM
The POM can get feces stuck in his coat. To avoid this, take a pair of blunt tipped
scissors and trim a small area about 1 inch in diameter, around the anal opening.
When the hair between the POM'S toes gets too long, it interferes with his ability to
walk on slippery floors. Turn the dog on his back, and using the blunt tipped scissors, carefully cut the
hair from between the toes.
Stand your POM on a table or hard surface and trimming around the foot, remove the tuft
of hair that grows in front of the toes.
Depending on your preference, the hair on the tips of the ears can be left natural or
can be trimmed. Place your POM in a sitting position with his head facing you. Grasp the ear at the top,
putting the ear leather between your thumb and index finger. Make sure you are covering the ear tip with your fingernails.
Cut across the tip, then cut at a slight angle downward, one quarter inch on each side of the ear. Repeat
this procedure on the other ear.
BATHING YOUR POM
If you brush your POM once a week, you should rarely have to give him a bath.
If a bath does beome necessary, you can bathe him in your kitchen sink. He may become frightened of the slippery
bottom, so put a rubber mat under his feet. Before you place your POM in the sink, turn on the water and
adjust the temperature. Using the sink hose, wet him down until his coat is saturated. One word of warning:
IF THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU'RE BATHING YOUR POM, expect to have a good laugh. YOUR LITTLE FLUFF BALL IS
GOING TO LOOK LIKE A DROWNED RAT!!!
After he is thoroughly wet, move the running water out of his way, but do not
turn the water off. It is difficult to readjust the water temperature with a wet, soapy POM in the sink, so once
you have the water temperature correct, let it run during the whole bath. Sometime during the wetting process,
your POM will try to shake his coat. When he does this, grab the skin at the base of his neck and he will stop
shaking. Start at the neck area and apply enough shampoo to work into a lather. Be careful not to get any shampoo
in his eyes. Work the lather into the hair and then thoroughly rinse. Wrap him in a thick towel and wipe off all
the excess water. Use a paper towel to wipe away any moisture in his ears, then blow dry the coat.
Never use a shampoo designed for human use on your POM. This can cause his skin to become
dry and itchy. Use only shampoo that is designed for use on dogs and be especially careful if you intend to use flea
and tick shampoos. Use these only under the advice and insructions of your veterinarian as these can be harmful to your
POM.
BLOW DRYING YOUR POM'S COAT
The POM'S coat MUST be blown dry, even in the summer. The undercoat is too thick
to dry quickly and in hot, humid weather a wet undercoat can cause hot spots to develop.
Place your POM on your lap, hold the blow dryer about 10 inches away from the body,
and taking care to avoid the face, blow dry the coat for about 2 or 3 minutes. Turn the dryer off and brush
him with the pin brush, then blow dry another few minutes, and brush again. Keep repeating this until
he is dry. This could take up to an hour, because of his double coat and depending on the power of the blow dryer.
The dog may be scared of the dryer and he may try to jump off of the table or out of your lap, so hold onto him tightly.
After a while, especially if you bathe your POM often, he will get used to the
dryer. Blow drying will be easier if you are using a grooming table and a commercial dog dryer. This type of dryer
is more expensive than the small hand held ones but it will leave your hands free to brush your POM while the dryer
is blowintg him dry.
CLIPPING YOUR POM'S NAILS
Your POM should start to have his nails clipped at an early age, as this will be part of his
grooming routine throughout the rest of his life. Not only do short nails look nicer, but long nails can be sharp
and can scratch someone unintentionally. Also, a long nail has a better chance of ripping and bleeding or it can
cause the foot to spread. A good rule of thumb is that if you can hear your POMS nails clicking on the floor when he
walks, his nails are too long.
Before you start cutting, make sure you can identify the "quick" of
each nail. The quick is a blood vessel that runs through the center of each nail and grows rather close to the end of
the nail. It will bleed if accidentally cut, which will be quite painful for the dog as it contains nerve endings.
Keep some kind of clotting agent on hand, such as a styptic pencil or powder. This will stop the bleeding quickly
when applied to the end of the cut nail. Do not panic if this happens, just stop the bleeding and talk soothingly
to your dog. Once he has calmed down, move on to the next nail. It is better to clip a little at a time,
especially with black nailed dogs. Hold your POM steady as you begin to trim his nails; you do not want him to
make any sudden movements or run away. Talk to him soothingly and stroke him as you clip.
You can buy nail clippers that are especially made for dogs at most pet stores or wherever
dog grooming supplies are sold.
CARE OF YOUR POM'S TEETH
Hard kibble and nylon chew toys should keep your POM'S teeth white, but sometimes this
is not enough to do the complete job. For optimal prevention of tooth problems, brush the teeth at least three
times a week, using a toothbrush and toothpaste made for dogs. Make sure you NEVER use human toothpaste on your
POM'S teeth, as these may be harmful if swallowed by your POM.
CARING FOR YOUR POM'S EARS
During the weekly grooming, check inside your POM'S ears. If you see any kind
of wax buildup or dark brownish discharge coming from your POM'S ears--TAKE YOUR POM TO THE VETERINARIAN AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE so that his ears can be checked and he can be treated, if necessary, for these conditions.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHEDDING
The POM sheds his coat between four and six months of age and again when he reaches 1 year
of age. After that, the male will shed once a year and the female will shed at each season. Good grooming
practices will keep these shedding episodes to a minimum.
POM'S shed their coats in two different ways and each way requires a different grooming
technique. Some POM'S blow their coat all at once with large clumps of hair separating from the body. Brush out
the clumps with a slicker brush, bathe, blow dry, and brush again. You must brush the dog BEFORE
giving him a bath, otherwise the undercoat will form felt-like matts. Repeat this procedure a week later and you
should find that most of the shed is finished. When you sit down to brush your POM, make sure that you have a
large paper bag or waste basket nearby to put the dead hair in. You will probably fill the bag or basket at least
once. You will be surprised to see how much hair comes off of such a small dog.
In the second type of shed, the hair doesn't clump, but falls out continually.
Bathe the dog and blow dry. For the next two weeks, brush daily. Don't make it a long process,
just a light brushing to pull out the dead hair. Other than the shedding periods, 15 minutes once a week is all
that is needed to keep your POM well groomed.
