Home-grooming question

[dogmelissa]

Hello.

I found out this weekend that the girl who used to groom my dog (who travelled a lot and did it when she was in town), is now settled in a town that is a 14 hr drive from me. So I invested in a clipper & comb set and I'm going to groom my dog at home. Now I'm not that picky about how he really looks; he's mostly Maltese and I want his coat short, so it's not like he's going to look like a show-dog anyhow. But the video that came with the kit, to introduce you to grooming, included everything BUT the ears & the tail. They used a toy poodle to demonstrate, and then showed different head styles on a cocker spaniel, poodle, and schnauzer. I'm ok with the nose/eyes/top of head, because I know what I want my dog to look like there, but they didn't show anything about how to do the tail or the ears. They showed a schnauzer getting the hair on his ears totally trimmed off, but I like the longer fur on my dog, just not sure how to groom it. Also, he has a curly tail which has ever-growing fur, so it needs to be trimmed as well, but I'm not sure how to do that.

Does anyone have any experience doing home grooming on this type of dog, or on a similarly-built dog and can share some suggestions/ideas for these areas with me? Or even just some pictures on different ways for them to look and I can figure out what combination of clippers & scissors to use to get there?

Thanks in advance,
Melissa

(Also posted in the "Breed Information" section, but no responses to be seen!)

[Daizy]

Have you done a search on the internet? I'm sure there must be something. Or I have heard that some groomers give lessons .. just an idea!

[Beaglemom]

You could use the clippers for the body and scissors to trim and tidy the beard and ears. As for the tail, you could do the underside with the clippers so as nothing sticks to it and then leave the rest feathered and natural. That is what we have done in the past with our long coated dogs.

[Loraxp]

Check your PMs!!!!!