~Dog Grooming~

I thought I would post pictures of my little fellow when he was just a small pup.

I can't believe how small he was. He's grown quite a bit. But still such a fun, playful loving doggie. He's doing well. We are on the anti-inflammatories. His leg is still wrapped so he hops. But he still gets around good.

He hasn't been groomed in 2 months. Usually he is groomed every month. He sheds more when his hair gets long. In fact he hasn't even been able to have a bath. He doesn't stink, but he is very shaggy. It doesn't bother him, but it sure bothers me. So I decided I would try to groom him, so I went and bought some shears. I usually keep him cut pretty short and then leave his tail fluffy and leave some fluff around his head and ears.

Years ago my Dad used to take our cocker spaniel (an outside dog) in the summer and groom her himself with scissors. I remember thinking "this poor dog, what is he doing to her."

I sure don't want Ripley to look like that. So this morning I thought I would attempt this task. I thought I would start with his feet since that seemed like a safe place. I actually bought the shears when I was out on Wednesday, but I've been a little intimidated by them. I've never done any dog grooming and no cutting of human hair to speak of. I only have three paws since one paw is wrapped from his surgery. I started on the front paw and it didn't seem to bother him too much, but I can tell you the scissors that came with the shears weren't worth a dime. He laid on his back in between my legs perfectly still. And all-in-all I did a decent job. So I moved on to the back paws. Now that was a different story. For some reason he was either tired of laying there or the back paws were more sensitive. But it was a definite fight to keep him still. I won the fight with bribes, but I did win. I was unsure after all the messing with his paws if he would allow me to trim his nails, but he did.

So for the time being we are done with the paws. They don't look as good as when they are done by his groomer, but they look better than they did before I started. So I was feeling pretty good after that, so I moved on and cut the hair around his ears some. I didn't have time to do any more as I had to get ready for a wedding that I have to go to day. We'll see how the rest turns out. That's okay. I'm still intimidated about the buzzing. My neighbors will be home later, so maybe they can supervise me on that.

Ripley is feeling so much better now which makes me feel good. Now comes the time when I can't let him out of my sight in fear that he will do something he's not supposed to. Unfortunately for the next 3 months there is VERY LITTLE HE CAN DO so we are in for a rough time. I'm so thankful there are sedatives that I can give him that are no addicting.

Have a Great Day!