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	Grooming Tools
	Taking Your Dog To A Groomer
	Shampoo

	Crate
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	Collar & Leash
	Food Dishes
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Just about everyone who owns a Beardie has their own favourite tools for grooming, but here are some basics that most agree on: The main items used in grooming a Beardie are a pin brush, a soft slicker brush, a Poodle comb, a medium toothed comb, and nail clippers. The brands I prefer in these brushes are:

Pin brush - Vellus, or #1 All Systems. This is a basic pin brush similar to a human hairbrush, with extra long pins to get through long coats better (the Vellus brush has especially long pins). Another choice is the Mason Pearson brush, either the all nylon, or the nylon/boar bristle combo. These are quite expensive brushes, however they will last forever!

Slicker brush - Miller’s Forge (also called Doggy Man). I recommend this slicker because it is very soft and set in a cushioned backing making it extremely gentle. There are other great soft slickers, however often slickers are very rough and will rip and break coat, and can seriously scratch the skin, so be sure to feel it and be sure it's soft.

Poodle Comb – any brand should be fine. This is a large flat wooden comb with long metal pins set wide apart in the wood backing. An all-metal comb with widely spaced long teeth and no handle is also referred to as a Poodle comb and will work just as well, but I find the wooden combs easier to use because of the handle.

Comb - again I am fond of the Miller’s Forge (Doggy Man) comb, but basically any comb that is comfortable in your hand is fine. Make sure the teeth are not spaced too close together or they will rip way too much coat out.

Nail clippers - there are 2 basic types of clippers, scissors type and guillotine type. Personally I prefer the scissors type, finding it easier to restrain the dog and clip nails at the same time, but there are those who swear by the guillotine type so it’s really a matter of personal preference.

Some sort of spray should be used when grooming, to prevent static, breakage, etc. There are many different products available, and each person has their own favourite. Silicone based sprays are useful for detangling, but they can leave a coating on the hair which makes the coat more prone to tangling and attracting dirt if it is not washed out. A simple spray using plain water mixed with a tablespoon of Keri Lotion will work fine for pet grooming, and is cheap!

Another indispensable item is a grooming table. Getting the dog off the ground is imperative in order to groom properly and thoroughly. The dog will be much easier to manage when ‘out of his element’, and it is also much easier on your back. A simple grooming table can easily be made. A basic grooming table measures about 2’ x 3’ or 2’ x 4’ and is 29 1/2” high, with folding legs, and a 5/8” plywood top covered with rubber matting. They can be purchased from places like the Pet Supply House in Canada.

For a more detailed discussion of grooming and grooming products, visit the Grooming page.

Taking Your Dog To A Groomer:

If you prefer to keep your Beardie clipped down, or have let him/her get too matted to manage the grooming yourself, you might decide to take your dog to be professionally groomed. Exercise caution in choosing a groomer. Not all are adept at de-matting a long coated breed, and many will automatically shave to the skin regardless of whether you wanted that or not. Also some groomers can be very rough or impatient, making the grooming session at the very least unpleasant for the dog, and at worst dangerous. There have been cases of dogs being injured or even dying at the hands of negligent or incompetent groomers. Things such as clipper burn, heatstroke due to cage dryers, or emotional trauma due to extreme stress from an abusive grooming session, are unfortunately not rare. Some automatically tranquilize dogs to make them more manageable. Beardie in bathtub

There are some wonderful groomers around who do great jobs and send the dogs home looking beautiful and feeling happy and rejuvenated. Ask around for recommendations, talk to the groomer about your dog and how you want it to look, check references, level of experience, training, etc. If you are not comfortable with the groomer’s attitude, or the shop seems messy and geared to volume rather than quality of service, look elsewhere. Take your time, don’t wait until the dog is an awful mess and company is coming so you want the dog groomed NOW, and have to resort to picking the closest or cheapest one available. There is no magic potion to get rid of mats. Every mat in the dog’s coat has to be carefully and gently worked out, sometimes hair by hair. No matter how gentle one tries to be, mats pull and hurt. It is so much easier, healthy, and pleasant for the dog to prevent mats from forming in the first place through regular weekly or twice weekly grooming sessions, starting right from puppyhood.

Though most breeders and exhibitors have tried a dozen or more different shampoos and have preferences depending on which dog and what time of year, for pet grooming any shampoo made specifically for dogs should be fine. Avoid using human shampoos as they can cause dry skin or other mild to serious skin irritations since dogs have a different ph than humans. Shampoos for dogs usually come in a concentrated form, and are diluted with water anywhere from 8:1 to 16:1.

One product most of us find indispensable is a waterless or no-rinse shampoo. Pro-Line Self Rinse Plus is probably the best known brand, but several other brands are also sold. Most are purple in colour. Put some in a spray bottle and it's great for smaller clean-ups when you can't or don't want to give a full bath. Just spray on, work up a bit of a lather, and towel dry. It's not just for dogs either - we've used it to get small stains out of shirts, or blood out of the carpet, and all sorts of other normally difficult jobs.