Beautiful, but not for an old lady. Elsa is 6 months old here.

Senior dogs have difficulty regulating their body temperature. They have a slower metabolism, a thinning coat, typically less fat insulation and diminished circulation. All of these things factor into old dogs having a difficult time staying cool or warm. Keeping our seniors warm in the cold is much easier than keeping them cool in the heat. Warm and cozy coats (jammies) are great for keeping them warm and something that my guys wear when it gets down in the 40s at night. They also have a good supply of blankets, that they are tucked in with when it’s cold. I buy baby blankets so they have less chance of getting tangled in the blankets. We sleep with our windows wide open all winter so I like to make sure that they are warm. Also, being cool is a good thing for Elsa because of her Geriatric Onset Laryngeal Paralysis Polyneuropathy (GOLPP).

The heat is where we run into a big problem with Elsa. Typically when it gets hot, I groom both Elsa and Riggs down with a #5 or #3 blade. But now I pretty much have to keep Elsa’s coat off of her. Our weather has been unusual this year, with temps in the 90s several days in a row. She can only go outside to sunbathe for a very short time and we have fans to keep air moving. We use the AC more than we typically need to, to keep her cool.

Monday I was maintenance day again. Both Elsa and Riggs were in need of a bath so with our 80 degree temps it was a good day for it. The only thing with having a fabulous smelling, soft poodle is that their now fluffed coat is renewed insulation. When it is flatter and curlier it is not as warm; wash and fluff that stuff and it is WARM. Our walk Tuesday morning let me know that Elsa was feeling the new fluff. We returned from our walk early as she was panting too much. It was only 6:30am but she was feeling it.

Once we got home I realized that it had to come off, no waiting, it had to come off immediately. I skipped my workout and gathered my equipment. Grooming Elsa is getting much more difficult as she has an extremely hard time standing for any length of time. She is groomed on the ground, propped up with one of my arms or a knee but she slowly goes down. I get what I can get done and then she needs to lie down. I get one of our waterproof outdoor beds and get her down on it. I groom one side, flip her over and do the other. I use to groom Tilley like this as she aged but on a table; that was much nicer on my back. But Elsa is petrified of the table and falling now so a sore back and the ground it is.

When I groom Elsa, it is done at lightening speed. I surprise myself how fast I can groom; I’m glad I’ve been doing it for almost 50 years. It’s not the prettiest groom job but it is effective. I focused on her body, her legs are still in need of being shaved. But the heat on her body had to change and it did. Once she is shaved she gets blown out again to get rid of all the little hairs and she’s done until leg day. ;) We headed inside and she was immediately transformed. Not one pant, no coughing, just a happy cool girl.

I see a lot of people trying to keep their old poodles looking poodley with big coats, but it is very hard on them. Grooming is very hard on old dogs; having a bath, being brushed and just standing. They don’t care if they have a poodley look, honestly they don’t. And you know what? It makes keeping them clean and comfortable much easier for us.

Learning to groom at home is a great thing. As our dogs age, it is even more important that we be able to do it ourselves. There is no way a groomer would take the time to do what I have to do for Elsa. Her comfort is the highest priority. She will have her legs done this week; again, not easy. But if needs be, she will be done in several very short sessions. Because she deserves it.

If you are interested in learning to groom at home. You could start right now. My 2 online course are half off. One is a “how to” learn to do a full groom from beginning to end and how to prepare for it. The other is an inbetween grooms “how to” that everyone with a poodle or doodle should take. It is also great to give you the confidence to move to a full groom yourself.

Check them both out here.

Your dog will thank you.