Denver Samoyed Rescue Grooming Seminar

On September 15, 2001, DSR held our first grooming seminar and invited families who had adopted a rescue Samoyed through our program.   Since these individuals did not have the benefit of seeing ‘their puppy’s breeder’ demonstrate the basic grooming techniques, DSR tried to bridge that gap.  As we all know, grooming is an integral part to maintaining the health and happiness of our Samoyeds, and the lack of proper grooming is one of the main reasons our breed ends up as rescue dogs.

 It was a perfect day for outdoor bathing and grooming. Jane Reller generously hosted the event at her home. Martha Lageschulte served as our instructor, and her boy Nike, CH Starquest’s Just Do It, CD was our extremely patient ‘model’. Martha purposely did not groom Nike for 10 weeks prior to the event, to force mats to occur and basically end up with a coat in the same condition that many of our rescue dogs have when they first come to us.  

Martha provided thorough instructions each step of the way, and answered a multitude of questions.  She also explained how proper grooming can prevent and/or assist in early detection of health problems like hot spots, skin problems, and cysts.  Martha also demonstrated trimming techniques (pants, tummy, etc) for improved manageability of a  neutered/spayed dog, whose coat tends to be thicker, longer, and softer.  Finally, she emphasized the importance of the correct products such as good PH-balanced whitening shampoos, strong Greyhound combs, a sturdy grooming table, and also the time savings that a powerful forced-air dryer provides.  Each person was given wholesale dog supply catalogs, so they could order the products utilized in the seminar.

Students were able to participate in  ‘on the job’ training, particularly during the drying and all important line combing portion of the seminar!   Note all the hair on the ground in the picture above!  Based on participants’ comments, they seemed to have a better understanding of what it took to groom a Sam properly and why it’s so important that it’s done regularly.

Jane Reller will compile a step-by-step handout, featuring the pictures that Thalia Peletis took with our club’s digital camera, which can be included in the DSA membership packet and DSR new owner packet. 

View Our Samoyed Grooming Booklet!

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