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Grooming Samoyed

From the first weeks, get used to your puppy to be brushed regularly. Regular maintenance is essential throughout your Samoyed life to maintain the health of his skin and the appearance of your Samoyed. By doing a minimum of maintenance your samoyed will not smell at all, that is a great benefit of this breed. Do not forget to take enjoy this special moment with your Sam and make sure that it is a pleasant moment for you as well as for your Sammy.

The samoyed fur is double including a sub-hair and a semi-long and dense cover hair. The undercoat protects the Samoyed from moisture ,cold as well as heat. The sub-hair allows the Samoyed to adapt well to all types of temperature so it is important to never shave a samoyed. The samoyed fur is almost self-cleaning thanks to the natural oils that the samoyed produces. The dust adheres little to the hair which facilitates the grooming.

If ever your Samoyed will play in the mud, do not panic, let your dog dry (in a pen for example) and after a few hours your floor will be dirty but your Samoyed will be white as before.

Here is the example of MIKO:

Here is Miko (after playing in the dirt) which becomes white after a natural drying

If you are in a hurry, you can also use a blower to dry it faster. On the other hand if your Samoyed plays in the sand, it tends to yellow the white hairs then a bath will be necessary to become white again

Regarding the frequency of brushing, we recommend that it be brushed roughly every week and have a deeper grooming once a month. If he takes a bath twice a year it will be enough and of course whenever you want him to be at his best (before an event, an exhibition, etc.)

I advise you to brush your dog on a table, or a flat surface in height to be comfortable. If you have access to a grooming table, it's even better.

Here are the tools you will need:

1- A rake for moulting

Rateau 1

2- A metal point brush (without balls on the ends)

Brush

3- A Carde

Carde

4- A Comb

Dog Comb

5- A pair of scissors

Ciseau

6- A Claw Cutter

Claw Cutter

7- A brush with curved blade (Knots)

knots cutting brush

CAUTION: Avoid Furminator brushes at all costs !!!

These cut the undercoat of your Samoyed and will affect its ability to adapt to the extreme temperatures for which it is designed. The pet shop and veterinarian often offer them because people have the impression to remove a lot of hair with this type of brush but in fact it removed not only the dead hair but also cut the healthy hairs.

Furminator

Drying:

To dry your samoyed, it is recommended to use a Pulser that will allow you to dry deeply and quickly the undercoat of your samoyed. You will be able to use the Pulser also to help you get rid of the dead hair, and the dust accumulated in the fur. It is an investment that worth it.

Pulser example:

Pulser

Before each bath:

It is important to carefully unravel the fur. If you don't do it, the water will tighten the existing knots so it will be very difficult to undo them. In addition, the dead hairs will mix up  and you will have new knots in the fur. The Samoyed's hairs are waterproof. We must take the time to thoroughly wet it. Subsequently, used a special shampoo for white hair. You must rub vigorously to wash well up to the skin. Make 2 shampoos and rinse, making sure to remove all soap. It is possible to do another extra step with a conditioner if you wish.

For the first stage of drying, sponge your Samoyed with towels to remove as much water from his fur. Then let your Sam snort to remove even more water. One tip is to keep your Sam on a leash at this stage to prevent him from rolling on the floor.

Then dry it carefully, ideally with a Pulser (if not with a cold air dryer to avoid burning its skin). Keep the pulser drying from the back of the hair very close to the skin. This will take off the hair well and give a maximum of puffed effect.

Brushing:

Make a new brushing with the carde from the root of the hair. Then used the brush for finishing.

Repeat this for sections 1 to 12 respecting the brushing direction as described below:

  1. Brush towards the front of section 1
  2. Brush towards the front of section 2
  3. Brush towards the front of section 3
  4. Brush the front part of the collarette upwards
  5. Brush the front part of the front legs down
  6. Brush the front part of the hind legs down
  7. Brush the feathers up
  8. Brush the back up
  9. Brushing the tail forward
  10. Brushing ears up
  11. Brush head hair up
  12. Brush the muzzle down

Knots:

If knots are present, use the comb to undo them. Check behind the ears, on the fringes (or feathers, long hairs on the back of the front legs), the back and the collarette without forgetting the tail. If a knot is too difficult to break with the comb, you can use the recurved blade brush as a last solution to gently cut the knot. In this case, go slowly and cut the knot little by little by gradually entering the knot. This way of doing so will limit hair loss and you will avoid hurting your Sammy.  It is also possible to use a dry shampoo like the following to help untangle the knots behind the ears.

Dry shampoo to loosen the knots

Grooming Finalization:

Finish by grooming your Samoyed's feet. Cut the claws with the claw cutter.

The Samoyed have white claws that allows us to see the nerve inside by transparency. Cut the tip of the claw without touching the nerve of course. Subsequently, make the cut of the hair protruding between the pads as well as those of the end of the feet. Round off the ends of the feet. Cut at an angle the hairs(long) growing behind the shank.

It is important to always congratulate your Samoyed after his grooming!

Happy Grooming!