Sani cut

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I'm doing Yogi's grooming. Not needed to to a body clip yet. My question is, what exactly do the groomers do for a "sani trim". I've never been to a groomer so I'm not sure what it looks like. I know the area referred to.... :-), but do they trim with clippers down to the skin, or just use scissors and get close? Also is trimming under tail only, or all around the anus like above it, trimming some of the tail?

Yogi has never had any "stickers". His fur is rather short here, should I consider just leaving it alone?

Thanks, sorry if too graphic here :-)

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

I only do the brushing on my doodles and take them out for the rest.  But this page on Youtube shows several videos on sani cuts, maybe it will help you.

 

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dog%20sanitary%20cut&am...

[DonMarie and Picco]

This is great info. Never thought of looking this up on youtube, Thanks!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thanks Judy. I checked some links, one says never clip, use scissors, one clips. Wonder what those among us do. Clip or scissors?

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

I use clippers with a #10 blade on Declan to trim a happy-trail from his anus down and just a little bit to the sides to make sure there's nothing hanging over the top to catch the poop, and the same blade on his belly, his sheath, and just in front of his wee willy winky.

Lachlan has much more sensitive skin (my delicate flower) so I use a longer blade, a #8.5, on him.

The important thing to know is that both areas are extremely sensitive, so start with a cold blade and don't press into the skin - just skim lightly (I hope that makes sense).

On both boys I use scissors between grooms if they start getting hair catching their poop or the hair hanging off the end of their willies is getting long.

[Wanda Klomp]

Hi Leslie, I don't know how they do it in other countries, but I teach people how to groom their Doodle professionally, in a natural looking way and I would never use clippers, because most Doodles have sensitive skin and could get skin irritations from the shaving heads.

So I cut the parts around the private parts (not too short, because it could start to itch and when they start biting it will get worse). If you have a male, you take the penis from behind en hold it, while you cut around it from the front, under the belly. 

When you have a bitch, you can best let her lie on her side or back to cut around her vagina (I am from the Netherlands, can I say this word here? ;-).

When you cut the anus free, just cut the hairs that get in front of it, starting just under the tail, and then in a square around the anus, not to much, because it takes a longer time to grow and certainly not too far down, creating some kind of trail.

I have had some professional grooming video's made for a self-grooming e-learning program, but the won't be available until I have changed them to an English voice over. But in time you will be able to buy them on my DoodleComfort website.

Good luck. Let me know how it went :-)

[Teresa Joyce]

Hi Leslie,

A sani trim means that the area around the anus is cleared and the penis or vagina is cleared.  Go with the growth of the fur.  Most groomers use clippers with a 10 or 15 blade for these areas.  You can also clear the belly area which I do with my boys and the doodles that I have groomed.  The soft fur on the belly seems to be a collection area for grass, sticks and other organic matter and also seems to mat easily.  The cleared area on the belly should go to about the first rib.  Doodles like other breeds that have hair instead of fur need to have these areas done on a regular basis.  Always use a cool blade to prevent clipper burn which will be very irritating to the area. If the blade feels too warm on the inside of your wrist to be comfortable, it is too warm for the dog.  Either change blades if you have another 10 or turn the clipper off and let the blade cool.  Having the hair removed will feel different to your pup so he/she may react mildly to the removal.  If the pup reacts strongly for a number of days afterwards, scissoring may be a better choice.  I recommend not using a blade to leave the length longer than a 10 with a clipper.  If you look at a 10 blade and a 7, 5 or 4 you will see that the spacing between the teeth are wider for the blades that leave the hair longer than a 10.  The chances of the skin getting caught between the teeth is higher on blades that are above a 10.  Good luck!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thank you much. Watch out Yogi. Here I come :-)