How to Use Dog Grooming Tables

Video Transcript

"An important part of at home care for your coated breed is going to be having a dog being brushed on a table. This is a grooming table and I actually have a towel over it. It is a little bit more comfortable if the dog is going to be on the table but it usually has a plastic top here. We want the dog to be comfortable getting on and off the table. If we are working with a puppy which is the best age to start, you are actually just going to pick the puppy up and put him on the table. As the puppy gets older and is able to reach the table with front feet, we encourage the dog to jump up on to the table. Some dogs will jump from the ground all the way up to the table and some will put half their body on the table and wait for you to hoist them up. Let's go, up on the table. Let's go, up. Good boy! So I'm going to hoist him the rest of the way up and he is going right in on a down on the table. You can work with a dog brushing for a long period of time. You want them lying down on the table. Often times you want them lying down flat. You want them comfortable and able to lie down in a prone position like this for a long period of time. If you are brushing through a coat change period, you might be brushing for 4 hours in a row and so you want the dog to be comfortable, relaxed, able to go to sleep on the table. At other times you might want the dog standing and you might use what is called a grooming noose to keep the dog in position. Ty, wake up, stand, let's go, up, wait, good boy. So I might want the dog standing at which case I would pop his head through the grooming noose and place him in the position that I want to start working on him. One of the reasons you might want the dog standing is so that you can actually see how the hair is falling. If you are blow drying the dog, you often will want them standing. So it is important for us to know that our dog is comfortable getting on to the table and being on the table. "