Grooming & Chin Care

I've lately heard several potential adopters ask if chins really need a dust bath. The short answer is yes, they do.

Partially because it keeps their fur pretty and not greasy, but also because when not dusted, their fur tends to get matted easier.

Case in point.  Chilly was surrendered yesterday.  Just picking him up you could feel all the hard matts.  They said that they hadn't given him a dust bath in a few months.  So, out came the show combs... and I think he looks much better.

Chilly before:

Chilly after:

He had so many matts that had to be pulled out -- that's why he still looks rough and uneven.  Grooming a chin like this to get them and their fur back to a healthy state is much different than grooming a show chin, for the purpose of making them pretty-er.   It'll grow back though, with lots of dust baths and handling to try and make to keep those matts at bay.

I could make a second chin out of this amount of fur and matts!  For size reference, that's the bottom of a package of mason jars.

I bet  he feels much better!

The people who dropped him off were very nice people, but said they just didn't have time for him anymore.  The owner was going to college (I believe) and the parents ... can't remember if they didn't have time or didn't want to care for him...  but I wish people would call (whether here or somewhere else) before it gets this bad. 

I left the cage in the garage because it could probably used powerwashed or at least soaked in a tub of water to loosen all the gunk.  They said, too cold outside to wash it (uh-huh... it was 60 almost every day up until last week) and they didn't have a tub to soak it in.  Not sure I'd soak a cage in my bathtub, but in the winter, when I get in used cages, I find a way to get them clean and looking great.  If I can do it without a utility sink, spray bottles, and scrubbies..

Anyway.  I didn't take a picture of the cage, but I'll attach this next picture... use this to think about what the cage much look like.... because you don't need some fancy equipment or outside hose to clean a food dish! 

Oh and here's one of Chilly in one of my rescue cages.

 
Alrighty well that's it for now, I gotta go accomplish some stuff.