Pomeranians are famous for their long, luscious, and fluffy coats. Their puffball-like appearance is one of the reasons they’re so popular as family pets, but many new owners forget that a coat like that will require a serious grooming routine. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about how and how often to groom your Pom.
Understanding Your Pomeranian’s Coat
First and foremost, you need to understand what you’re working with when it comes to a Pomeranian’s coat. These pups have a double coat which consists of a top and bottom layer - their undercoat and top coat.
The fur of the undercoat is dense and incredibly soft, made up of relatively short hairs. This undercoat is what keeps your Pom warm in the colder months and will be shed away when the weather gets warmer.
The top coat consists of the long, straight hairs that epitomize the fluffy Pomeranian look. This hair is coarser and is there to protect the Pomeranian’s undercoat and delicate skin from the elements.
Keeping your Pom’s coat well-groomed is essential for not only their physical appearance, but their overall health and wellbeing too.
Factors to Consider for Grooming Frequency
How often you need to groom your Pomeranian depends on a few different factors. These include their age and lifestyle, as well as what season you’re in.
When it comes to age, Pom puppies have softer, more delicate coats than adults and will have different grooming requirements. However, introducing a regular grooming routine at a young age will be important for habituation purposes.
You also need to consider your Pomeranian’s lifestyle - if you have an inside dog who prefers couch time to exploring the yard, you likely won’t need to groom them as often. On the other hand, active pups who get dirty more often will require more frequent and rigorous grooming.
Seasonal changes are important, too - when your Pomeranian starts to shed in the summer, they will need to be groomed more often. However, the colder indoor air in the wintertime might cause dryness and skin irritation that will need to be addressed for their comfort.
The Basics of Daily Grooming
On a day-to-day basis, there are only a few quick but important steps you’ll need to take.
Daily brushing plays an important role in keeping your Pom looking fresh and also preventing tangles and matting in their coats. If their hair gets matted, it can be a difficult and painful process to undo the damage, so this is best avoided.
More than this, you should simply take care to check on their rear ends and eye area to make sure that these are clean and fresh. Dirt and bacteria build-ups in dogs can quickly lead to infection, so they’re important to monitor daily.
Weekly and Monthly Grooming Routines
Bathing your Pomeranian should happen every couple of weeks - depending on how dirty your pup tends to get in particular. As mentioned, more active dogs that spend a lot of time outdoors and potentially rolling in the dirt might need to be bathed more often, such as once a week.
Cleaner pups will do fine with a bathing routine that takes place around every three weeks, but avoid leaving this any longer, otherwise, you might end up with matted and tangled hair.
When bathing your Pomeranian, make sure to use the right shampoos and conditioners for their delicate skin and fur and bathe them in lukewarm water. After their bath, they’ll need to be dried completely.
Every couple of weeks, brush your Pomeranian’s teeth and trim their nails to keep them fresh and well-groomed all over.
Seasonal Grooming
As you now know, Poms shed their undercoats in the summertime to help them deal with the heat. While you might think that shaving them in the summer might be better for them, this should be avoided since the top coat is what protects them from the harsh sun.
Instead, focus on daily brushing to ensure that that top coat is able to do its job properly and keep them well hydrated.
On the other hand, daily brushing in the winteris less important (although you should still do this at least every few days). Instead, focus on making sure that their noses are kept moist and clean with a nose balm, and consider purchasing them a winter coat to help them keep warm.
Professional Grooming Services
Taking your Pom to a professional groomer is the easiest way to ensure that they’re getting the exact right type of care on a regular basis, and you run less risk of accidentally hurting them or damaging their delicate undercoat.
Opting for taking your Pom to a professional groomer will also help you ensure that ticks, fleas, and any skin conditions are quickly identified and professionally handled when you might not have noticed them yourself otherwise.
However, be sure to choose your groomers carefully - pick someone professional with plenty of experience. It’s often best to choose a groomer based on recommendations or positive online reviews.
How to Handle Grooming Issues
If your Pom ends up with tangled or matted fur, don’t panic. Dematting a Pomeranian might seem overwhelming, and you don’t want to hurt your pup. But if you use the right tools and keep calm, you’ll both make it through the experience unscathed!
First of all, ensure that you have the right tools: you’ll need a detangling spray to loosen things up, and a slicker dog brush to pull through the hair in short strokes. Do not use scissors to cut matted hair from your dog’s fur, as this could be dangerous.
If the mats are very tightly set in, then your best option might be to visit a professional groomer to have them removed.
