Finster

Those of you who have seen Finley in person know that his dog hair is NOT NORMAL DOG HAIR! The hair/fur, whatever, on his shoulders and rear end is especially soft and fluffy and white. It's also VERY thick and impossible to manage. The rest of his hair/fur is just as difficult. Because of this, he always ends up with mats. They are impossible to brush out, and I always end up cutting or shaving them out. When we took him to the vet a few months ago, after they looked at his fur, they suggested doing a blood test to see if it's a problem with his thyroid. Since it's very common with Goldens, and our dog seems to have every problem that's common to Goldens, I'm thinking that's what's up. So I finally took him to the vet last night for the blood draw (we should know later today) and also met with their groomer.

This lady was AWESOME! She was so incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. When she looked at his fur, she also agreed that it's probably his thyroid and that if we get it treated, his hair will totally change. She also agreed that because of his current hair situation, staying on top of the mats, etc. is darn near impossible. So this morning I dropped him off for his first grooming appointment with her.

The last time we got him groomed (remember this Auntie LaNae??) was in Kansas City, and after being home for a few hours- he COULD NOT even stand up on his own! His legs were so tired and sore that he couldn't stand up without our help. It was horrible. I suspect that it was a combination of things. #1 He had his acl repaired a few years ago, and that back leg is still fairly stiff sometimes. He's been on joint support supplements ever since the surgery, but it still gets stiff. #2 In order to be groomed, a dog has to stand for long periods of time and then sit in a kennel to dry, or wait their turn for the next procedure. #3 Finley gets VERY nervous at the vet, and at places he doesn't know. He'll start shaking as soon as we get close to the door. All of these things probably added up to his problem with standing after that appointment. I explained all of that to this new lady, and she was so nice about it. She said that it's not worth harming the dog just to get the whole bath/haircut/blow dry done in one day. She suggested seeing how he's doing and maybe coming back a few days later to complete the appt. Also, she said that she has a corner area blocked off with baby gates that he could stay in instead of a kennel. She said she has quilts on the floor and he could lay down and rest there. Since he sleeps on a folded up comforter on our floor every night, I'm sure he'd love that.

The groomer said she'd call throughout the day to let me know how he's doing and if he's too nervous to continue. I feel so good about her that I hope he's ok enough to stay. He's going to be one handsome devil when he returns!