The Debonair Dog

24/08/2025

26/04/2025

This is a medical condition that should be addressed by your veterinarian. We do offer the service when requested. It’s not done without your consent.

🤏 If your groomer is routinely expressing your dog’s a**l glands, it could be doing more harm than good.

In healthy dogs, these glands should empty naturally during bowel movements💩—not by force. Repeated squeezing can traumatize the delicate ducts, which can lead to chronic inflammation, scar tissue that can affect the gland’s proper function, and long-term damage.

Even worse, every manual expression carries the risk of introducing bacteria🦠 and triggering infection. Unless there’s a medical reason, it’s best to leave healthy glands alone.

But here’s the thing: when those glands don’t empty naturally - and you start noticing that fishy odor🤢 - it’s usually a sign there’s a deeper issue.

Without enough pressure during a bowel movement, those glands don’t empty like they’re supposed to — and that leads to inflammation, impactions, and in some cases, full-on infections.

What’s causing those mushy poops in the first place? Often, it’s a mix of:
🥦 Low-fiber diets
🍗 Food sensitivities (like chicken, beef, or dairy)
🦠 Gut microbiome imbalance
🤏 Routine expression at the groomer

If your dog is struggling with soft stool:�Add a small dose of slippery elm or psyllium husk to your dog’s meals — it can help bulk up stool and encourage the glands to empty on their own.

🥣 Start with ¼ tsp for small dogs and increase up to 1 tsp for large breeds, based on size. Always introduce slowly, and always ensure plenty of hydration!💧

This Sunday at 12pm EST, we’re unpacking everything you need to know about a**l gland health — and how to fix it. We’ll cover home remedies, anti-inflammatory supplements, and Dr. Becker’s protocols for infection, impaction and more! PLUS all of the information from this episode, with dosages and recipes, will be available in a downloadable PDF on the Inside Scoop group page!

👉 Comment SCOOPERS and we'll message you the link to join Inside Scoop, a Planet Paws monthly subscription group, where all live podcasts are available to watch at any time. Plus, over 5 years of content including: past live podcasts, interviews, ebook downloads, and more!

03/03/2025

Thinking about getting a Doodle, Cockapoo or any Poodle mix? Have you been told they "don't need grooming until 1yrs old" or "coat maintenance is easy"?

*PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING piece written by a groomer..in the pic that's known as a pelted coat /Pelting. A dog’s fur gets so matted & tangled it will come off in one piece. It's outs tension on the skin, can damage the skin causing horrible infections and sometimes renders the dog helpless,unable to move and it can then cause fatality
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Poodle crosses (cockapoos, doodles, maltipoos etc.) are not "easy breeds" to maintain. The photo attached (shared from another groomer) shows how matting forms at the skin. By looking at this dog's top coat, you may not see the knots and you may not feel them as you would a knot on the ends of the fur but under that fluffy top layer this is going on. Once it starts its very difficult/ impossible to brush out... and even if you could it would be cruel to put the dog through it. Maintenance at home has to be more than a quick once over for these dogs if you want to keep them in that fluffy coat which was probably one of the reasons you chose a poodle cross in the first place. You really need to sit down with a brush and then a metal comb and make sure you can get it through the entire body at least 2 to 3 times a week.

I often feel like owners don't believe groomers when they say their dog has to be clipped very short. I always hear "I know he/she is matted, but leave as much as you can". You cannot clip through matting, you can only clip under it. As this photo shows, clipping under the matting means taking the coat back to the skin.
I promise you, your groomer really doesn't want to do this but they won't hurt your dog by putting it through dematting, they also don't want to hurt their reputation when the clients go around complaining about how the last groomer "scalped" their dog but there really is not any alternative. Instead of being angry with your groomer if they clip your dog very short please respect their commitment to do what is in your dog's best interest, accept responsibility for not having brushed your dog properly at home, and work with your groomer because, together, you can prevent this happening again. All groomers will be very happy to demonstrate a technique called line brushing which will help make your grooming at home more effective. Just ask! We all want owners to know how to do this

Poodle crosses are easily one of the highest maintenance dogs in reference to their coats. The combination of the soft coat they are mixing poodles with these days is a coat that is extremely prone to matting.

If you like a fluffy pup, you probably need to consider no more than 3-5 week intervals between grooming and set aside time for regular brushing AND combing at home.

Please know, if you bathe your poodle cross you really need to blow dry and brush out right after. Moisture, be it a bath, rain, swimming, snow etc are all going to make matting worse. If you know your dog is already matted-- bathing is only going to make it worse! Brush out before the bath.

Lastly "breeders" who say these dogs can't or shouldnt be clipped and not to give them a hair cut until they are one year old are misleading potential owners in order to sell$$$$ puppies and setting them up for a sad day when they finally take their pup to the groomer!!!

If this hasn't put you off buying one please schedule your puppy's first groom immediately after they've had their vaccinations and then be prepared to do the maintenance at home between regular professional grooms.

28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🐾🐾

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃

🧡💛🧡💛

11/11/2024

30/10/2024

Dogs need a variety of fresh, healthy foods to promote vitality just as much as we do. That’s why ultra-processed dry kibble as their only nutrition source is not going to support your dog’s longevity. In this free PDF I will discuss 10 of my favorite foods to add to my dog’s bowl to elevate t...

11/09/2024

Meet 10 year old Nina, she is a little black and white sh*tzu mix that was so severely matted her front leg lost circulation and had to be amputated. She also had a gold cross wrapped in a large wad of hair embedded in her stomach. This is a pending cruelty case. She is the sweetest little dog with so much love to give. We are so sad that her owners left her to suffer so needlessly. She deserves to be spoiled and showered with so much love so let's find her that special someone. Eve. Though she is 10 years old she has adjusted well to being a tripod. We love this girl! To adopt Nina go to saveapetusa.org/adoption-form/

02/07/2024

Wishing all a safe 4 th of July. The Debonair Dog will be closed the 4th and 5 th of July.