Bolognese Grooming

About the Bolognese

One of the small white European companion breeds, and the one whose coat texture is genuinely different from the rest of them.

A Maltese coat hangs straight and flat. A Bichon coat is scissored into a dense round shape. A Coton is soft and cottony.

A Bolognese coat is long, single, and falls in loose open flocks that stand away from the body rather than lying against it. The standard wants that fluffy open look, and a groomer who brushes it down flat or scissors it into a rounded outline has produced the wrong dog.

It has no undercoat and it sheds almost nothing, which again is not the same as easy.

What comes loose stays in the flocks, and a coat this fine felts to the skin quickly, so this is a daily comb.

Comb it out, do not brush it down

The texture is the whole point of this breed, and it is lost by ordinary brushing.

Use a metal comb rather than a slicker for the main work. Part the coat and comb each section to the skin, then let it fall back where it wants to. The flocks re-form on their own.

A slicker used hard, or a brush stroked down the body, flattens the coat against the skin and produces a dog that looks like a small Maltese with frizzy edges.

Do not blow the coat straight either. Dry gently and let the texture come back.

Every day is the honest frequency, and every other day is the minimum. A fine single coat with no undercoat felts at the skin and the surface still looks fine.

The trouble spots are behind and under the ears, the armpits, the groin, the rear and anywhere a harness sits.

Comb out completely before any bath, since water turns a tangle into felt.

Never scissors on a mat. A nine pound dog has very little skin between a mat and a blade.

Tear staining on a white dog

A white faced dog shows every drop, and the Bolognese is prone to it.

Tears contain porphyrins, iron-containing compounds that oxidize on contact with air and light and stain white hair a permanent reddish brown.

Once the hair is stained it stays stained, so the whole strategy is preventing the wetness rather than treating the color.

Wipe under each eye daily with a clean damp cloth and then dry the area. Dry matters more than clean.

Keep the hair around the eyes combed clear so it is not wicking tears down the face.

What is worth a vet rather than a wipe: sudden or increased tearing, squinting, a thick or colored discharge, or a dog pawing at its face. Blocked tear ducts, ingrown lashes and eye irritation all cause overflow and all have treatments.

Do not use any product marketed as a tear stain remover that contains an antibiotic, and be wary of unlabeled ones generally.

The same applies to the beard, which stains from food and water.

The pet clip, which is a fair choice

A full Bolognese coat is a daily job for the life of the dog, and not every owner wants that.

A short all-over pet clip every six to eight weeks is legitimate and does no harm: it is a single coat with no undercoat, so it grows back the same texture.

What it does lose is the open flocked look, which is the breed's distinguishing feature, and it is worth being clear-eyed about that trade rather than surprised by it.

A middle option many owners take is a longer pet trim of an inch or two, which keeps some of the texture and roughly halves the combing.

Say which you want at booking, since a groomer who knows the breed will default to leaving it long.

Bathe every four weeks or so, comb out fully first, and use a gentle whitening or plain shampoo.

Keep the hair between the pads cleared and the sanitary area trimmed on a dog this small, since both go unnoticed under a long coat.

Nails every three to four weeks and teeth brushed daily.

The six small white companions, finished

The set is complete, and the summary is worth having in one place.

Bichon Frise: a curly double coat, scissored into a round outline. The most professional work.

Havanese: a soft long silky double coat, mats readily, often kept in a puppy clip.

Coton de Tulear: a cotton textured coat with the same matting problem.

Maltese: a single straight coat that hangs flat, stains, and is usually clipped short.

Lowchen: a soft wavy single coat, plus an optional lion trim.

Bolognese: a single coat in open flocks that must not be brushed flat.

All six shed almost nothing and all six mat, and five of the six get combed to the skin daily or near enough. The differences are texture and finish, not workload.

Anyone sold one of these as low maintenance was told the shedding figure and nothing else.

What to tell your groomer

Say the coat falls in open flocks and must not be brushed flat or blown straight.

Ask for a metal comb to the skin, section by section, rather than a slicker over the top.

Say whether you want it long, a longer pet trim or a short clip. All three are fine.

Ask for the eye area kept clear and dried, since tear stains are permanent.

Say never scissors on a mat, and that a short clip beats a cut.

Ask for the pads cleared and the sanitary area trimmed, both of which hide under the coat.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Bolognese