Brushing the double coat of a Pekingese takes some patience and perseverance. The Pekingese is blessed with a thick double coat, consisting of a soft, fine undercoat for warmth and a longer, coarse weather-resistant overcoat.

Some people make the mistake of brushing only the outer coat, inadvertently allowing the undercoat to mat. For this reason you must brush the coat in layers, taking care that the hair is brushed all the way down to the skin.

• Begin brushing at the face, moving to the rear on one side of the dog, and then the other.
• Finally, turn the dog over and brush the underside.
• Before brushing, mist the coat with a light spray of water or coat conditioner. This helps prevent static electricity and lessens coat breakage.
• After brushing, repeat the process using the wide-tooth comb, to make sure that no tangles remain.
• As your finishing touch, mist the coat again and brush the hair on the top of the body from the skull back to the end of the tail in the direction of hair growth.
• Brush all of the hair in the rear half of the dog (all areas behind the rib crate) in the direction of growth. The exception is the coat on the backs of the thighs, which should be brushed upward.
• The coat on the sides of the body over the rib cage and on the forechest should also be brushed up and forward, emphasizing the width of the chest.
• Finally, place the tail over the back and brush the hair in the direction of growth, which will now be toward the head.

Note: Some cornstarch sprinkled into the coat and brushed out can help the hair to fluff, and is especially useful for the areas behind the ears, on the tail, and hind leg hair, but repeated use can dry the hair.

Coat Disasters

• Wet or muddy hair can be dried and cleaned by sprinkling a liberal amount of cornstarch, rubbing it in, and brushing it out.
• Pine tar can be loosened with hair spray.
• Other tar can be worked out with vegetable oil, followed by dish washing detergent.
• Tight mats and burrs can be helped by soaking them for an hour in tangle remover or vegetable oil.
• Chewing gum can be eased out by first applying ice.

Mats

You may discover some matting behind the ears or under the elbows. The coat is more prone to mat during shedding season or when it is oily or dirty. Never wash a matted coat, which only causes the mat to become more tightly bound.

Try to split a mat with your fingers, starting near either end and pulling it in half longitudinally. Hold the hair between
the mat and your dog’s skin to avoid painful pulling. More stubborn mats may require splitting with a rake (a wooden brush with hard metal teeth), or, as a last resort, scissors.

Even with scissors, split the mat into halves; don’t just cut it out. To avoid accidentally cutting the skin, wriggle a fine comb between the mat and the skin before you start snipping.

Shedding

This is controlled not by exposure to warmer temperatures, but by exposure to longer periods of light. This is why indoor dogs, which are exposed to artificial light, tend to shed somewhat all year.

Pekingese have a heavier shedding session once a year, or following every estrus in females, during which time the flying hairs and matting can be overwhelming. Brush every day.

When matting is extensive or fleas are overwhelming, shaving the coat may be the only alternative. It is sometimes argued that a dog’s coat acts as insulation and helps keep the dog cool in summer, but as long as the coat is not shaved to the skin, little insulation will be lost.

Brushing Sessions

Grooming even the lushest of coats requires only a wide-tooth comb, natural bristle brush, and a water spritzer bottle. You may wish to use a grooming table or other raised surface, but it is equally effective to have the dog lie on your lap while being brushed.

If you start by grooming your Pekingese puppy before he’s had time to develop any tangles, your puppy will come to think of being brushed as something that feels wonderful.

Keep each session short, fun, and rewarding. With the young puppy, you need not follow the full grooming routine; remember, although you certainly want to prevent the formation of any tangles, your most important long-term goal now is training the puppy to be cooperative.

Hold the puppy on your lap and accustom him to being petted or brushed, not only while he’s right side up, but also while lying on his back. The fluffy puppy coat is actually more prone to matting than the adult coat is, especially at the transitional period from puppy to adult coat.

Hair and Hygiene

Pekingese puppies sprout hair rapidly, and some of it grows in inopportune areas. The hair around the anus and the end of the sheath of the penis can accumulate waste matter. If this is a problem, you can carefully scissor the hair from these delicate regions.

Even so, you will need to check these areas every time your Pekingese returns from relieving himself.

The Feet

A typical and desirable trait of the Pekingese coat is the long hair of the feet. Sometimes the hair on the bottom of the feet can cause a dog to slip on a slick floor, and you may want to carefully scissor that hair so that the pads can provide traction.

The Face

Your puppy must also allow you to clean his face regularly. The skin in the wrinkle over the nose should be cleaned and dried once or twice daily using a cotton ball.

If left unattended, moisture will accumulate and ultimately lead to a very unpleasant odor and possibly infection.

Any discharge from the eyes should be wiped away with a moist cotton ball. Cleaning your Pekingese’s face should become a routine for the entirety of your Pekingese’s life.