A common misconception about the Chinese Foo is that their tails, which typically curl up over the back, are difficult to care for. The truth is, with regular grooming the tails of the Chinese Foo are no more difficult to care for than any other dog with a longer coat. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the grooming of Chinese Foos, with particular attention to their curled tails.
Chinese Foos are considered to be a type of Spitz dog, many of which have long coats, pointed ears and curled tails in common. Like many Spitz-type dogs, the Chinese Foo has a thicker coat and a tail that is set high and curls up over the back, usually left untrimmed and natural. In combination with a thick double coat that can be either short or long, the Chinese Foo requires several hours a week in grooming. Some fanciers recommend brushing out the coat at least once a week, particularly on dogs that have longer coats, and alternating between brushing and occasional professional grooming to keep the coat at a reasonable length and clean.
Brushing the coat is not only important to help keep debris and dirt from getting stuck in the coat, but it can also help prevent matting from forming, and this is especially true on the tail, where the coat is often long. Dogs with a double coat, like the Chinese Foo, are susceptible to matting especially when the undercoat sheds. This allows the skin to be able to breathe and it is especially important that the coat is well groomed during this time to remove the dead hairs. If they stay in the coat too long, they could become tangled which can result in the dreaded matting. Once the coat becomes matted, it can twist and become very painful to the dog, who will then often try to remove the matting himself, even if it means ripping out the offending hairs.
Of course, if the hair does become matted, there are special detanglers available on the market to help comb the hair out, but many specialists will recommend that the dog be brought to a professional groomer to have the matting taken care of.
Those that wish to bathe their Chinese Foos themselves should be warned that it is a process that takes quite a long time. Because of the double coat, it takes a little extra elbow grease to make sure that the shampoo gets all the way down to the skin, and an extra long time to be sure that the coat has been thoroughly rinsed, not omitting the tail. The coat and tail can then be carefully towel dried or blown dry on a very low setting.
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