In this week's issue, here's what we are sniffing out

• Why splitting the groom into shorter sessions works better than pushing through one long one

• What "unfinished" actually looks like, and why it's not a mistake

• Other changes - from bath-free haircuts to senior-only salon days - that make the whole process easier on an old dog

Perfection in a haircut should not be the standard anymore once a dog gets old. This may not be something that the pet parent or groomer of a younger dog thinks about. But with increasing age, the standard changes. It has to.

Break the appointment up

Here's what that looks like in practice. The old default of one appointment that covers everything at once is a vital part of health care for a dog with sound joints and young-dog energy. It stops working somewhere along the way for a lot of senior dogs. The older the dog gets, the more true that becomes. What I do instead in these cases is split the groom into two or three shorter sessions:

• Two sessions: bath, dry, brush, the eyebrow and mouth trim, feet, and under the tail in the first sitting, then body, head, and tail a week or two later.

• Three sessions: one session for the bath, dry, brush, and nails. A week or two later: face, head, feet, and tail. Then after a week or so, a final pass to re-brush and trim the body.

There's no single right breakdown. It depends entirely on the dog's coat and what he can tolerate, but the point across all of them is the same: less time at the salon per visit, and real room for him to recover between sessions.

Sometimes what's left doesn't need a full session at all, just a pop-in appointment scheduled for ten minutes or less to finish the one thing that got left behind. That's often less total time in the salon than either the two- or three-session breakdown, and it keeps the time spent in the salon to a minimum for the old dog. Pairing this visit with treats makes this a great opportunity to create a positive association - sometimes grooming tasks are simple and enjoyable!

Respect the dog's limit that day

Sometimes I choose to halt a groom even when it would only take another five or ten minutes to even everything up, because tolerance in an old dog doesn't decline gradually. It hits a wall fast. It might not seem like much to do - getting the eyebrows just right, or trimming more evenly around lumps. Those things feel like quick, minor tasks. From the elderly dog's side of it, if he's already run out of strength, patience or comfort, a quick minor task can be the difference between being tired afterwards and being too exhausted to eat dinner and take pills. It can mean he's too achy to make it outside for potty breaks, or too fatigued to manage the half block walk he normally does just fine. I would rather end with a dog who is functional, vs one who is polished looking and flattened, every time.

Learning to embrace lopsided

Sometimes the groom ends with a tuft of hair still hanging over the dog's right eye that his owner can snip off in a couple of days while he's sleeping. Sometimes his beard is longer on one side than the other because that's the side I was holding when he'd had enough - I'll tell his owner exactly why instead of pretending it should have come out even. Sometimes the tail didn't get done, or the one ear didn't get trimmed, or the right front leg was just too much that day. In those instances, the answer is a second appointment after time to recover, instead of forcing the old dog through for the sake of getting it all done.

Other changes that help

If a dog struggles with the noise and pace of a busy salon, an early morning slot or a slow day on the salon calendar can make more difference than anything else. Some salons have enough seniors to consider building in a senior dog day - a whole day scheduled for nothing but older dogs, which lets the rhythm of the entire salon slow down in speed and shift in priorities to match, instead of asking one old dog to keep up in a room full of young ones and groomers who are moving much more quickly to accommodate them. And for owners who are willing to learn, I'll sometimes hand bathing back to them entirely, using my older scissors and blades for a coat that isn't quite as clean as professional products and techniques make it. Even more often, I skip the bath altogether for haircuts and suggest baths be done between haircuts. None of it has to be perfect. It has to work for the old dog who’s being asked to tolerate the process.

🐶 Sniffing Out Senior Dog News 📰

• AAHA finally split diabetes guidelines for dogs and cats. The 2026 update covers continuous glucose monitors and newer long-acting insulins that can bring some dogs down to once-daily dosing instead of twice. Worth a read if diabetes is anywhere on your senior dog's radar. AAHA's 2026 Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs

• A new study says chihuahuas might have a little coyote in them. Researchers at Stanford found multiple coyote DNA segments hiding in chihuahua genomes while testing new ancestry-tracing software, which might explain where all that confidence in such a small package comes from. Your tiny chihuahua may have a little coyote DNA in its family tree, WBIR

• A good reminder that senior dogs make great adoptions. The Humane Society of Utah is pushing back on the misconception that an older dog isn't worth adopting because he "won't have enough time left." Give an old dog a new beginning, Davis Journal

Senior Dog Meme of the Week

About the Author

Angela Dinsmoor is the Founder of Grey Whiskers and a passionate advocate for senior dogs and the people who love them. With years of hands-on grooming experience and a deep commitment to compassionate, age-appropriate care, Angela created Grey Whiskers to raise the standard for senior dog grooming through education, certification, and community. Her mission is simple: help senior dogs live more comfortably. To join the free Grey Whiskers Community for professionals and owners, click here.