Dog Grooming

One of the fastest growing trades in North America is dog grooming. There is a very important reason for this. It is vital to the health and well being of domestic dog breeds.

Dog grooming started as an industry with the standard poodle in the 17th century. Poodles were bred to hunt and it was imperative that they be groomed in such a manner as to enable them to retrieve birds from water. The pompoms that are symbolic of poodle cuts served a purpose and it was not aesthetic. The poodle cut was developed to protect the animals’ joints and vital organs when they were in cold water. But people seeing these dogs with their fancy pompoms began to adopt them as pets. As soon as poodles became pets, groomers started offering their services to keep the dogs looking like the regal hunters they were bred to be.

Over the past five centuries, dozens of different specialized breeds have been developed, all with unique coat care needs. The result is that dogs of today no longer have the natural ability to take care of their own hygienic needs. They need to be bathed, brushed and clipped. They need to have their ears plucked and their anal glands purged. They need their nails cut. A wolf or a dingo in the wild can forego this pampering because their grooming needs are vastly different from domesticated breeds of dogs. No matter what kind of dog you have, it will require some degree of grooming on a regular basis to keep it healthy and happy.

It pays to know your breed’s needs. Before you go out and adopt a dog, find out what kind of grooming the breed requires and be prepared to follow through with it. If you are going to groom your dog yourself, you will need to know the correct way of doing it. Colleges often offer weekend grooming courses for the do-it-yourselfer that will show you exactly how to correctly bathe, brush and clip your dog’s coat, cut its nails, clean and pluck (if necessary) its ears and properly clean its anal glands. You will learn de-matting techniques as well. There are books available that can guide you through the process, too.

You will need to start grooming your dog early. Professional groomers recommend that a puppy gets its first groom at around four months of age. This first groom can be a frightening experience for a young puppy. Lots of patience and praise is the key to a successful first groom. Often professional groomers will not use clippers on a puppy the first time it is groomed. They will brush it and