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Dog Grooming

Grooming Your Pet
dog grooming

Why Grooming is Important for Your Dog

Grooming is very important for your dog. If you still need to ask why, though, the answer is that grooming is necessary for your dog’s well-being, and for yours as well. Grooming your dog actually has several benefits for your dog. For one thing, a properly groomed dog will definitely feel better and more relaxed than a dog that has not been groomed. A groomed dog will then be more content and behaved than a dog that has not been groomed. Aside from that, if you groom your dog, you also protect it from several pests such as fleas and ticks, and can then keep them away from the potential harm of the diseases that these pests can transmit to your pet. Aside from the physical and behavioral benefits of grooming to your dog, dog grooming also has benefits for you. A groomed dog will be nicer to cuddle, and you will also be spared from negative behavior that can be expected from an ungroomed dog. Aside from that, your groomed dog is not the only one protected from diseases. If you protect them from diseases through grooming, you also protect yourself from zoonotic diseases that can affect you through your dogs.

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The Different Aspects of Dog Grooming

There are three major aspects of dog grooming. These are bathing, brushing, plus the finishing touches. Bathing can be a pretty challenging aspect of dog grooming. Dogs seem to hate baths, for one reason or another. This is why bathing your dog takes time and patience. You don’t always have to bathe your dog. It is up to you when you want to do it. You can also set a bathing schedule for your dog. Before bathing, don’t forget to block the dog’s ears with cotton to make sure that no dog shampoo suds get in. Be ready for a fight as well, since some dogs do not take kindly to bathing, especially if you have not trained it to stick to a bathing routine. After shampooing, make sure to rinse your dog off very carefully so no traces off shampoo will be left. The second aspect is brushing. This is mostly concerned with your dog’s hair. Brushing can be done regularly and more often than bathing. When brushing, pay extra attention to the tangles in your dog’s hair. The last part of dog grooming involves the finishing touches. This includes nail grooming, ear grooming, a brief eye examination, and teeth cleaning. Nail trimming is not necessary for all dogs, but you might want to do it occasionally just to make sure. Ear grooming is especially crucial since ears are prone to infection. You can also avoid eye problems such as cataracts, or gum and teeth problems by checking the eyes and the teeth of your pet regularly.

Special Grooming Needs of Special Dog Breeds

The difficulty in grooming a dog may differ depending on the breed of your dog. If your dog is a bulldog, then you still have to worry about the folds in its skin where bacteria can also accummulate and hide out. Dogs with long ears also require more attention paid to their ears as compared to dogs with shorter ears. If your dog has curly hair, you need to trim the hair more regularly because curly hair can get out of hand faster, and might irritate your dog. Also, make sure that the hair near the head does not disturb your dog’s eyes or mouth.

The Everything Dog Grooming Book: All you need to help your pet look and feel great! (Everything Series)

The Everything Dog Grooming Book: All you need to help your pet look and feel great! (Everything Series)

dog grooming question by Mernda N: What are the quietest, coolest and most powerful Dog Grooming Clippers?
What are the quietest, coolest and most powerful Dog Grooming Clippers?

I bought all my equipment for grooming when i was in school and now im looking for a more long term better quality clipper. Any people with experience in the grooming profession are encouraged to answer my question.

Also anyone with clippers that perform badly i would like to know about too, so i do not experiment with them.

Thank You Much.

dog grooming best answer:

Answer by Chihuahualove2
I bought peticure and I love it it’s so much easier to use and my dogs dont get hurt when I do their nails.

http://www.peticure.com/

How to Groom a Dog : How to Towel Dry a Dog

Learn some tips on how to towel dry your dog in this expert video on pet maintenance. Expert: Carolyn Haynie Campbell Contact: www.purrzonecats.com Bio: Carolyn Haynie Campbell has been a professional dog groomer with over 40 years of experience behind her. Filmmaker: Liz Mortensen
dog grooming Video Rating: 4 / 5

by heraldpost

Experience teaches that the more you know, the more you know that you do not know. If you have been grooming your dog for long, then you most likely are very good at it but you also know that there is always more that you need to know. In all grooming procedures, there are things you should do and things that you need to avoid. Many times we learn this the hard way when we realize we just did something that has counter-benefits, such as when cut the quick when trimming nails. We will look at the four basic grooming activities and highlight some of the things to do and those to avoid under each.

Let us begin with bathing. You should certainly bath your dog and you should do it regularly. Most veterinary officers will tell you that you should bath the dog at least once each month. Scrub it gently with shampoo and a brush and make sure to rinse thoroughly afterwards. These actions will help keep the skin fresh and free from infection. On the flip side, do not bath your dog as frequently as you bath yourself. Daily baths are definably good for you but certainly not for your dog as they will lead to loss of essential oils on the dog’s skin resulting in irritation and scratching. You skin on the other hand is able to quickly replace the oils lost during bathing.

Brush your dog’s hair on a regular basis. Use brushes that will not cause abrasions and do it gently. Move the brush along the hair fibers and not against them. When you brush properly, the dog will have a very appealing look. It will even look shinny and sleek, making it fun to walk in the park with. If the dog has long hair or fur, you may want to trim it. Hair clippers should be on hand for this and run the clipper gently through the hair. Please, do not do these procedures hurriedly because apart from doing a shoddy job, you can actually cause injury. Avoid clipping too close to the dog’s skin. Remember, you are reducing the hair, not “undressing your dog”. It is not safe to do this because that hair has a protective function.

You should develop a regular routine of checking your dog’s nails. The best time to do this is when you are bathing the dog since then you will be killing two birds with one stone. In fact it is advisable that during bathing, you also do physical examination for swellings, lumps, cuts, and so on. If the nails are long and possibly curving, trim them. What you should avoid it cutting too deep to reach the quick. This is why like mentioned above, you must never groom in a hurry. Trim small layers at a time while looking out for the quick. As soon as you sense that you are approaching it, stop trimming. A cut on the quick apart from being very painful can lead to serious infection.

More Dog Grooming Articles

by Barboni

Whether your dog has a short coat (Boxer, Basset Hound, Labrador Retriever), long coat (Lhasa Apso, German Long-haired Pointer, Samoyed) or one that falls somewhere in between, he’ll need to be groomed on a regularly.

All dogs need to get used to being groomed, and starting as early in its life as possible. Good pet grooming habits will prevent future grooming problems from happening later on in their adult lives.

One Size Does Not Fit All When It Comes To Dogs

There are a variety of coats require different grooming steps, but basic grooming care such as bathing, brushing, ear and teeth cleaning, and nail trimming is needed for all pets. If you own a long-haired dog, grooming will have to be practiced more often and may be a little more challenging. So, it is imperative to introduce your dog to grooming early on in her life. Life will be more pleasant for both you and your dog if she learns to enjoy this experience while he’s still young.

Good Grooming Habits: Groom Your Dog Everyday

To ensure that your dog creates a positive experience with grooming, you must introduce her to the process slowly and often. Get your dog familiar with each piece of equipment by introducing it to her one at a time. Show your dog the brush, let her sniff it for a few seconds and then give her a small treat.

The next step is to gently touch her with the brush and the treat. Once your dog has fully accepted the object, gently brush one stroke and follow with a treat. Do this process about three more times until your dog realizes that being brushed is a great feeling. Break down this method into small steps as this will give your dog the chance to create a positive experience within each step of the way.

Take your dog to the grooming station and let her get to know the area before you begin the grooming process. A few days prior giving your dog a bath, put her in the bathtub while it’s dry and let her play with a toy and throw in a favorite treat. Repeat this technique the next day, adding some water and a sponge. See, it’s not as difficult as you probable thought it would be.

Warning: Don’t allow your dog to simply jump into a tub filled with water out of the blue, allow your dog get used to the water before filling the tub. Dogs are just like children, they have to be handled with care as well. So, before your dog gets in, you may want to dip your elbow into the tub to make sure that it isn’t to cold or hot.

Lastly, repeat this same procedure goes for the nail clipper, toothbrush, and other grooming tools. Take your time when introducing them to your dog and she will enjoy grooming for the rest of your pet’s life.

by bookish in north park

To keep your dog’s long coat looking beautiful and healthy, you should be prepared to spend regular time in grooming. In fact some long coated dogs also need regular baths to help keep their coats free from matting and frequent brushing in between.

Grooming A Dog with a Long Coat

To know that you are doing all that’s necessary to help keep your dog’s coat maintained in good condition, it might be a good idea to read books specifically for your dog’s breed as these can provide excellent tips and information on grooming and general care as well as suggesting grooming tools best suited for your breed of dog. Grooming can be a pleasurable activity both for dog and owner, providing the chance to spend quality time together.

A well-trained dog is always easier to groom than a one that is restless, fidgety and reluctant to co-operate. A dog, for instance, can really get to enjoy his bath when trained from being a puppy. For long-coated breeds of dogs you might consider buying a grooming table. There are also many different types of brushes to choose from. Wooden handle rubber brushes with pins can make grooming more comfortable with long-haired dogs. Wooden handle slicker brushes are also useful for removing tangles in long silky coated dogs. It is especially important for long-coated dogs to be trained to stand still or to lie down when being groomed as it can become frustrating for both dog and owner if the dog keeps trying to run away!

Tools needed for grooming a long-coat dog include:

Brushes and combs – When grooming the dog’s coat should never be completely dry as this can cause the ends of the hair to split. Use a mild conditioning spray (specifically for dogs and not humans). Your dog should be encouraged to stand and using a curry comb first, work through all the knots and tangles in your dog’s long coat. The curry comb can be either plastic or rubber with short teeth on one side; it is used to break up clumps and tangles in the hair and to pull loose hair to the surface of the coat.

After this, go over thoroughly with a metal brush. Brushing not only helps keep your dog’s coat free of tangles but for the long-coated dog, it will stimulate the natural oils in his skin and helps keep the coat in good condition. Brushing also helps to keep shedding around the house under control. Pay attention to paws as dog’s with a long coat can tend to get mats in their paws.

You might then want to use a long toothed steel comb to be sure the coat is free of tangles. If your dog’s coat has a parting along the back, this should be done from the neck downwards, carefully taking a comb through in one smooth stroke. Some breeds with long coats will need to be clipped, trimmed or stripped. This can be quite difficult and you might prefer to leave certain aspects of your dog’s grooming to an expert. Or at least to get expert advice before splashing out on expensive clippers which can be hard to use. Purchasing unsuitable tools for grooming your dog can be an expensive mistake!

Hair Cutting Scissors are useful as the hair around your dog’s paws will need to be regularly trimmed. Check in between his nails too. You might also want to trim the hair around your dog’s hind quarters. Keep inside of ears clean and trimmed and check paw pads for excess hair which again should be trimmed. Both small and large long-haired dogs will need to have their nails clipped regularly.

Cut the nails as close to the ‘quick’ as possible. The long hair of the feet can hide the toenails causing some owners to neglect cutting the nails as often as required. If you can hear your dog’s nails clicking when he walks, it is time they were cut otherwise lameness can occur. Dew claws need to be trimmed too or they can loop around and grow into the dog’s leg. Toe nails should be cut using special dog nail clippers and this must be done with great care. Dog grooming can be time consuming but this is a great excuse to spend quality time together and for dog and owner to bond

One may look at myself and find it hard to believe that I am a lover of all animals. To most, I appear to be a typical cat lady. However, I do love and cherish all animals, and believe that certain pets are appropriate for certain people.

If an individual is trying to choose between bringing a dog or a cat into their household, there is much more to this decision than simply deciding which species is more appealing to the eye. Though both cats and dogs make wonderful companions, they both have very different needs, and are able to provide different things to their owners.

Let’s begin with the animals needs. Dogs need much more care and attention than cats do. A dog owner is responsible for feeding, walking, socializing, grooming as well as bathroom breaks. It is important that feeding times and amounts are consistent for the animal’s health and weight. Walking is essential for a dog to maintain health, as well as burn off energy. Failure to walk a dog or provide them with accurate exercise could result in suppressed energy that could be negatively displayed in other ways around the house (i.e. aggression and destructive behaviors). Socializing is another important thing when it comes to our canine friends. Properly socializing a dog will prevent them from becoming overly protective of their owner(s) and being potentially hostile towards strangers. Depending on the breed of dog, grooming can be a quick, or a lengthy chore. Baths are essential, as well as grooming fur. Regular fur trimmings could also be necessary depending on the type of breed. A dog’s owner is also responsibly for taking their dog outside to go to the bathroom. Potty training can be a lengthy and difficult process, and requires a good deal of time and patience.

When it comes to the needs of a cat, the list tends to be a bit shorter. Cats need to be fed, have their litter changed, attention/exercise as well as grooming care. Just as with dogs, regulated feeding times and amounts are important to proper health. Potty-training a cat is relatively easy since cats have a natural tendency to use the litter box on their own. Exercising your cat can be as simple as having another cat companion that your cat enjoys playing with, or having adequate toys available. Cats bathe themselves, so generally the only grooming required involves a good brush.

As far as what each animal can provide to their owners, I believe first and foremost that unconditional love is a given. When treated well, cats and dogs both love their owners. They provide affection, consistency and companionship. Dog’s can be the jogging partner you have always wanted. Cats can be the couch-cuddling companions you adore while reading a favorite book.

In general, when faced with someone that is having a hard time choosing a cat or a dog, I ask them to look at their lifestyle. Someone who is very busy and is rarely home would not make a good dog owner. Remember that dog’s need more care than cats including regular bathroom breaks. Cats are more self-sufficient, therefore, deal better with only a few hours of attention and care a day. Regardless of which animal you feel will suit you best, I guarantee that choosing one of these wonderful life-companions will be a decision you will never regret.