Dog Grooming Hints

One of the best things about Basset Hounds is that you don’t have to spend a fortune at professional dog groomers to get your hound looking his or her best. You can do the grooming yourself. Grooming is a great way to spend quality time with your Basset Hound, check his or her health and incorporate training. But you do need to pay attention to some aspects of Basset Hound grooming in order to do the best job you can for your dog.

The Ears

Floppy Basset Hound ears are glorious, but they don’t get the circulation that dog ears need in order to stay healthy. The ears need to air out every now and then. If your Basset Hound sleeps so that the ear canals are exposed to the air, then you don’t have to worry so much. If not, you need to gently flip the ear back so the ear canal gets some air.

Since Basset Hounds can be prone to ear infections, be sure to check the ears every day. Healthy ears should smell sweet. You also want to check for any heavy discharge. You can clean out any extra wax or grunge on the outer ears with an ear wipe made for dogs. Never poke anything inside the ear canal.

The Wrinkles

The slight wrinkling of a Basset makes their expression priceless. But dirt and grime can get caught in those characteristic wrinkles. The face is a hard place for a dog to groom. You should check the wrinkles and wipe them out every day, perhaps after your Bassett’s walk. This is also can help any extra dirt from getting into your carpet or fabrics.

Not So White

Ever wonder how the Basset Hounds in magazines and dog shows manage to have the white parts of their coats stay so white? Their groomers use a whitener. But it is normal for a Basset Hound’s white parts to look a bit stained or dingy. Unless your Hound is scratching, chewing and has inflamed skin, there’s no need to worry about not so white whites.

Shedding

Short haired dogs like Basset Hounds shed a lot, but especially around spring. Living in air conditioning and central heating can confuse the dog’s body, making it confused as to when to be growing a winter coat and when to be shedding. If you want to live with a Basset, get used to shedding. What are a few million hairs between friends?

To help the shedding on a little, you can get what’s called a shedding blade from your pet store or your veterinarian. When you use a shedding blade, you want to use long motions as if you are peeling the skin off of a carrot. It will make a soft noise. Your dog might make a bigger noise, but used properly, a shedding blade can’t hurt your dog.

A person who is serious about owning a pet will do a lot of investigating before he or she makes a final breed selection. If you are considering owning a Cocker Spaniel, consider these facts …

The Cocker Spaniel loves to be around people and loves attention and affection. This breed will follow you everywhere, and can sometimes get under your feet. They want to be your best friend. They are very demanding, they want to eat now – not in five minutes.

When you see the Cocker Spaniels competing at dog shows, their coats are perfect. With long feathers and perfectly cut heads and backs. Don’t be fooled, they are not just born looking that way. It takes a lot of work to keep their coats in show condition. Obviously, if you are not planning to show your Cocker Spaniel, you probably will not have the perfect show cut. However, they do require a considerable amount of maintenance. The younger Cockers tend to have fur that grows faster than the older ones. For instance, my Cocker is three years old and needs a good bath and cut every two weeks. This can get quite costly if you use a upper scale groomer. I have found that the small grooming business owner does an even better job at bathing and grooming that the upscale groomers, ie. Petsmart, etc. When you choose your groomer, you must make sure that their clippers are cleaned between each and every pet they groom. Cocker Spaniels have very sensitive skin and can develope “hot spots” (patches of extermely dry infected skin) if the clippers are not cleaned properly. Trust me, a little spot will turn into a big spot – Cockers love to lick their paws and any patch of skin they can.

In addition to frequent bathing and grooming, it is very important that you keep their long floppy ears clean. A little OtiCleanse every couple of days does the trick for me. Cockers can develop horrible ear infections that you can smell from the next room if regular cleaning is not done. Most young Cockers hate to have you sticking a piece of cotten in their ear to clean it, I usually have to struggle with this twenty pound little girl, and then reward her with a treat.

Speaking of treats, Cocker Spaniels have very sensitive digestive systems and should absolutely not be feed any human food. I recommend Canidae dry dog food and Iams small biscuts. Every once in a while, a small amount of vanilla ice cream is a nice treat for these dogs especially in the summer time when it is very hot. Any type of human food containing grease,

One of the most frequent questions that I am asked as a groomer is how to prevent tear stains under their dogs eyes. There is nothing that spoils a dog’s cute expression more than dark red tear stains under their eyes and around their mouth. These stains can be prevented and cured.

There are several reasons why tears cause staining. The most common is that when the hair and skin is wet it causes a low grade bacterial infection or a red yeast infection. Other causes could be a blocked tear duct, ear infections, genetics, allergies, food and possibly the water they drink.

There are several methods of curing tear staining and you may have to experiment a bit with what works for your dog. Remember when trying any of these that the results may not be immediately visible. It takes time for the tearing to slow and for the stained hair to grow out.

Probably the best way to prevent and cure tear stains is with a trip to your vet. A low dosage of tetracycline for about 2 weeks has been found to be very effective at curing tear staining that is due to bacterial or yeast infection but your vet will be able to make the proper diagnosis and recommend treatment. They will also be able to determine if the staining is caused by a blocked or closed tear duct that might require surgery.

In addition to whatever method your veterinarian suggests, you can help the process along by following these steps daily. Make sure that your dog’s hair is not sticking up or falling into the eye and irritating it. Trim the hair or pull it up in a top knot. Then take a cotton ball and putting a drop or two of regular Visine on it. Gently rub under the eye on the stain. This will help to dry the area as well as neutralize stains themselves. Once you have the area clean and dry, you can take a tiny amount of petroleum jelly and smooth the hair down and out of the eye.

If your dog has staining around the mouth, you may want to make sure that your dog food does not have artificial coloring in it. Many dog foods have coloring that will cause staining. Also make sure that you are using stainless steel food and water bowls. Plastic bowls or cracked or chipped ceramic bowls can harbor the bacteria that cause staining around the mouth. Adding a little vinegar (1 tsp per quart) can help to change the ph balance and eliminate some staining. It takes a little effort to get your dog to actually drink this so start small with tsp per quart and work up slowly to 1 tsp.

There are many commercial products on the market that claim to reduce or eliminate tear stains such as Angel Eyes. I have heard various reports of whether they work fabulously well or not at all. I think that results with them are probably determined by what the cause of the eye stains is. Others simply bleach out the stains and do nothing to actually help prevent them. Just like bleaching your own hair, repeated use of bleach is going to dry the hair out and cause breakage.

Your groomer will trim the stained hair away from the eye as well as trimming any hair that might be falling into the eye. With regular grooming, this will keep tear staining to a minimum but removing the hair is only a temporary cure at best. Eliminating the cause along with good grooming is the way to keep your dog looking its best and healthiest.

Ear cleaning is one of the most overlooked aspects of dog grooming, therefore its no surprise that many dogs will develop ear infections over the course of their lives. Some breeds are particularly prone to this, such as the cocker spaniel or any of the breeds that have long hanging ears. One of the main reasons for this is that there is poor air flow under the ear flap, causing moisture and bacteria to cultivate. Conversely, dogs with small ears can be prone to swimmer’s ear, when water all to easily flows into the ear canal. It is very important to pay attention to the ears as part of the regular grooming process.

In order to clean the ears, have the following items on hand.

1. A sturdy table with a bathmat or other rubber matting placed on top.

2. Cotton balls- Q-tips or cotton swabs will NOT do.

3. Ear cleaning solution from a pet store or groomers.

4. A soft cloth such as a microfibre cloth

5. Some organic dog treats.

Steady the dog

Place your dog on a sturdy table with a bathmat on it that won’t slip. This is an important step as you do not want to groom your dog on the floor and risk strain and injury to your back. When a dog is groomed on the floor, it has all the power to move away from you and this can also cause injury to the dog, if it tries to move away while you are swabbing out the ear you could accidently slip and injure the eardrum so always put the dog on a table where he is less likely to struggle. If your dog is big and can’t be lifted, you can place his paws on the table and lift his back end up. He should move his legs forward as you hoist him up. Or you can enlist the help of a friend. If he is unable to be lifted then your only option may be the floor. Put his leash on and attach it to a fixed object. Put your dog up against a wall and pull up a chair to his other side. This should hold him steady so you can work on him.

Assess the ear condition

Gently open the ear flap and assess what you see. Smell the inside of the ear. Does it smell yeasty or sour? Is it oozing yellow green or brown matter? Is the ear inflamed? If so this could indicate an ear infection. If there is a black tar like substance, that can indicate ear mites. If you discover anything amiss, consult a vet before proceeding with the cleaning. If the ear looks dirty without an offensive smell then this is a healthy ear and is ready to be cleaned by you.

Hair in the Ear Canal

While cleaning your dog’s ears you may notice that he has a lot

With all the pollens and allergens present throughout the year that cause havoc to those that suffer from allergies, having a dog that sheds excessively can compound the severity of ones symptoms. Which is one reason why the non-shedding dog has become so popular among many dog lovers.

There are several advantages to owning a non-shedding dog, the biggest advantage is not having to clean the dog hair from your house, clothing, or wherever else it may decide to settle. Another is that many of these breeds do not have problems with pet dander, which can also cause allergic reactions for so many.

With the knowledge now available to us through the many published books regarding dog breeds and traits, finding a non-shedding dog that will suite the needs of yourself and your family is not very difficult. With so many breeds available such as, the Poodle which is now being bred with many other breeds (creating a major fad with Schnoodles, Labradoodles,ect.) the list continues to grow. Several examples also include, Schnauzers (Both miniature and large), Terriers (Yorkshire, Bedlington, Airedale, and Kerry Blue), the Italian Greyhound, as well as the Cockapoo and Bichon Frise.

There are a few other factors that you will have to consider when purchasing a non-shedding dog, such as the amount of time that you will spend grooming these dogs. Grooming these dogs is essential, particularly the ears. If a dogs ear hair is too long, and is not properly plucked and trimmed then ear infections could develop and become an issue. Choosing a dog groomer that you are comfortable with is crucial.

There are some questions that you will also want to ask yourself before making any decisions, such as are there going to be children exposed to the dog? If you answered Yes than choosing a dog that will interact with children without aggression is very important. Poodles and Schnauzers make excellent pets for children, they are very playful, protective and loyal. Knowing what traits you are seeking in a dog will ensure that you choose the perfect non-shedding dog for your family.