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Keeping your dog’s coat, hair, nails and teeth nice and healthy is what defines a well groomed dog. Dog grooming is the practice of maintaining and caring for the appearance of your canine pet whether it is for personal or show dog purposes. The process of grooming your dog, include washing, hair clipping and cutting, nail clipping, cleaning of the ears, nails, teeth, and ensuring tick and flea protection. With regular grooming not only does it look aesthetically pleasing for the owner, but most importantly, it is part of keeping your dog happy and healthy.
You should consider that the long term benefit of grooming your dog will present the two of you with a unique bonding experience. Spending the time with your dog and developing close contact has long term implications for you as well. According to numerous studies, pet owners experience fewer minor health problems and better psychological well being, with dogs in particular being considered as having a preventative and therapeutic effect on their owner against everyday stress. So consider the time spent on grooming your dog as a great form of relaxation and therapeutic stress release for your health.
Considerations:
Most people tend to have a preference as to the breed of dog in which they want, but little thought is placed on the consideration towards the degree of grooming that may be involved to keep your pet in good health. You need to remember when choosing a breed that possesses a long thick coat, it is much more likely to require a greater deal of time spent in grooming for your pet.
The Hypro Petcare research and development team has put together the basics on what you need for the general grooming of your dog. The general grooming has been classed under the following headings:
Brushing
When brushing your dog down you should always run the brush through the direction of hair growth, beginning at the head, and work towards the tail and down the legs. Brushing removes any loose hair and dead hair from the undercoat to help prevent matting. Brushes usually come in three categories, bristle, wire-pin and slicker brushes. Bristle brushes are very versatile. Wire pin brushes come with or without rubber tips on bristles, and they work best on woolly coats. Slicker brushes have fine wire bristles and are used mostly on dogs with dense undercoat, and not on smooth coated breeds.
Combing
Regular brushing and combing will remove loose or matted hair and helps keep the skin free of diseases and parasites such as fleas. Combs come in various sizes for many purposes. They may be fine-toothed, medium-toothed, wide-toothed and combination of these. Fine tooth combs are generally for soft and silky coats. Medium tooth combs are all-purpose, and wide tooth combs are ideal for heavy coats, and sometimes de-matting tasks. Curry combs are made of rubber and are used for massaging the skin and removing the dead hair from short coated breeds.
Clipping
Scissors and clippers are used in removing hair from certain types of coats or in the sensitive areas. Shedding blades are for the grooming of harsh coats, a metal shedding blade with short, dull teeth is used to remove any dead hair. This blade is not intended for cutting the hair. Before using clippers or blades, you should have a concise plan on how you are going to clip your dog. You need to make sure the dog is clean and has all mats or tangles brushed out of the coat before you start clipping. Following this basic step makes it easier for you to clip your dog’s coat evenly.
Nail Trimming
Knowing when and how to keep your dog’s nails regularly trimmed is important for good proper dog grooming. Firstly it is imperative that you only use specially designed clippers for dogs. When trimming you should only clip the tip of each nail, being careful to stop short of the quick, which is the inner soft part containing blood vessels and tender nerve endings. If you are concerned about doing this procedure, it is probably best to seek advice from your local vet on how to carry out the correct technique.
Bathing
Bathing your dog helps to keep it healthy as well as clean. Regular bathing also means you can reduce the amount of flea repellents you need to use. However, bathing too frequently can dry out the skin and coat. It is recommended by experts to bath your dog no more than once a month. Before giving your dog a bath, a good brushing or combing should be done in order to get all tangles and mats out as water will make the situation worse.
It is wise to gather any items you may need before you start the bath: a brush, comb, collar and leash, shampoo, face cloth and several towels. A handheld shower or pail for applying water is the ideal method for bathing. You should only be using a shampoo which is formulated for the pH of your dog’s skin. Human shampoos should not be used as an alternative as they have the tendency to strip the essential oils from your dog’s coat. When bathing your dog, you should always shield the eyes from contact with shampoo or any other cleaning substances. Once finished bathing it is important to towel down your dog by gently rubbing or patting with the towel. You can also dry the coat by using a blow dryer on the lowest setting and holding at a distance so the dog receives only warm air.
Cleaning
Ears
Keeping your dog’s ears clean involves making cleaning a weekly chore. Basic ear care involves checking the ears for wax build-up, redness or inflammation around the ear, dirt in the ears, or anything else that may affect your dog’s ear. Also be sure to smell your dog’s ears for any unusual odours, as this can indicate if a problem like an ear infection, ear mites, or even fleas or ticks are present in your dog’s ear. If you think your dog may have an infection, you should take your dog to the veterinarian immediately. This should be done by a vet, for if an inexperienced person attempts they could possibly cause severe harm to the dog’s ear if they do not know what they are doing. Symptoms to be aware of as a dog owner: if the ears are too red or if there's any kind of unusual secretion, keep an eye in the dog's expressions too: if the dog twitches or cries, or seems to be uncomfortable with this, there might be something wrong. If the dog scratches too much in this region, or shakes it head it can be because there is a foreign object inside its ear, or because there is an infection.
Eyes
The use of slightly damp tissue paper is good for helping keep the eyes clean. Some symptoms to take note of is, if the eyes continuously water or have a reddish colour, if the dog keeps scratching at them, then this may mean a bacterial infection needs to be treated by a vet.
Teeth
It is a good idea to take a look at your dog’s teeth every once in a while, as periodical care of your dog’s teeth will avoid bad smells. Bad breath is caused by plaque and tartar build-up overtime. If you incorporate too much soft foods in your dog’s diet, then there will probably be more tartar, so you should balance the diet. A good raw, marrow bone, or knuckle bone will keep your dog's teeth free of tartar as the gnawing motion scrapes it all from the teeth. The same principle applies when using dried dog food as the crunching rubs off any excess plague or tartar on the teeth. If you notice tartar then it would be a wise idea to take your dog to your local veterinarian. Other symptoms to be aware about: if your dog has swollen gums or wounds inside the mouth, if it has a broken tooth or if it drools excessively, or with blood, it might be tooth decay.
Paws
Your pet dog depends on his paws and paw pads, so taking care of them is an important aspect. Being outside can pose many hazards for your dog’s feet so you need to be able to prevent unnecessary injury and provide appropriate grooming. Caring for your dog’s paws means checking for blisters or lodged objects in between the toes. Cleaning the paw pads and riding any mud that may be caught. Any deep cuts or non healing wounds should be seen by the local veterinarian.
Tick and Flea Protection
Fleas and ticks can cause a host of problems for your pet dog, from flea dermatitis to dangerous amounts of blood loss. It is recommended that an effective flea and tick prevention program is essential to your dog’s health. You can make a big difference by purchasing topical and oral monthly preventives, flea and tick collars, flea and tick shampoos and sprays, or itch relief products. For a proper program and advice it is best to see your local veterinarian.
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