Ideally, as a dog parent, you’d want your dog to be as healthy and happy as possible. Appropriate dog grooming is essential to ensuring your dog’s long-term good health and happiness. Still, there are many other ways you can boost your dog’s well-being (including providing them with a variety of high-quality food, making sure they receive enough activity, and giving them plenty of love).
Why is Proper Grooming Necessary for Your Dog
Dogs that get regular grooming benefit both mentally and physically from the practice. In addition, regular grooming appointments provide you with the opportunity to check your dog’s hair, teeth, eyes, ears, and nails for any symptoms of health issues. A dog’s coat type, size, and breed all have an impact on how frequently he has to be groomed.
A healthy dog requires excellent hygiene, but unlike people, most dogs don’t need to be cleaned and groomed every day. The breed determines how frequently and what kind of care is necessary. To mention a few, frequent grooming is required for Afghan Hounds, Poodles, and Komondores, whereas breeds like Beagles, Weimaraner, and Boxers have greater latitude when it comes to grooming. Irrespective of the breed, regular dog care includes brushing teeth, cleaning ears, clipping nails, and brushing.
If you do hire any professional dog groomers, professional dog handlers, or veterinary personnel, they are usually grooming-trained, so you can trust that your dog is in safe hands. However, owners should learn how to groom their pets regularly to keep them looking good in the time between trips to the groomer.
Grooming advice may be obtained from your dog’s breeder. An AKC responsible breeder will often have a lot of information on all areas of their breed, including grooming suggestions and the tools required to do a good job.
Grooming Basics: Essentials for the Wellbeing of Your Dog
If you want your dog to be happy, healthy, and well-groomed, there are a few essential grooming duties you need to do regularly. These tasks include the following:
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Brushing
Brushing is the most critical aspect of pet care. Tangles may build behind the ears and nose, in their armpits, as well as between their back leg and hips, so cleaning these areas is necessary. Also, If your dog has a fluffy tail, make sure you brush it just as thoroughly as the rest of his coat.
Your dog’s breed will determine the frequency with which you need to brush your dog. You may be required to brush him every day, according to your dog’s coat. However, others may just need to be brushed once every two weeks. Dogs with longer and finer hair require more care than dogs with shorter and coarser hair.
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Nail trim
To ensure your dog’s comfort, keep his nails properly trimmed on a regular basis. A dog whose nails aren’t trimmed on a regular basis may develop abnormal foot posture as a result of this carelessness. Put another way, it might cause muscular soreness in your dog’s leg if you let him wear it for long periods.
Consider the following aspects while clipping your dog’s nails, according to the American Kennel Club:
- Only cut the ends. It is possible to cut your dog quick if you clip his nail too short can result in bleeding. The AKC suggests that you just clip their nails at the very tips (the hook-shaped portion that turns down).
- Use the appropriate clippers. Dog clippers with a safety guard protect the nails from being clipped too short.
- Start gently. Since many dogs dislike having their nails trimmed, go at a gradual pace when doing so. Getting them used to the idea that you’re not going to injure them will make it simpler for them to let you do so.
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Bathing
As part of the grooming procedure, baths are essential. However, don’t overdo it when it comes to bathing your dog. As per AKC, y our dog’s coat may become dry and coarse as a result of too much washing.
Make sure to brush your dog thoroughly before putting them in the bath. After becoming wet, knots and tangles harden into uncomfortable mats that hurt the skin.
Place your dog in the bathtub with their hair combed and place cotton balls in each of their ears which can help to avoid ear infections. Then, it’s time to clean the dog’s coat. Wet the coat with lukewarm water (no hotter than what you’d use to wash a newborn and follow with a dog shampoo. You should never put human shampoo on your pet’s skin since it will dry it out.
Make sure to rub the shampoo all across their body. To complete the process, rinse thoroughly, beginning from head to tail. Afterwards, apply conditioner if required.
Ensure that all of the product has been rinsed away. Shampoo, conditioner and other hair care products may irritate the skin if left over.
Later, dry your dog with a towel and then brush their coat using a comb.
Use a grooming drier particularly designed for dogs if you must dry your dog. Don’t use a human hair drier since it might become too hot and may cause your pet to burn or harm their skin.
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Cleaning of the ears and eyes
Keeping your dog’s eyes and ears clean is essential to preventing infections, which is why you should do it regularly.
Ear cleaning is recommended at least once a month by the AKC and more often if your dog’s breed is known to be particularly susceptible to infection. Clean the outside of the ears with a cotton swab dipped in mineral oil (never push anything into the ear canal!).
Between bathing, use a damp cotton ball to gently remove any eye discharge from your dog’s eyes, or you may apply an eye rinse to eliminate debris from the eyes and shield them from the shampoo. At the end of the shower, give your dog’s eyes one more rinsing with eyewash just in case any shampoo gets into them.
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Cleaning the teeth
Keeping your dog’s teeth and gums clean is essential to canine grooming. The American Veterinary Dental Society estimates that by the age of three, more than 80% of dogs have some sort of dental problem.
Brushing your dog’s teeth regularly can help maintain a healthy mouth and teeth for your dog to have a long life.
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