Importance of Grooming

Grooming is an essential part of looking after your dog. This maybe a daily routine depending on your dogs age, breed and health. A lot of breeds require a lot less grooming than others but regular grooming will ensure that your dog remains healthy and looking its best. Some dog breeds shed a lot of hair and there are short haired examples who hardly shed any hair. Regular daily grooming will help you keep an eye out for other health problem as well such as scratches, thrush, cuts, swelling, lameness and changes in temperament. Regular grooming will also help forge a closer bond between a dog and its owner.

Bathing

Its important to wash a dog in warm and not hot water in order to make it an enjoyable experience. Those dogs with heavy or matted coats should be throughly brushed out before bathing. Remember that using a doggy shampoo without water could prove to be too strong for a dogs skin. Most dogs only require an occasional bath because it can strip the dogs coat of natural oils.

Stripping

Stripping is the method of removing all of the dead hair from the coat of a non-shedding dog which can be done by hand or by using a stripping knife, and this helps to make room for a new coat to grow. This is the correct procedure for grooming most terriers and is required for show dogs with hard coats. The procedure is painless when done correctly and most dogs enjoy the process of stripping, especially if it was introduced to them as puppies.

Nail Trimming

Nail trimming is an essential part of looking after your dogs health, if a dogs nails are allowed to grow they will become painful to walk on and often curl over into a spiral shape. If the nail is allowed to curl over too much they can pierce the paw pad, leading to infection and a lot of pain for the dog. This process is important and should be done as part of a regular health check, often on a monthly basis.

Ear Cleaning

Its important to keep your dogs ears clean to prevent irritation and infection, both can be painful and potentially lead to hearing loss. The correct medical term for inflammation of the outer ear canal is otitis externa. Dogs are prone to this condition due to the L shape and length of their ear canal. The breeds that are most prone to this condition include most floppy and long haired breeds such as Retrievers, Spaniels and Bassat Hounds. The signs of ear problems include – shaking and tilting of the head, odor or discharge from the ears, swelling and redness of the ear canal or ear flap, scratching or rubbing of the ears and changes in the animals behavior due to the pain.

Gland Treatment

A dogs anal glands are their calling card, it emits a small amount of fluid when the dog is excited such as meeting another dog, when they urinate or defecate and that fluid has its own unique smell. If these glands aren’t emptied naturally releasing this fluid they can become infected or even rupture. A lot of dogs never have a problem with their anal glands but their are warning signs to look out for such as – rubbing their backside along the floor, fishy smells around the dogs behind, soft stools, licking their own rectums and blood when they defecate.

Teeth Cleaning

Cleaning your dogs teeth is important to prevent a number of periodontal problems from occurring. These diseases can cause teeth and gum infections, pain, loss of teeth and even organ damage. Tests have shown that dogs with severe periodontal disease have more damage in their heart muscle, liver and kidneys than dogs without. This damage happens when bacteria from the infected gums and tooth roots gain access to the dogs blood stream. The gums will stay healthy as long as the teeth are cleaned frequently.