Dog Grooming Is For More Than Just Appearence!
dog grooming is an important part of your role as a pet owner. Of course grooming your dog will make him/her look much nicer but it also plays a few more roles in your dog’s life. If can be very unhealthy for your dog if you do not keep up with his grooming and it can cause your dog to become extremely uncomfortable.
Depending on the breed of dog you may or may not want to have a professional groomer handle the job. Which ever path you choose brushing your dog’s coat between full grooms on a regular basis will help to keep your dog more comfortable and it will ease the job when it comes time to give your dog a full grooming.
Brushing your dogs coat on a regular basis can be a real bonding time for you and your pet. If your dog associates a brush or comb with a positive experience such as a bonding moment then he is less likely to become stressed when he needs to visit the professional groomer.
Dog grooming is more difficult on the long hair breeds as well as those with a curly coat but if you have a short haired pet such as a short hair lab keeping up with his grooming will be much easier. Whether you are brushing out a long haired dog or a short haired one you should pay attention to a few things while brushing your dog. Take the time to move the dogs coat around and get a good look at the skin, you should pay attention to the dryness of the dog’s skin, you should look for anything unusual such as flaky skin, fleas or ticks. As you are grooming your dog take the time to massage his whole body as this will help discover any lumps, bumps or fatty tissue leading to the early detection of something that could be life threatening.
It is really important that your pet gets a full dog grooming at the very least 3 to 4 times a year. If you have a long haired dog they have a tendency to develop mats, tangles and horrible hair knots and if these are not well maintained they can cause your dog a lot of discomfort. Allowing your dogs hair to become matted and full of knots will make the groomers job very difficult and it will hurt your dog and then he will associate that pain with the groomer every time you bring him in for a full dog grooming and this will make the groomers job very difficult.
Things To Consider When Dog Grooming…
Your dogs nails need to be maintained on a consistent basis. A dog’s nails have a tendency to grow very fast so if you do bring your dog to a professional groomer you may still need to have his nails trimmed between full dog grooming sessions. However, never cut your dog’s nails with regular scissors be sure to purchase nail trimmers made special for cutting dog’s nails. Trimming your dog’s nails with the proper trimmers is not difficult, you just need to hold the paw firmly, spread the nails with your fingers and trim just before the blood vein which you can usually see where this is by the change in color of your dog’s nails. If you do cut into the vein be sure that you have some nail blood stop on hand as this will help clot the blood and cease the bleeding. If your dog’s nails get to long it can become painful for him to walk on them. As a professional dog groomer I have seen some terrible situations where the pet owner has not taken care of the dog’s nails. It is possible for your dog’s nails to grow so long that they begin to curl all the way around puncturing the dogs foot and then every time the dog takes a step the nail is forced further into your dog’s foot causing him to be in a lot of pain. So when it comes to dog grooming please keep your pets comfort in mind and stay on top of all the problems that could arise.
When brushing your dog’s coat be sure to start brushing at the head and work your way down his body to the tail, legs, feet and under body. By brushing your dog’s coat on a regular basis you are keeping the dogs skin stimulated which in turn allows the natural oils to disperse through the dog’s coat keeping it healthy and shiny as well as mat free. After you have thoroughly brushed through your dog’s coat you can then use a pin brush to back brush (brush against the natural hair growth) through the fur to fluff up the coat allowing it to breathe and remain stimulated as he runs.
There is much more to dog grooming then just brushing and trimming the nails and this is why it is important to bring your dog in for a professional grooming on a regular basis. A complete dog grooming will involve brushing the dogs teeth and using a steel pick to scrap off tartar. A dog’s ears need to be cleaned and inspected for ear mites and the extra hair needs to be removed from the ear. A professional dog groomer will clean the hair between the toes making it more comfortable for when your dog is walking or running.
Please keep in mind that your dog can not communicate to you when he is uncomfortable or something is wrong. Bringing your dog in for a full professional dog grooming on a regular basis will leave you with a healthier and happier dog.
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