Dog Grooming and General Care

The amount of grooming your dog requires depends largely on the breed. Length and texture of coat play an impor¬tant part, but however long or short a coat it will need to be maintained in good condition.

Some long-coated dog breeds need a bath once every week or so to keep their coats free from mats, with daily grooming in between. Other dogs with short coats, such as Whippets, need bathing only occasionally but their dead hair still needs to be removed, followed by grooming with a hound glove, finishing with a chamois leather and velvet to add the finishing touches.

Special dog care
Some breeds need expert stripping, while dogs like the Bichon Frise, which are kept in show coat, need careful preparation. For particular coat care, practical advice must be taken from specialists within your chosen breed, and a breed-specific book should also provide helpful information. Even if you decide to have your dog professionally groomed you will still need to attend to your dog's coat between visits.

Areas which need checking daily are the eyes, and around the anus to see that there is no soiling. It is also important to inspect ears; there should be no build-up of wax inside the ear; this can often be detected by odor or inflammation.

Toenails also need attention, more or less frequently depending on whether your dog regularly walks on hard surfaces. Guillotine-style clippers are usually the easiest to use, taking care not to cut the quick of the nail, which causes pain and bleeding. An experienced friend or your vet will be able to show you how best to deal with nails, and dew claws must never be forgotten as they do not wear down naturally. From an early age, teeth should be cleaned regularly using a toothbrush and special canine toothpaste.

A well-trained dog will always be easier to groom than one which is allowed to be unruly. This is especially important for long-coated breeds and those which require trimming. If a dog is not obedience-trained to lie down, and if the dog is reasonably small, one can lean one's body over the dog, to hold the front and back legs on the opposite side and ease it down. On the first occasions, stroke the dog and then gently introduce a brush in a soothing manner, all the while talking to the dog calmly. Soon enough the dog will treat this as a pleasurable experience and grooming will be an easier process for both parties.

When grooming, the coat should never be completely dry or this will cause the ends of the hair to break. Instead use a mild conditioning spray, although this should be one designed for dogs, not for humans. Most good pet stores have a variety of such sprays available so by reading the instructions carefully you will be able to decide which is the most suitable for your own dog, or better still take recommendation from a more experienced per owner or acquaintance who has the same breed. When grooming for the show ring, it is important to read the Kennel Club, rules as in some countries some types of coat preparations are forbidden. A dog should also be taught to stand on the grooming table so that one has the benefit of grooming from that angle too, and of course one will need to add the finishing touches when the dog is standing still. If a parting is necessary along the back of the coat this should be done from the neck backwards, carefully taking a comb through with its edge, in one smooth stroke.

Some breeds need to be clipped, trimmed or stripped and this is quite an art so obtain expert advice and instruction before spending large sums of money on expensive clippers which are initially difficult to get used to using. Purchasing unsuitable equipment can also be an expensive mistake.
 
Dog bathing
Although bathing a dog, especially a large one, can be a daunting thought at first, it should really not be a major problem. A dog trained from puppy hood can really enjoy a bath. It is important that the dog has a non-slip surface on which to stand and that the water is never too hot or too cold. Shampoo must be thoroughly rinsed out and then a conditioner is generally used, but again the products used will depend to a certain extent on the breed. When bathing a dog, always stroke the shampoo and conditioner into the coat rather than rubbing it in because the action of the latter will only serve to create knots and tangles in the dog's coat, which will be painful to extract.

After a very thorough rinsing, it is useful to use a highly absorbent cloth to squeeze out excess water from the coat before wrapping the dog in a towel, ideally a warm one, and then lifting it out of the bath. The dog will invariably wish to shake himself immediately, so this should preferably be encouraged in the bath rather than on the table.

Drying can then take place with a hairdryer, although it should be put on a warm setting rather than hot, and in most breeds, grooming should continue throughout the drying process to obtain the best end result.