Dog Grooming
dogs
 

Dog Grooming


collie
Collie dogs require like all long haired dogs
lots of grooming



In this section of the site you will find articles and information about dog grooming. Grooming plays an important role for the health of a dog and is an excellent opportunity for the dog and its owner to bond. It is also a good opportunity to check that everything is all right with your dog and discover any signs of illness, parasites or injury. Always pay special attention to nose, teeth, eyes, ears, paws, anus and coat during the grooming session.

Different dog breeds have different grooming need and it is therefore important to choose a dog breed which has a maintenance level you feel comfortable with. You should never get a dog if you don’t have the time or energy to meet its grooming needs.

It is important to start grooming your puppy early. A puppy might not always need the same amount of grooming as an adult dog but it is important to get the dog used to being groomed. It can be very hard to get an adult dog to trust you enough to do things like cutting its claws if it hasn’t gotten used to it as a puppy. It is important to make the grooming session a nice relaxing experience for the puppy. If it learns to appreciate being groomed it will make future dog grooming a lot easier for both of you. The puppy should therefore be used to seeing dog grooming as something positive, not something that only involves nail clipping or someone poking around in its ears. Start by doing nice and non-scary things to the dog during the first few grooming sessions. After a few sessions you can start doing more scary things like cutting its claws, something you should never do during the first session. Many dogs who have been introduced to grooming this way as pups love being groomed; they will even accept having their nails clipped without any fuzz.

Some dog lovers feel that the grooming is a boring chore that just needs to be done while others loves grooming their dog and do a lot of extras, e.g. give their dogs special coat treatments or create certain hairstyles. An example of this is the poodle that many owners choose to groom in a very special hair style. Quite a lot of dog breeds are only suitable for those who love dog grooming. Examples of such dog breeds are a number of species that have a lot of hair like the afghan dog; a breed that needs to have its coat tended to on a daily basis.

Different dog breeds have as earlier mentioned different needs in regards do grooming. In some cases individual dogs can also have different needs within the same breed. In this section you will find both general information about how to groom a dog as well as more specific information about how to groom particular breeds with special needs, e.g. the English Toy Spaniel. This breed needs you to pay special attention to the ears as these dogs are prone to ear related diseases and infections. Another special need of this species is that hair needs to be removed from their paws every now and then. Seasonal dogs such as the Saint Bernard will change from summer to winter fur and vice versa and will during the shedding period need special grooming to get rid of all unwanted hair, especially if you don’t want it to end up all over your home. Saint Bernard dogs need to be brushed with a fine bristle brush at least once a day during shedding periods. Another special need with the Saint Bernhard is that they should be cleaned using dog shampoo as seldom as possible. This is due to the fact that they have a for their skin essential oil. If the dog is bathed too often or if to strong shampoos are used this oil will wash away. Another dog that shouldn’t be bathed very often is the Dalmatian, a breed prone to skin conditions and that must be treated by a vet if it develops flaky skin.

Different dog breeds have as you can se a lot of individual needs with regards to dog grooming and it is therefore important to read up not only on dog grooming in general but also about the needs of you particular dog breed to make sure you give your dog the best care possible. A good way to start is by reading dog grooming articles here and on other similar sites online.