Grooming Your New Puppy or Dog

Beginning this process when they are puppies is best. Grooming helps them get used to being touched all over their bodies. If you adopt an older dog start gradually, he may not be ready to be handled and touched all over his body. The breed of your dog will dictate how often and to what extent you�ll need to go. The most important is to do it on a regular basis.

What Breed of Dog Do You Have?

Know your breed of dog and what specific care it needs. If your not sure what to do you can always ask the breeder or find information from your vet or the library.

I highly recommend Doggie Dews for the at home dog groomer, it's an easy to understand book filled with great information about dog grooming. It contains step by step instructions, lots of pictures (for us visual learners), tricks of the trade, safety tips and more. It costs only $8.95 which is a lot cheaper than taking them to the groomers every month. I have cut the grooming costs for my "Eskie" way down by just following some of the tips I learned in this book.

Grooming does not have to be expensive or time consuming. With the right planning and tools you can do it in as little as fifteen minutes, (if you set up a regular routine). Although my question is, why would you want to rush through it? This is a great time to bond and show them affection. An animal loves to be rubbed and talked to and a person relaxes while talking and petting his dog.

What Tools Will You Need ?

Well, that depends on what type of coat they have, again check with your breeder or do some research.

You will definitely need a comb and brush. I use a double rake on my American Eskimo Dog, if your dog has a heavy or double coat I highly suggest you buy one. A high quality double Rake makes it quick and easy.

Read my page on ..Coat Health..Cleaning your dog will help to keep the coat healthy, shiney and free of snarls and knotting

You may need conditioner for the dog's skin, deshedding blades, nubby gloves, eye wipes, ear cleaners, animal clippers and shampoo (either wet or dry).

A good pair of nail clippers is a must, this is especially true if it is an indoor dog where they don�t naturally wear down. Please make sure you have been instructed by your vet in how to clip the dogs nails before attempting this.

If you clip the nail too close, you will cause pain, and may make him afraid. The next time you try to clip his nails and he may try to nip you or run from you.

Holding down a large breed dog to clip his nails is not easy and usually takes at least two people to accomplish this. If your dog is too fearful of nail clipping, please consider taking them to the vet and letting a vet deal with this trauma, otherwise it will just keep getting harder to do.

Make Ear Care And Inspections A Routine

Checking your dog's ears only takes a few minutes so make it a part of your dog grooming routine. And when your dog's ears need cleaning don't put it off, regular cleanings can prevent many common ear problems.

If you think a problem may be developing that is beyond the scope of your home dog ear care routine, take your dog to the vet for a check up immediately. An infection, if left untreated, can be very painful for your dog and could even damage your dog's hearing.

Start cleaning the external part of the ear by swabbing the earflaps on the inside, all around the gnarled area at the entrance of the ear canal.

You can use a cotton-tipped swab but make sure it is a long type, a dog's ear canal is much deeper than ours. Gently and carefully swab the inside of the ear canal.

A safer method is to fill the ear canal with a pet ear cleaning solution and gently massage the outer ear. After a few minutes allow your dog to shake his head to help clear the ear canal.

Also, your dog's eardrum is better protected than us humans, still proceed with caution when cleaning the ear canal. You can actually push dirt and foreign matter deeper into the ear if not handled properly. You can even lose the cotton tip in the ear canal.

If you use a commercial pet ear care product be sure to follow the instructions carefully.

The Pampered Pet Mart has an excellent assortment of Dog Supplies and Pet Care products that may interest you.

return from grooming to home

footer for grooming page