Dog grooming is a must!

Pet grooming means decorating a pet by bathing, brushing, clipping and doing other cleaning activities. Pet grooming is mostly necessary for their refreshing health and sound life. As most of the pet owners have dogs as their pet, let’s have a look at dog grooming briefly. 

*What is a dog grooming?

Shortly, dog grooming means to take hygienic care of a dog. It’s a process by which a dog’s appearence is decorated well and express their beauty. 

In brief, dog grooming is the process of claning, styling and decorating a dog. Grooming is a mandatory part of a dog’s care. It helps the dog to be clean and healthy. By cleaning and grooming a dog regularly, the dog’s skin and fur remains clean and it removes the dead hair and other debris form the skin. It also helps an owner to make a bond with his/her dog and teach the dog some necessary cleaning habits. 

*How to groom a dog?

Grooming a dog is a typical process at the beginning. At first, the owner need to know about the dog’s breed. Different breeds have their own  characteristics and coats. The primary step is to identify the dog breed by looking at the dog’s fur. Short-haired dogs and long haired dogs have different kinds of grooming system. 

There are 3 types of dogs:

1. Long coated dogs,

2. Medium coated dogs,

3. Short coated dogs.

1. Usually Afghan Hounds, Old English Sheepdogs and breeded Collies grow long coats that should be groomed regularly. 

2. German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Belgian Tervurens are the breeds that grow medium-length coat. This kind of dogs require regular brushing because of the feathering on the legs and tail.

3. Short coated dogs have smooth coats. Pointers, Doberman Pinschers and Boxers are good example of this kind. 

The difference of Dog hair and Dog fur:

Practically, there is no difference of hair and fur. By hair, people refer the dogs that have Single Layer coats. This type of hair grows short or long, gives bounce while moving and it’s almost same all over the dog’s body. 

Fur means, dogs with double coats. There is an outer layer of thicker guard hairs with a different undercoat of thin, lightweight hairs. 

There are some other kinds of dogs. As,

• Curly coated dogs: Portuguese Water Dogs, Airedale Terriers, Poodles and Lagotto Romagnolo. 

• Silky coated dogs: Yorkshire terrier, Afghan Hound, Irish Setter. This kind of dogs need frequent brushing. 

• Rough coated dogs: Rough Collie. It’s outer appearance is soft and fluffy but feels hursh.

• Wire coated dogs: German Wirehaired Pointers, Airedale Terrier and the Wire Fox Terrier. Maintaining this kind of dogs need hand stripping and the long time process of removing old hair so that new hairs can grow. 

How to groom a Dog?

There are some basic steps of grooming a dog:

1. Regular brushing.

2. Trimming dogs hair.

3. Trimming dog’s nails.

4. Checking dog’s skin.

5. Teaching the dog to enjoy grooming process.

6. Regular check up of the ears.

7. Not bathing the dogs too often.

8. Brushing the teeth.

• The owner need to brush Short, smooth amd hairy coats once a week with rubber-bristled brush to distribute skin oil through the fur.

 • Long, silky or curly coats need to be brush once a day to prevent tangles and mats and remove debris.

★How to trim dog’s hair?

The dog’s hair should be groomed carefully, slowly and sparingly. 

At first, the owner need to brush, bathe and dry the dog then preform a light, overall trim keeping the blades away from the skin. A number four blade may work best for an overall trim.

★How often to cut the nails?

Most dogs need  nail trim within every 3 to 4 weeks. The owner should cut the part of the nail that turns down by avoiding the pink part of the nail. If the dog has dask nail, then it should be trimmed a little. 

★How to brush the dog’s teeth?

The owner need to brush the teeth as frequently as possible. Like human, brishing teeth two times a day is better to avoid gum desease that can damage tha heart, liver amd kidneys. 

Human toothpastes can be toxic for dogs. There are special toothpastes available for dog’s teeth brushing. 

★ How often to bathe the dog?

First to choose a shampoo specially made for dogs. Human shampoos can be harmful for dogs as it dries the skin.

Then bush the dog to remove excess hair. Then wet pet’s entire body using lukewarm water. After that, apply the proper amount of shampoo by covering tha dog’s eye with hand. Mix the shampoo properly into the coat from neck to the tail. Ears amd eyes should be protected. The owner should pay much more attention to the underside areas, feet and hard- to- reach areas. Then dry the dog using a soft towel and if possible, use a special hair drier made for dogs. Human drier can burn the skin. 

It’s better to bathe the dog once a month. If the dog contains more smell then a bath is necessary. 

Grooming a dog is not that easy. It needs a lot of attention and patience to groom a dog. A responsible owner need to groom his/her dog properly for a sound health and better look.