Grooming and General Care of Your Dog

Medical Update: I went to the vet last Wednesday and had a thorough examination. My groin has completely healed and the lump beside my nose has disappeared. The area of my chin that was covered with weeping lumps has healed up, and the swelling has nearly all gone away. The vet told dad that he could reduce my “Prednisone” treatment from one half tablet in the morning and one half tablet at night to one half tablet in the morning. Dad must continue to monitor my condition and let the vet know if anything shows up again. Now, on the following Monday, everything is still OK, so hopefully my problems have been solved. Unless something happens again, no further medical reports will be given. Thanks to all who sent get well messages. Now, on with today's post which deals with grooming and general care of your faithful companion.

The amount of grooming your dog will need depends on the breed of the dog and the length and texture of her coat. Generally, dogs with long hair will require more grooming than short haired dogs. Some long haired breeds will require a bath every week or so to keep their coat from matting, with daily brushing in between.

Before commencing to brush your dog, you should examine her for cuts, sores, mats in the area where the legs meet the body and in the hair on her ears. Also check her anus for crusted stool as this could cause a sore to develop. And, check inside her ears to ensure that there is no wax buildup.

Dogs with short hair only need to be bathed occasionally, but they still need weekly brushing to remove dead hair and surface grunge.

Non shedding dogs will require regular baths and hair cuts to keep them looking nice and to prevent matting of their coat. You should purchase a breed specific book so that you can get advice and tips for your dog from specialists.

If you plan to enter your dog into dog shows, then you should consult with a professional groomer to learn what needs to be done to prepare your dog. And, even if your dog is just a family pet, you should take her to a professional groomer at least once to learn how to properly groom her and what tools you will need.

If you just try to do it all yourself, without expert advice, you could end up spending a lot of unnecessary money on items that either don't work, break or become unserviceable quickly, or just don't do what you want them to do. For example, if you plan on cutting your dogs hair yourself, make sure you get good quality dog clippers. Hair clippers for humans will not stand up to regular clipping of your dog's hair. Some types of hair require special types of brushes. Dog nail clippers must be used to cut your dog's nails. Human nail clippers either will not cut the nails, or they will splinter the nail when cutting.

When dad was younger he cut the hair of the family dogs, and both mom and dad groomed and bathed them. Now that they are older, they take us to a professional groomer for baths and haircuts. They brush us and clean our eyes, ears and bums between visits to the groomer, and give us emergency baths when we get really grubby. Our groomer, as well as giving us a bath and haircut, also trims our nails and thoroughly cleans our ears and removes excess hair from the inside of our ears so wax doesn't build up.

For further information on grooming view:

“Drying the Dog” posted Wednesday August 26, 2009.
“Tips, Techniques and Equipment for Brushing Your Dog” posted Wednesday July 1, 2009.
“Improve Your Dog's Health with Proper Grooming” posted Sunday April 26, 2009.
“Bathing Your Dog” posted Wednesday March 25, 2009.

Until next time,

Teia

Bathing Your Dog

There is controversy regarding bathing your dog when you are going to clip it. Some groomers claim that you should bath the dog first and then groom it. Others say that you should cut the dog’s hair first and then bath it.

Sometimes I get a bath and then get my hair cut and other times I get my hair cut and then I get my bath. It all depends on the groomer. If my hair is cut before my bath, the clippers and scissors are dulled more than if I get my bath first. However, by cutting my hair first, the bath and drying time are shortened.

Both clipping and bathing cause me stress, so from that point it doesn’t seem to matter which is done first. However, my recommendation is to bath me first and then cut my hair. It is easier on the clippers and scissors and if my hair is left a little damp (damp not wet), it saves some drying time and the groomer has an easier time cutting my hair which makes it more comfortable for me.

Essential equipment for bath time is of course a high quality dog shampoo. Do not use people shampoo on your dog. Dog skin has a different ph than human skin. If you use people shampoo on your dog you will damage its skin and you may cause it to develop skin allergies. Dog shampoo is formulated with a ph compatible to a dog’s skin. I recommend that you put a rubber mat in your bathtub, hook a shower spray to your bathtub faucet (if you don’t have a shower in your tub) and wash your dog in the bathtub. Also put a fine strainer in the bathtub drain to catch the dog hair so you don’t plug up the bathtub drain pipe.

Never leave your dog unattended on a grooming table or in the bathtub.

Wet the dog thoroughly before applying shampoo. Lift long hair to be certain you get down to the roots. Be sure the water drains away as it runs off your dog. You do not want your dog standing in dirty water. If water starts to accumulate, turn off the spray attachment and clean the dog hair out of the strainer in the bathtub drain. Temperature of the water should be warm, never hot or cold. Put some cotton in your dog's ears to prevent water getting into them. Water in the ears from bathing can cause ear infections.

Start with the head and wet down the neck, along the back and down the left side including the legs. Repeat on the right side. You may want to avoid turning the dog at this stage. Turning the dog at this stage could encourage it to jump out. Wet the tail last.

If the dog is sensitive about having its head wet, you can take your free hand and place it over the dogs eyes before you start to spray the dog’s head. Or if that doesn’t work or is too awkward start with the tail and work up the body, wetting the head last.

After the dog is soaked, you can use a hound glove to remove dead hair from your dog’s coat. After doing this, clean any accumulated hair out of the bathtub so that it doesn’t clog the drain.
Soak the dog again to be sure that it is wet down to the skin and then work the shampoo into the coat thoroughly. Do not overlook the area underneath the chest and stomach, the anal area and the dog's feet (especially on the bottom of the feet). Be sure the shampoo gets down to the skin and is well lathered. Add water if needed.

Always use a tearless shampoo for the head and face. You still need to be careful not to get shampoo in the dog's eyes. Rinse immediately if the shampoo gets into the dog's eyes. Do not put shampoo in the dog's ears.

Rinse off the shampoo and use a second application if required. If your dog's coat is clean - it will "squeak" like human hair does. Clean your dog's coat until you hear the "squeak." Rinsing should be very thorough. Any shampoo left in the coat can cause intense itching and it will dry out the dog’s skin. If your dog has very sensitive skin, use a dog shampoo for dogs with sensitive skin. If you notice itching right after your dog's bath, discontinue the brand of shampoo that you used and try another brand next time. You should always use a dog hair conditioner after the shampoo has been rinsed out because it makes the hair more manageable and it seems to shorten the drying time and the brushing time. Always thoroughly wash the conditioner out of your dog’s hair before removing the dog from the bath.

If you would like to prevent yeast and fungus ear infections you can use Betadine Scrub (you can get this from your vet) inside the ears each time you bath your dog. Just pour a little straight from the bottle into each ear after the bath. Let it sit in the ear for a couple of minutes and then take a clean dry cloth and wipe any moisture and debris out of the ear. Keep the hair pulled out of your dog's ears so that ear wax and dirt don’t accumulate in them. (I don’t like this much as I have sensitive ears, but I’m also prone to ear infections, so my ears have to be kept clean).

When you are finished rinsing your dog's coat, squeeze out the excess moisture with cotton towels or super absorbent towels to cut down on drying time.

Most breeds of dogs need to be blow dried after a bath. Use a low temperature on your hair dryer. Be careful not to have the air blow directly onto the skin. Blow the hair away from the skin, but do not blow the skin itself. Most dogs hate the blower on their faces. If your dog objects to the hair blower then turn the blower down to low speed and the dog may not object as much.

Do not wash your dog more than once every two weeks as you will cause it to develop skin problems that could become difficult to treat. Most dogs only need a bath once a month. If you are in doubt, check with your veterinarian.

Until next time,

Teia