Grooming your Dog
GROOMING YOUR DOG
You take your own personal hygiene very serious, isn’t that it ? The same should apply to your dog, he also needs to be attended to.
Grooming your dog does two things:
a) It keeps your dog looking trim and cute
b) It solidifies the bond between you and your dog.
Equipment necessary for grooming your dogs
They include:- hair clippers, brushes (different types of brushes may be required for different purposes), and combs. Some breeds of dog such as long-coated ones demand a lot of time and patience and the owner has to be prepared to go through with this to get the dog in a dandy shape.
Suitable methods of grooming for different coats
a) Rough coated Dogs- these usually require more time and effort for grooming. Usually the rough coats cast about every six months and a lot of hair is lost. It is important that you brush and comb the hair daily to prevent it from getting matted. A stiff brush in combination with a comb will do this job well and you should make sure you get to the root of the hair when doing this. If you feel all this is too much of stress, you just want to take your dog to the vet.
b) Short-coated dogs – these ones usually take less time and effort to groom. They should be groomed daily using a slightly stiff brush. Example of a short -coated dog is the Bull Terrier.
c) Silky-coated dog – they also require a lot of attention to stay well groomed. They may also need regular trimming to prevent the coat from being too heavy . Examples include Irish Setters and the Cocker Spaniel.
e) Long – coated dogs – they require the most dedication. Professional trimming is often necessary to keep them in shape. Poodles are in this class of dogs.
You and your dog actually share a lot of similarities. He also has to take a bath. However, while you may decide to shower and bathe four times a day, your dog requires less. The dog has a sensitive skin, and bathing should be taken as a serious business. Except it gets all muddy and smelly, bathing him 2-3 times a month should suffice.
Materials required to bathe your dog
Includes a garden spray or hose, small basin and bowl (for small-sized dogs or puppies), dog shampoo ( normal dog shampoo and the anti-tick or flea shampoo), towels and some cotton wool.
The process
Get the dog into the basin (if he is a small one), or simply make him stand on the ground. Before you start to get him wet, you may want to brush him down and get rid of the tangles. The tangles are usually harder to get at when wet. You may also clip his nails.
Now get the water and pour on his back while running your hands over his entire body including the underbelly. After ensuring that the water has gotten to his skin, apply shampoo on his back and work with your hands until you form a rich lather.
If you are using the anti-parasitic shampoo, you should allow the lather to remain on his skin for the specified to allow the chemicals have their effect. Rinse the coat thoroughly until you are sure that all of the shampoo is gone. If the rinsing is not thorough enough, the left over traces of shampoo could cause the dog to itch irritably .
While bathing the dog, do not pour water over its head and allow to enter his eyes. This might cause him to be disconcerted and uncooperative. You can later clean the face with a cloth soaked in water and shampoo, and also rinse to shake the rest of the water off. Towel him down and allow him to shake the rest of the water off.
Note
* Water should not be allowed to run into his ears. Plug the ear with cotton wool while washing, and when you are through, carefully clean the inside of the ear with moist cotton wool dipped in clean water. Never poke deep into his ear in your attempt to get wax out. Leave that to the Vet!
* It is preferable to bathe your dog on sunny days. That way, you are sure he is going to get dry soon after the bathing session.