Grooming Requirements

Prevent problems by meeting your dog's specific needs

Regular grooming is essential to good health. It should start in puppyhood so your dog learns to accept it. Grooming involves coat brushing but should also include attention to ears, eyes, teeth, mouth and feet. The benefits of proper grooming include:

• Fewer skin, eye and ear problems.
• More effective external parasite control.
• Fewer shedding problems.
• Fewer unsightly, malodorous mats.
• Earlier detection of potential helath problems (parasites, lumps, ear and eye infections, dental disease, weight loss or gain, and abnormal coat conditions).
• Acclimation to handling.

Grooming requirements vary according to environment and individual differences. Get the advice of a professional groomer. Ask how to best meet the specific grooming needs of your dog. There are dozens of different types of combs, brushes, scissors, razors, clippers, strippers and grooming aids. They are often specific for the type of coat being groomed.

Brushing

Many people do not brush their dogs properly. This is especially true of the heavily coated breeds. The result can be matted clumps of hair underneath the surface of the coat--even if the dog is brushed daily. Coats should be brushed from the skin out.

Teach your dog to stand steadily on a grooming table (a slip-proof mat on a washer or dryer is an alternative). Beginning at the head, brush the hair from the skin out to the ends of the coat in small sections. Pay particular attention to where the coat is longest. Once you have completed one side, turn your dog over and do the other. Then stand your dog up, brush the back, under the hind legs and the tail. Each breed has it peculiarities, so you have to learn the correct technique for your dog. With most breeds you will brush with the grain of the hair, but there are exceptions.

Shedding

Regular grooming (at-home and professional) helps reduce shedding problems. There are two basic types of shedding: Seasonal and continuous. Seasonal shedding usually takes place during the spring and fall. You can keep your dog more comfortable and your home cleaner by frequent brushing at these times.

Continuous shedding (nonseasonal) varies with nutritional, health, genetic and environmental factors. There are veterinary products formulated to reduce continuous shedding. If your pet is shedding excessively, ask your veterinarian about possible underlying health problems.

Needs by breed

Grooming needs vary according to environmental, breed and individual differences. The following examples show how grooming frequencies and costs differ by breed. Prices are for dogs in good condition and include a bathing, nail trimming, ear cleaning, brushing and breed cut (if any). Sources: Groom-o-grams (Barkleigh Publishing, Mechanicsburg, PA.) and All Breed Dog Grooming Guide, Kohl & Goldstein (Arco Publishing, New York, NY).

*In addition to regular brushing, ears should be checked and cleaned weekly and nails should be checked and cut monthly.

Good grooming

Retrievers, Huskies, St. Bernards, etc. often do not get proper grooming. Most owners do not brush their coats properly. Consequently they are dismayed by excessive hair loss and difficulty in removing external parasites.

Fleas and ticks burrow under dense hair coats and live comfortably. Some veterinary clinics will treat the problems by bathing and dipping the animal. But, most will go home still wet and probably still loaded with fleas. Why? Because the treatment was only partial. The insecticides barely penetrated the undercoat. These breeds should be seen by a professional groomer who will properly remove the undercoat and mats before bathing. Maximum penetration by shampoo and dips is then possible.

Winter grooming

Veterinarians should stress the importance of winter grooming. A matted dog is more likely to be uncomfortable due to the lack of air circulation to the skin. "Would you wear your coat in the house?" is a question that may help clients understand the importance of winter grooming. Most pets are subject to warm winter home temperatures.

If a matted dog gets wet, he takes longer to dry. Some mats may feel dry to the touch, but never really dry underneath causing skin problems. Salt, ice, sand and snow accumulate on the hair between the pads of the feet causing irritation.