Benefits of Dog Grooming
Regular grooming of your dog will not only keep their coat healthy, shiny and looking good but also creates a strong bond between you both. If started early and carried out correctly the dog will soon become accustomed to being handled and will develop a level of trust in humans that will continue into its adult life.
Grooming is a continuous process that involves regular brushing, occasional bathing, maintaining the length of the coat and nails, and regular cleaning of the dog’s teeth, eyes and ears. Such a process will keep your dogs coat free of matting, highlight any parasites that might be lurking and identify any hidden skin or health problems that would otherwise remain undetected.
Starting Dog Grooming Early
Introduce your dog to all aspects of grooming as early as possible. The initial aim is to not necessarily groom your dog but to introduce it to the grooming tools that it is likely to come across during its life and the parts of the body that those tools are likely to be used upon; if you are unsure what tools are needed to groom your dog please see our guide on coat types and grooming tools.
Lots of treats and encouragement when the dog allows you to groom without disapproval will soon make the dog realise that grooming is a positive experience it will want to repeat. Try not to let your dog chew or play with any of the grooming tools. If it is interested then let it smell and inspect the tool only but be particularly careful with tools that have a sharp edge. The dog should respect its grooming equipment to avoid any unnecessary accidents in the future.
Standing still is what you are trying to achieve during training. When your dog stands still to allow you to carry out any aspect of grooming praise and reward the dog. If your dog won’t stand still then a great deal of patience is required and more time spent training your dog to be groomed. Please never use physical violence to stop your dog from doing what you do not want it to do no matter what school of thought you are from or how frustrated you have become. Your dog will only learn that grooming is a very stressful process and will not what to repeat it, QUITE RIGHTLY SO!
Certain breeds of dog will require a great deal of grooming and in some cases will probably require the skills of a professional dog groomer. Poodles are a classic example, although there are many more and it is essential that if you take on such a breed that you start early and spend a great deal of time training and socialising your dog to the grooming process. A good professional dog groomer will offer puppy socialisation classes where you can socialise your dog to the grooming salon as well as the grooming process. If you are unsure, please see our guide on how to find a good professional dog groomer.
Brushing Your Dog
Regular brushing and combing of the coat is not only needed to keep it soft and free of mats but to aid in oil distribution through the coat. It is also a good opportunity to help detect any hidden health-problems/parasites lurking under the coat that you would not otherwise know about.
Always start with the Brush, never the Comb. What ever brush you decide to use run the brush through the whole coat. If the coat is quite long you may need to part it in places to make sure the brush reaches all parts of the coat. If using a slicker brush make sure you get the brush right to the bottom of the coat and then pull outwards away from the dog not down the dogs skin. Also, when using the slicker, pay careful attention to the dogs skin underneath for slicker burn which is a red rash caused by friction from the brush. If you find slicker burn, stop using the brush in that area until the red rash has gone (usually several days depending on severity). Please note slicker brushes are not harmful if used correctly and for certain coat types they are the only tool that you can use to penetrate the thick coat, you just need to be careful and considerate when using them.
If you come across a mat please refer to the guide below on de-matting. Pay particular attention when brushing around sensitive areas such as the anus, groin, tail, tummy etc. Once the dog has been completely brushed out and no mats remain, run a comb through the coat. Any lose hairs that are left will come out and this will give the coat a nice silky feel by helping to distribute natural oils throughout the coat. If you have missed any mats the comb will also help to find them, which you can then remove using the procedure described below.
If you have a dog with a coat that does not moult (e.g Poodle, Bichon Frise) you should aim to brush your dog for around 20 minutes everyday. If your dog has a very thick coat or is long haired then aim to brush your dog twice weekly, perhaps more often if your dog is prone to matting. Dogs with very short coats or those that have a smooth coat will not need as much brushing and it is down to the owner to decide how much is required.
De-matting your Dogs Coat
No matter how strict your grooming routine is you will always come across some knots and mats in your dogs coat. Mats are caused by either long coats becoming entangled or by lose dead moulted hairs becoming intertwined with the attached coat. Regular brushing helps to remove these lose hairs therefore reducing the chances of a mat forming.
If the mat is not removed early it will become thicker and tighten eventually pulling on your dog’s skin causing pain and discomfort. Also, as the mat becomes thicker the chances of removing them without injury to the dog decreases. In such cases, we recommend removing very tight mats with a set of clippers. You may need a vet or professional dog groomer to remove such mats for you safely.
To remove small mats we recommend using either a mat splitting tool or a pair of blunt ended scissors. The result is the same which ever tool you use. Place the blunt side of the blade against the dog’s skin and the sharp side behind the mat. Pull or scissor the blade through the mat away from the skin with the lie of the dog’s coat. If you cut across the lie of the coat then you will see where the mat was and your dog will lose a chunk of its coat. Once you have cut through the mat a couple of times, brush the mat to see if it will come away from the coat easily. If not, repeat the process. To check you have removed the whole mat run a comb over the same area. Any mat still remaining will get caught in the comb. Repeat the de-matting process once again until the whole mat is removed.
Bathing and Drying your Dog
Bathing:
Like with any grooming routine, your dog needs to be introduced to the bath early on in its life. Make it a pleasurable experience for your dog and yourself by praising and encouraging the dog through the whole process.
Before you begin to bath your dog there are a few things to consider before starting:
1) Dogs should not be bathed too often, check with your breeds literature, breeder or vet if you are unsure how often your dog should be bathed. If bathed too often you will strip the dog’s coat of its natural oils making it dry and brittle. You may find that the dog’s skin may also be dried out by the bathing process so again check beforehand.
2) Please NEVER use Human shampoo on a dog. Your dog’s skin pH is very different to that of a Human and therefore human shampoo will cause a great deal of irritation to your dog’s skin. Make sure you buy dog-specific shampoo and if possible one that is correct for your dogs coat type and breed. If your dog has any skin complaints or allergies consult your vet on the best type of shampoo for your dog.
Always brush your dog out prior to bathing to make sure all knots and mats are removed.
If your dog is prone to leaping out of the bath you may need to use a slip lead tied to something in the bath to stop it escaping and hurting itself. Always restrain your dog if there is any chance of injury from escape.
When filling the bath keep an eye on the water temperature. The same temperature you would fill a baby’s bath is a good guide if you are unsure.
Please never leave your dog alone in the bath because it will try to escape whether it is restrained or not. Stay with the dog until you have finished bathing and removed the dog from the bath.
Using a shower hose or jug of water, wet your dog from the back end working forwards leaving the head until last. Be careful when wetting around the nose, eyes and ears trying not to get any water in either. If you get water down the nostrils of some small breeds of dogs could cause drowning. Any water in the eyes or ears could aid in later infections.
Once the dog is completely wet apply the shampoo again working from the back to the front leaving the head until last. Lather the shampoo into the whole of the coat, again being extremely careful around the eyes, ears, nose and mouth.
Once your dog has been completely washed, rinse your dog this time starting from the head working backwards to the tail. By using this strategy you minimise the amount of time the soap is in contact with the head and reduce the chances of any soap getting into the eyes, ears, mouth and nostrils.
Make sure all the soap has been washed out of your dogs coat. Run your fingers through the whole coat; if it squeaks then you have removed all of the soap. If you notice bubbles then soap is still present. If you do not remove all of the shampoo, this will cause irritation to your dog’s skin and you will increase the chances of the coat matting. Such mats tend to have a chalky appearance due to the presence of residual shampoo.
You may wish to consider using a conditioner if your dogs coat feels dry after washing or is prone to static. The procedure for applying conditioner is the same as that for Shampoo.
Drying:
Remove the dog from the bath and try to remove as much water from the dogs coat as possible with a towel before using a hair dryer. Time and encouragement is needed to get your dog used to the hair dryer when using for the first time. Make sure you don’t hold the dryer in one place on the dogs coat for too long to avoid burning and keep the temperature setting on its lowest. If you use your hands in front of the dryer to help part the coat for drying, you will know if the temperature is too high because you are more likely to burn yourself rather than the dog.
Start drying in one place and systematically work your way over the whole coat. Ears and face are usually the areas that the dog dislikes having dried the most. Patience and consideration is required to complete the process. If you plan to carry out anymore grooming on your dog make sure the dogs coat is completely dry before commencing.
With some breeds and coat types, drying can be a lengthy process. If your dog is too large to be dried with a hair dryer then at least make sure that you dry the coat as much as possible with a towel and provide the dog with a warm place to lie whilst its coat dries naturally.
Written by Nicola @ Dog Store
