Basic Grooming Tips for Dogs

Learning how to groom your dog not only saves you a little money, but it also means you strengthen the bond you have formed with them. If a grooming session has always been pleasant and stress-free, dogs look forward to being brushed and fiddled with because they really enjoy the one-to-one contact they have with their owners.

For the easier things, it's so much nicer to be able to do this yourself and the best time is in the evening when things are usually nice and quiet in the home and your four-legged friend is tired and relaxed.

Make it a Fun Experience All Round

Regularly brushing your dog should be a fun experience and one which should not take too long, just 10 minutes or so every other day and your dog's coat will look brilliant. However, it really does depend on the breed and the type of coat they boast as to how often they need to be brushed and have their hair trimmed or clipped. However, the one constant being the more often a dog's coat is brushed, the easier and quicker a daily groom would be.

When to Leave it up to the Experts

For more complicated clips and grooming care, it is often that much better to leave it up to the experts and take a dog along to a grooming parlour to have the work done. However, this doesn't mean you can't learn to do more complicated clips yourself, but at first it's best to leave the task to a professional dog groomer.

Top Grooming Tips

The internet offers so much information when it comes to breed specific dog grooming tips and this allows you to check out the best way to go about keeping your dog's coat healthy and looking good. Doing a little research is great because it means you know which grooming tools you'll need to invest in as well as other valuable information which includes the following:

• Find out which grooming tools are needed for the breed of dog you own.
• Always invest in top quality items because they will last that much longer, remember you get what you pay for
• Check out where the nearest dog grooming parlour is – if you get stuck at all you could ask if you can take your dog along to the parlour in order to get some professional advice
• Keep grooming sessions short, sweet and pleasant remembering to always have some tasty yet healthy treats close by to reward your dog when they are being good
• Puppies need to be brushed from an early age so they get used to the routine and enjoy the experience which has to be a good one each and every time
• If you've adopted an older dog and they show signs of being afraid when you try to brush them, you need to take things slowly and even consider taking them along to a dog trainer to help overcome their fears of being groomed
• You should avoid over bathing your dog because you could end up taking out a lot of the valuable oils they have in their skin and coats which help keep them healthy and act as a protection

Grooming a Dog Has to be a Pleasant Experience

As previously mentioned grooming your dog has to be a really pleasant experience for everyone, including your dog. You should never force a new pet to do anything if they show any signs of anxiety, stress or fear. By doing so you may just make matters a lot worse. It is far better to enrol the help of a professional dog trainer and take things nice and slowly always showing your dog lots of love, patience and affection.

Getting Professional Help

A lot of dog trainers offer specific classes for owners and dogs which show you how to use positive reinforcement as a way to overcome a dog's fears of being brushed, groomed and even bathed. Taking a nervous dog along to these sessions will help them gain confidence at being handled which will ultimately will your life so much easier and this includes when you have to take your dog along to the vet for a check-up!

What to Look Out For

If you notice any signs of a skin infection or your dog has an unhealthy looking coat which includes any bald spots or areas that are sore, hot spots or excessive oily or dry skin, it could be the first signs of an underlying health problem. This could be anything from a dietary issue, stress or even a condition known as hyperthyroidism and as such you should take them along to the vet to be thoroughly examined.

Conclusion

Grooming your dog is a great way to get to know them and it helps strengthen the bond you've formed with them. There's nothing a dog likes more than having their owner all to themselves for a little while and a relaxing grooming session provides them with the one-to-one contact our canine friends adore. Puppies need to be introduced to a grooming routine early on in their lives so they get used to be handled and fussed over. If every grooming session is a pleasant experience, they will look forward to the next one with relish which makes it all the more fun for everyone!