How do
you groom
your dog? Keep him clean!
To hope that
washing and brushing
alone will produce
a fine coat, bright eyes and
a general air of well-being when
the poor animal has worms,ear mites, or
other conditions due
to neglect, is
nonsense. Before you groom
externally, get down
to business internally;
realize what worms and
other pests do
to your dog general condition.
All parasites of concern
can result
in damage
to an animal's
health. Similarly, some
can be transferred from
the dog to other household animals including
humans. No dog that is parasitized is considered healthy.
At least weekly you
should brush your dog thoroughly.
This is
the perfect time to get down to
the skin where you
can see any puncture wounds, cuts, or parasites such as ticks or fleas and see any
bumps or other abnormalities
If you live
in a location where spring and summer bring burrs and foxtails, your dog should
be checked daily and a brush run through its coat
after every outing. Pay particular
attention to
checking the inside of your dog's ears, around
the eyes,
vulva and
anus, as well as between
the pads on
the feet.
Brushing your furred friend removes dead
hair and skin, spreads
out natural oils in their coat, and helps
keep them from developing an odor. It is
one of the simplest things you
can do for your dog, but
it is also
one of the most necessary.
Brushes, hound gloves or
curry combs will all work on coats.
Dogs need a bath
about once a month unless they roll in
something stinky. Before bathing a dog, make sure the coat has been brushed out carefully. Any
mats left in the coat prior to the bath will
be impossible to detangle and will have to
be cut out. Placing cotton balls in the dog's ears prior to the bath will reduce potential
ear infections caused by water in the ear
canal and care
needs to
be taken not to get soap in the dog's eyes
during the bath.
Check your dog's eyes
at least weekly.
If the eye seems slightly red or irritated you can use artificial tears to clean the eye. However, if you suspect your dog has something in its eye that is not flushed out with the artificial tears, please take the dog to your veterinarian for treatment.
Ears should be cleaned as necessary, usually once a month, although they should be
checked more frequently. If your dog swims frequently, special attention needs to be taken to
ensure that water in the ear canal doesn't lead to ear infections.
The
nose leather should be soft and pliable. It does not have to be 'wet' but a
cracked nose or one
covered with mucous or a dried crust can be an indication of problems.
At least once a week you should check your dog's mouth. Look for bumps or anything
unusual in the mouth itself, and check the
teeth for fractures or other potential problems. Cleaning teeth is not the chore it sounds if you take the time to
introduce the dog to it.
Carefully check the pads of your dog's feet and between the toes.
Use your fingers to feel between the pads and toes and don't simply rely upon sight to spot potential problems. If your dog has excess hair between the pads, you
may need to trim
this area. Excess hair will accumulate snow, ice and
mud which will
cause discomfort and may lead to lameness until the dog is able to
remove the offending objects. If
trimming the hair is necessary, use blunt scissors. Small manicure scissors that
are blunted on the tips
are ideal for
this task.
Finally, a dog's nails need to be
kept trimmed.
Long nails will cause a dog to walk on the back of its feet and not on the balls of the feet as it should. Over time, this will cause the metacarpals of the foot to become malformed and can cause lameness and arthritis.
My name is
Jason Homan.
I was born in Detroit Michigan and moved to Denver at an early age. I have always been an avid animal lover for as
long as I can remember. Interested in finding out more about the dog grooming? Click here to visit
my website
http://Askedweb.com.
Choosing a dog breed, finding dog breeders, is
made easier with my site.