Grooming your pet dog

Grooming your dog means keeping the exterior part of your dog's body neat and clean.

Every dog will groom itself. These are superficial grooming like licking it's paws or shaking it's body to drain out water from it's coat. Scratching its own back and so on. These are essential but not sufficient.

The act of grooming your dog should ideally be started when it is a puppy of around 7 -8 weeks of age. Before this age the mother takes care of it's pups grooming with occasional help from its owner.  

Following are the benefits of grooming your pet dog.

1. Good hygiene and smell.
2. Check and treat fleas and skin infections.
3. Early detection of any skin and health issues.
4. Ear infection can be avoided or controlled.
5. Trimming nails reduces the risk of developing bad posture or bone deformations
6. Healthy and shiny coats which shed a lot less when groomed regularly.
7. Get rid of matted coats.
8. Makes your dog and your house look better.
9. Builds trust and bonding.
10. Easier to train your dog.

Let me explain you each step in more details.

1. Good hygiene and smell.

Cleaning and brushing away all that dead skin, loose hairs can do wonders to your dog’s hygiene and smell. The dead skin and loose hairs are a breeding ground for fungus and bacteria to grow and flourish leading to bad smell and even infection.

2. Check and treat fleas and skin infections.

Every dog owner has to face this inevitable problem of fleas and skin infections in a pet dog. A groomer can check for fleas and their eggs by regular washing, brushing, and clipping of fur, perform flea treatment using flea talk or shampoo. to get rid of blood sucking ticks. This can very well be done by the owner itself with a little guidance by a vet and instruction printed on the anti tick talk and shampoo bottle.

3. Early detection of any skin and health issues.

if there are any abnormalities which include bumps and lumps which are hidden can be detected during grooming session with your dog. If these abnormalities are detected early then serious conditions can be taken care by your vet at an early stage and prevent serious health issues later on by performing necessary tests and prescribing medicines.

4. Reduces the chances of ear infections.

Getting rid of the dirt and wax buildup in your dog’s ears is important in preventing any ear infections. Trimming of the lengthy hairs inside the ear is also important to keep the ear dry and also reduce irritation. Ear infections are one of the leading causes of dog deafness and so getting their ears checked regularly will help to maintain their hearing in top condition for many years to come.

5. Trimming nails reduces the risk of developing bad posture or bone deformations.

Trimming  a pet dog’s nails is often neglected but is an essential part of your dog’s well being. Nails can grow too long and make it uncomfortable for your dog to walk on. They may change their posture to better accommodate longer nails. This can create further problems if left untreated. Arthritis, bone deformations and bad posture are some of the ailments that can occur when your dog’s nails are kept long. Keeping a dog nail clipper at home will always be handy and can be used to clip your dog's nails to a safe length and keep your dog fit and healthy.

6. Healthy and shiny coats which shed a lot less when groomed regularly.

Any dog breed you own; no matter what it's hair length is, it is mandatory to take your dog to the groomer or home groom your dog to be washed and brushed  which will help with the condition and quality of their coat. Just by brushing alone will help to remove dead skin, dirt and anything else lurking. It also helps to spread the natural oils over their coat, making it appear shinier and healthier.

7. Get rid of matted coats.

If your dog has medium to long fur, it is highly likely that they will develop matts. Matts occur when the fur becomes bunched and twisted. If left untreated these matts can grow large and pull aggressively on the skin. If these matts are in sensitive areas or are tight, they can give your dog a lot of discomfort. Regular brushing and grooming eliminate the chances of matts developing.

8. Makes your dog and your house look better.

Apart from obvious health benefits to your dog from a regular grooming session, one of the main benefits is that they’ll actually look better. An unkempt appearance of your can reflect poorly on you as the owner. Your house will also be free from fallen hairs which can stick your clothes and also cause allergy to family members who are predisposed to allergies. It will always good to brush your dog daily and trim fur every 6-8 weeks by yourself or a trained professional groomer. 

9. Builds trust and bonding.

What better way to bond with your dog than a session of grooming. It is a well known fact that a dog will not allow any human to touch it unless it has full trust on the human. So for a dog, grooming is among it's top priorities and will allow you to groom unless their is a bond developed between both of you. Initially it will appear more of an effort and your dog may growl or try to bite you but as the grooming session becomes routine trust and bonding soon develops which lasts a life time.

10. Easier to train your dog.

A well trained dog is obedient, patient and understands the owner. Communication becomes easier and less stressful. A grooming session which includes teaching simple commands like ' Sit  ', 'Stand', 'Stay', ' Hold ', ' Fetch ' will be easier for your dog to understand and learn fast. You wont need a separate session to train your dog. 

Listed below are the tools required for grooming your dog.

 I have selected useful dog grooming tools available on amazon which can be purchased by just clicking on mentioned tools below.

          1) Scissors 2) Slicker brush 3) De-matting comb 4) Shedding blade 5) Clippers 6) Comb 7) Nail clippers 8) Rubber brush 9) Double side brush