Why grooming is so important for your pets

Regular grooming keeps your pet healthy!

Regular grooming not only improves your pets appearance, it also keeps them healthy. If your pet’s coat is left un-groomed for long periods it will be uncomfortable for your pet having untended long and matted hair. It can also promote skin infections by allowing bacteria to spread. Regular grooming can help rid the coat of shed hair and dead skin while spreading natural oils to make your animals coat shine.

Dog grooming at home

If you have a cute, cuddly, long haired dog at home, you probably know that they need to be brushed regularly. You also might know that regularly brushing may not be enough to keep their coat healthy. With long hair dogs, you need to brush and comb them to get through the entire length of the fur, down the skin, to do a thorough job. Maltese, lhasa Apso and Shih Tzu breeds may need to be brushed and combed every other day. Pomeranians, chow chow and Japanese Spitz all have a lot of undercoat hair but they do fine with weekly brushing, except during shedding season when they may need brushed several times a week. Short haired dogs like Labradors, may only need brushing every few weeks and a proper grooming twice a year.

So what does grooming involve?

Basic grooming of a dog includes bathing, coat trimming, clipping their nails, and generally cleaning and giving your dog a “doggie day spa”.

Bathing Your Dog

Every dog owner has their own technique on how to bath their dog. But what important is to calm your fur baby first and get them into a routine at bathing time. Always brush your dog before washing them to avoid skin irritation. Matted hair holds water, so it is going to be harder to get those knots out afterwards. Use lukewarm water for small breed puppies and even cooler for large breed dogs. Dog skin is different to humans. Hot water can burn their skin easily, so the bath water should never be hotter than what you’d run for a human baby. You can test the water by dipping the inside of your wrist into the water like you would check the water for a child. The skin on the inside of your wrist is more tender than skin elsewhere, like your hand.

Dental Care

Having your dog’s teeth brushed regularly along a healthy diet and chew toys can go a long way toward keeping their mouth healthy. Start practicing brushing your dog’s teeth early as it’s much easier when your dog is still a puppy. First, introduce a toothbrush designed for dogs. It will be much smaller than a human toothbrushes and have soft bristles. You can also try a toothbrush that you can wear over your finger that will not only clean your pet’s teeth, but give them a nice gum massage.

Skin Problems

Excessive scratching, chewing and or licking are common symptoms of health issues in a dog. These could indicate signs of external parasites, infections, allergies, metabolic problems and also stress, so it is very important to keep them in good condition.

As much as we want to take good care of our fur babies with regular brushing and washing, it’s always wise to use grooming experts for proper treatment and handling on a regular basis.

Need help?

At usealocal.com.au we have pet groomers and veterinary clinics near you. To find your local pet groomer, just click below.