Training: Grooming Your Dog

There is no doubt that grooming a dog is time consuming. But if you follow some quick tips, you can save both time and energy with perfect and effective results.

Start As Early As Possible
You should make your dog understand that grooming is as important in his life as eating and sleeping. For this realization, you need to start grooming your dog as early as possible. Most people think it is not wise to brush or bathe puppies undersix months of age. They fear the puppy might catch cold, or the brushing might prove too rough on the puppy. On the contrary, especially if your puppy comes from a breeder or humane societies, it is dirty, or smells bad.

Basic Hygiene
Like humans, a dog's face, ears, eyes, teeth and paws (nails especially) need to be cleansed regularly. That is because these body parts contribute greatly to your dog's state of health. A dog with wax-filled ears, teary eyes, or decayed teeth will not reflect good care and grooming, not to mention good health.

Brushing & Combing
Regular brushing and combing prevents your dogs coat from the dreaded "mat". A mat is basically a tangle of hair, often with undercoat, that has formed a knot tight enough to resist brushing and combing. In most cases, regular maintenance such as daily brushing and combing are needed to prevent tangles from turning into mats, but sometimes a mat will catch you off guard. Regular grooming should prevent the build up of mats, but if you have let things go, shaving down the coat might be a better approach, rather than going through hours and hours working with a mat splitter, scissors, and comb, pulling on the poor dog's coat.

Bathing & Drying
Once your dog is completely brushed, combed, and tangle-free, he is ready for a bath. Now you must get ready, too, and that means gathering and preparing all the necessary equipment and supplies so that you can reach what you need when you need it. If you put that dog in the bathtub under running water and then have to go in search of shampoo or a scrub brush, we all know what will happen: a jump, a shake, and you will be a left with a soaked bathroom and a wet dog bounding around the house. Make sure you dry your dog fully. Be it a towel drying or using adryer, make sure you use the right method. I know for me, I towel dry, as my 2 "bullies" are terrified of the blowdryer - guess I didn't start them soon enough...