subject: Essential Dog Grooming Tips For A Healthy Pet [print this page] Dog grooming can be very expensive if you visit a pet grooming salon. However, you must not compromise your pet's hygiene and overall physiological and psychological health by ignoring its need to be well-groomed. Similar to humans, dogs need to be pampered occasionally so that they not only look better but feel special.
Happily, it's not necessary to spend a lot on grooming your dog. It's not that hard to groom your dog on your own right at home. Just buy some pets grooming supplies and read the following tips on how to groom your dog.
The place to start is with your dog's coat. You don't want your pet to develop problems with fleas and other pests so you must always clean and maintain its hair. A critical pet grooming tool is a brush with soft bristles. It's important to give your dog a good brushing each day so that its coat doesn't become matted. Regular brushing will also make the coat shiny because it stimulates and spreads the natural oils found in the coat. It prevents shedding because it removes dead and dying hair.
Also, the dog's coat should be clipped every month or so, depending on the length. If you want to do this on your own, you need to have clippers or trimmers, scissors, a brush or a comb, a blow dryer, and towels.
The next step is giving your dog a bath. For this you'll need a shampoo formulated for dogs, some soap, a comb and brush, and lots of towels. Prior to bathing, brush out the coat so it doesn't get hopelessly tangled in the water. You have to bathe the dog every month (for dogs with long hair) or every two months (for short-haired dogs). It might also need supplementary baths in certain circumstances, like when it has rolled around in the mud or something smelly. Regular bathing will prevent your dog from getting fleas and other skin diseases. It also keeps the dog smelling nice and feeling clean.
Nail clipping is another important component of grooming your dog. Your dog's nails grow just like yours and longer nails can do a lot of damage to your home. They might also break off, which would be painful for your pet. So you need to trim your dog's nails on a monthly basis. This isn't like clipping your own nails because a dog's nails are shaped differently and are much thicker. You'll need to use a dog nail trimmer. You should also have some blood-clotting powder handy if the need arises.
Twice a month, check your dog's ears for fleas and infections. Then clean them using cotton balls, warm water, and mineral oil.
Finally, not only people have to brush their teeth. Your dog can also develop cavities and other diseases of the mouth, teeth, and gums. You need pet toothpaste and a toothbrush to clean the mouth twice a week.
