Whilst many dog rescue organisations are overloaded with dogs, and would love you to adopt one, first consider this. There is an ongoing commitment to owning a pet. You must make time to exercise, feed and groom your new pal. Below I set out the basic needs as regards bathing and grooming. It’s not difficult, although some may prefer to leave the nail trimming to a professional. If you think you can programme the following into your daily timetable then let’s get started.
Bathing a dog needs to be given some consideration. This is because of the fact that if you are careless in bathing, the animal may finish up having some infections. For instance, if you don’t close the ears with large cotton ball, the water may enter into ear canals and may cause some ear infections with signs like constant discharge from the ears and shaking of head.
Frequency of bathing actually depends on the breed of the dog. If the dog is of a hairy type like the cocker spaniel , then the bathing is to be carried out once in six to eight weeks. If these breeds are bathed too frequently, then the skin and coat lose the protective characteristics. However, if the dog has defecated on the skin due to frequent digestive upsets leading to diarrhoea, to avoid the bad smell, the dog may be subjected to more frequent bathing.
Take care to avoid some irritant or human soaps. The soap materials used for human beings are not usually suitable for dogs. Similarly, many human shampoo products contain the same ingredients that are not suitable. Hence, always try to use the shampoo products that are mentioned mainly for use in dogs. Take additional care in using any new or previously untried product.
Always have plenty of time available and collect together all the products you will need for bathing your dog in one place, together with a suitable water source. Most dogs love the sprinkling of water, rivers, etc. Even when you are using bathtub, have everything in one place and then start bathing of the dog. Try to have a leash, conditioner, towel, and shampoo immediately available to hand in the bathing place.
Conditioner is helpful to make the combing activity easier later. Bathing should be a convenient activity to both the dog and the owner. This should not be a burden.
Clipping your dog
Many dog owners regard clipping as only a mechanical activity. Few understand that clipping a dog is an art. Clipping a coat or nail needs to be performed in a careful manner to avoid injuries to the skin or nail. Clipping of the coat is to be attended to as appropriate for the breed. If the coat is not properly clipped, this may lead to dust accumulation and the animal may start showing signs of skin problems. This is true especially when the grooming activities done badly.
Clipping of the coat helps to eliminate the parasitic burden to some extent and also, the clipping of your dog is useful to reveal at an early stage, any parasitic problem that the dog is likely to suffer. Many pet health & beauty parlours are available wherein the clipping of dogs will be carried out in a more systematic manner.
Always take advantage of a sharp clipper and in the winter seasons, avoid close clipping. The reason for this is that close clipping in the winter seasons may expose the dog to the environmental stresses like the cold climate. Hence, the dog may become more vulnerable to frostbite. Also avoid too close clipping of nails because this may cause injury to the underlying tissues and may cause painful bleeding.
Avoid any clipping activity when the animal is not in healthy condition. Clipping instruments are available in many pet shops. Avoid blunt instruments because they might not clip well and therefore, repetition would be required. Always use modern equipments for clipping activities.
To sum up then:-
Grooming is among the important activities to be acknowledged by the dog owner. If the dog owner is not aware of the need for regular grooming, then the dog may encounter many types of diseases.
The basic steps of grooming includes activities like maintenance of coat, nails and ears.
The maintenance of the coat mainly consists of enrichment measures like proper bathing, combing, drying of skin by dryers, and more. The animal should not be bathed daily as this might destroy the skin’s natural characteristics like insulation properties.
Use conditioners and shampoos that are meant for dogs. Combing needs to be carried out with a soft brush meant for use on dogs. There are many varieties of brushes available catering for all types of breeds, one should use the appropriate brush. This grooming of the coat by a comb needs to be carried out daily and the fallen hair, if any, needs to be placed in the rubbish bin immediately. Otherwise, if there is any breeze the hair will fly and may enter the nostrils of humans. Similarly, as with bathing, you need to assemble all the materials required for the clipping with you, before you start.
Use a sharp clipper designed for use with dogs. It is better to have the dog on the raised platform or table, as most dogs seem to be better behaved in this situation, and hence the control of the animal is easier.
Ear canals are to be checked up frequently and sterile cotton may be used for cleaning purposes. Grooming guidelines associated with your breed need to be strictly followed.
Nail maintenance is also one of the first steps of grooming activities. Live nail areas can be easily clipped away and are always lighter-coloured than the reddish area of the nail in the higher position. Never clip overmuch because this may lead to injuries of nail tissues. During the holding of your dog’s feet by you, always have a firm grip. If not, the dog will take an upper hand during the clipping and some injury may occur. Also don’t forget the dew claw about a third of the way up the leg!