Your dog’s health is going to be dependent on you; not only what you feed your dog, but also on your dog care. There are many things that are considered part of your dog’s care, but the main item you should concentrate on is the grooming. There are many reasons for grooming your dog. First you want to remove the dirt, dead hair, and prevent matting of their fur. Second you want to bond with your dog. Every dog needs some type of grooming care. It will depend a little on the dog as to how much grooming they are going to need. For example the Akita has natural oils in their coat that protect them, giving them baths can hurt the coat and weaken their immunity; therefore it is important to only bathe them when they really need it. Other dogs need to be bathed at least once a month. The following are going to be a few tips for dog grooming and care.
You should start grooming your dog as a puppy. If you have bought an older dog you may have a little trouble if they have not been groomed a lot in the past. However with a little help they will become accustom to the procedures.
You will need to have tools in order to groom your dog properly. Most stores will carry kits for dog grooming. Here are a few things you need to make sure are in the kit: combs for the correct type of hair, brushes with slanted metal pins, shedding blades, nail trimmers, tooth brush, and of course some type of shampoo.
The shampoo should be for dogs specifically. You want to make sure the proper nutrients are in the shampoo, such as natural oils that will help the hair remain soft. You may wish to ask a veterinarian or a person who grooms dogs at your local pet store for tips on the proper kit to purchase.
Once you have the proper tools, you can then start the brushing process. You will need to make sure all of the matted hair and tangles are removed from the dog’s coat before getting them wet. This means you may have to work a little hard to brush at the matted areas with a mat comb. Use a sawing motion to get through their coat.
As we mentioned above some dogs cannot tolerate frequent baths due to drying out the natural oils in the hair and skin, which leads to dry skin that they will scratch constantly. So you will want a gentle shampoo and a moderately warm bath. Soak the dog to the skin making sure all areas are wet. Lather the dog with shampoo, making sure to work the shampoo into the fur as you would your hair. You want to be thorough so make sure to get the tail, head, and under areas. It is best if you have some sort of showerhead with a hose or if you are outside to use a spray nozzle. The spray action will help you get the soap out of their hair. Just rinsing with a washcloth or buckets of water is not going to be effective. You do want to keep the soap out of their ears and eyes, but you can wash around the eyes with a cloth and use a sponge to help clean out the ears.
Grooming your dogs is extremely important and while we have only discussed the brushing, tools, and bathing aspects of grooming you should be aware that there are more things to consider after the bath and for daily care.
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