4 Grooming Tips for Dogs

We all want our dogs to look and smell good. Although this might sound impossible since dogs have a tendency to run around in mud and dirt, getting dirty and smelly in the process, it still pays to have your dog groomed–in fact, a dog that’s been groomed is often less dirtier than one that hasn’t.

Proper grooming of a dog involves cleaning their skin, eyes, mouth, paws and ears, which not only keeps the pooch clean, but also protects it from problems like infections.

If you want to go DIY when grooming your dog, here are a few tips to make the task easier.

Prepare the tools

You have to get everything ready before you start grooming your dog. This way, you don’t have to go back and forth picking up brushes and shampoos. An easier way to have everything ready is to organize your tools inside a basket so that you will know where you can find all that things you need.

Start with the face

Start with the dog’s face, beginning with the eyes. Use a damp cloth to wipe out any dirt and mucous that you can see in your dog’s eyes. Wipe this out slowly so that you won’t annoy the dog.

After cleaning its eyes, you can start cleaning out the ears–you will still need a damp cloth for this. You want to wipe the inside of the ears, but not to the point that you’re stick your fingers inside the ear canal–stick to cleaning what’s visible to the eye. If your dog is hairy, trim the hairs outside the ear canal to promote air flow.

You’ll then want to trim your dog’s fur along its muzzle, which often gets dirty from sniffing around and playing. Keep it short to keep it clean.

Dental care

One of the easiest ways for you to keep your dog’s teeth clean and healthy is to give it bones and treats, which it can chew on.

However, this may not be enough, and you may need a toothbrush and specially-formulated dog toothpaste to get inside their teeth and remove gunk out. Any soft-bristle toothbrush will do, but you’ll need special toothpaste.

In the case of older dogs, which might have a hard time lifting their head–as is the case with dogs that have degenerative myelopathy–you’ll have to make sure to provide support and jaws.

Baths and brushing

Many dog owners usually wonder about when it’s time to give their dog a bath and when it’s time to just brush its fur. You can try and give your dog a daily bath, but you’ll soon find out that this causes its fur to become dry and brittle, especially on dogs that do not have naturally oily fur.

A bath once a week or twice a month will do just fine, except if they have been rolling around in garbage or mud. Use warm water and support your dog’s back if it can’t stand up for a bath like dog that have degenerative myelopathy. As for brushing, this should be done in a daily basis. This takes the dust and tangles out of their fur and keeps all their dog hair and fur off your sofa.