Tips for Dog Grooming

Dogs with long coats, such as Samoyeds and Lhasa Apsos, or short haired dogs such as Golden Retrievers, Boxers and Pointers, all require proper dog grooming. Good grooming habits are part of the healthy maintenance and caring for dogs. Starting while dogs are young is important so that they acquire good grooming habits as they grow older.

There are as many kinds of fur on dogs as there are many types of dogs, be it pure or mixed bred. How one bathes the dog, brush their fur and their teeth, cleaning of orifices and nail trimming, are different for each individual kind of dog. A long haired pet dog would entail more time grooming to remove any disease laden insects or just to maintain the luster of the coat. Training them from pups on grooming would prove to have long term benefits for the pet. Also, reinforcing the notion with the dog that grooming is good at a young age would make the dog a healthy and happy pet.

To get the dog to love grooming, small steps must be undertaken to program the pet into loving the process. One needs to introduce the tools, and doing all the grooming techniques slowly and repeatedly would make the dog comfortable with the grooming. The next step is gently brushing the dog after acceptance of the object. After the first brush, give one's dog a treat and continue brushing tenderly until the feeling of being brushed becomes an acceptable and pleasurable activity.

The next big step is the introduction of the dog to the grooming station to familiarize the area and that the grooming about to begins. What is needed is step by step introduction to the implements and then applying the grooming technique to make the dog at ease with the process. A brush needs to be familiarized so that it would be accepted by the dog for later use.

Remember that caring for a pet is like caring for a four year old. So avoid letting the dog jump into a bathtub full of water as this is dangerous and would ruin the sequencing of grooming. Playing is very different from grooming and one has to make this clear with the pet through a series of commands that should be obeyed. Without the positive reinforcement and the eager training, it would be very difficult for a dog to be relaxed while being groomed.