Complete Dogs Guide

Dog Grooming and Care

A lot of time and effort is required in caring for a dog properly with regular and adequate exercise as well as grooming, cleaning and health care checks.

One of the most important and commonly overlooked is daily exercise. Dogs in the wild roam for miles everyday and your pet dog should be walked every day for at least 30 mins and over an hour for large or energetic breeds. Letting your dog out for a run about or having a game in the garden, no matter how large it is, is not the same as the walk. Even small toy breeds that may not need as much physical exercise still need the mental benefits of seeing and exploring the outside world. Also the walk is excellent for the true bonding of dog and owner.

Whichever breed of dog you have or are thinking of choosing it will require some form of regular grooming. Some breeds require alot more than others so that should be a key factor in your choice if you don't have the time to grooom daily, for example an Afghan Hound or Old English Sheepdog.

While brushing it’s a good time to also check your pets coat for possible fleas, ticks or lice, which will be more commonly found in the warmer summer months. A sign your dog has fleas will be if he is scratching or even biting himself possibly causing the skin problem eczema. If you do suspect your dog has fleas its well worth acting very fast to rid them as they breed and expand in numbers at very fast rate.

Check the nails of your dog on a regular basis. They should be kept short to avoid whats known as splayed feet. The long nails force the dogs toes up in the air and spread his feet wider. This may not be a problem if your dog has regular walks on hard surfaces such as the pavement as this will wear them down naturally. If you have not cut nails this before ask someone with experience to show you as it can be extremely painful if you cut the nails too short and into a blood vessel. As well as cutting, the nails can also be filed down. Sometimes vets will trim your dogs nails for free, so its worth asking if they can show you when you take your dog for a check up or have vaccinations..

Teeth will also need checking and brushing using dog toothpaste. This will help to stop there teeth rotting over time as well as reducing possible bad breath issues.

Check your dogs ears and clean every so often. Some breeds are more prone to ear problems than others. Some grow excessive hair in there ears which may require some of it being removed every so often. Use a little cotton wall and dog ear cleaner if needed. Remember to be careful, ears are sensitive and its not a good idea to poke around the dogs ear with long cotton buds too deep in the ear canal. You don't want to hurt the dog or damage an ear drum.

You can bath your dog, but don’t do this to often as it can lead to dry skin problems. If your dog is brushed on a regular basis then it may not need to have a bath to often. In fact the less frequent you bath your dog the better. A dogs skin has many oil glands and this natural oil protects the skin and coat. If washed to often this oil is removed and can cause various skin problems. Also dogs don’t sweat like humans. Good regular brushing is generally adequate enough to keep a dog nice and clean.

Some breeds of dogs will require expert grooming, for which you will either have to learn yourself or take to professional dog groomers every few months.

Many of these daily grooming and care tasks should be started out from the puppy stage. In fact, for puppies it is a good idea to check them over daily, ears, eyes, paws etc just to get them used to it.