Home Groom Your Dog Properly
As well as making sure your dog always looks their best grooming your dog properly and regularly is important for your dog’s overall health. Proper grooming can prevent some serious health problems, most of which involve irritation of the skin. And most dogs enjoy being groomed properly. It feels soothing and gets the blood circulating. It’s like having a full body massage. So if you want to keep your dog healthy, happy and looking and feeling their best you should learn how to groom your dog properly.
Like having a full body massage
And the first step to grooming your dog properly is to get yourself the right grooming tools. These aren’t very expensive but are well worth getting. Not only will you be able to groom your dog properly but it will make the whole grooming process much more pleasant for both of you.
Dog Grooming Brush
If your dog is a short-haired breed, you may be better off with a short-bristled, coarse grooming brush. This will allow you to make smooth, fast strokes, which are best for removing excess fur from your short-haired dog’s coat.
If you have a long-haired breed of dog, you will most likely want to use a long-bristled, softer grooming brush. This will allow you to remove excess long hair from your dog’s coat, without many issues with tangled fur. Depending on your breed of dog, you will have several different brush options available.
Detangler Spray
If you have a long-haired dog, there is a very good chance the fur will get tangled – particularly around the tail. To help make getting rid of these tangles easier for you and for your dog it’s a good idea to use a detangler spray or fur conditioner. This will lubricate the fur and make it softer and much easier to detangle.
The other advantage of these sprays is that they help prevent the dog’s fur breaking off when you’re brushing it.
Dog Grooming Matt Breaker
As the name suggests the Matt Breaker is a great little tool to get rid of matted fur. Even the most conscientious groomers find that their dog’s fur gets matted from time to time. And when it does this little brush is a life saver. But it’s important you only use the Matt Breaker on matted areas. Please don’t use this to brush your dog all over – you’ll leave the poor thing with lots of bald patches!
Some people brush a dog’s fur the way they’d brush their own hair
Grooming Your Dog
Before you start to groom your dog make sure you give yourself enough time – especially if this is the first time you’re doing it.
Though most dogs are happy being groomed, there are some dogs that may be nervous the first time you groom them. To help prevent this, try to initiate a grooming session with your dog when they are relaxed (such as after a long walk). If your dog still seems nervous, try introducing a treat or a toy to keep their attention.
Grooming Techniques
How you groom your dog will depend on how long their coat is. If you’ve got a very short haired dog a daily brush with a good grooming brush will be enough.
Dogs with long, thick coats need a little more attention. Even daily brushing won’t do your dog much good if you don’t brush all the way to the skin. That’s why we recommend using a technique called Line Brushing
How To Groom A Short Haired Dog Properly
When you groom your dog, try to move from “head to tail” when brushing with a grooming tool. Start with your dog’s face, brushing behind the ears, and carefully around the front of your dog’s muzzle. Work downward on your dog’s neck, keeping short, even strokes with the brush. After you are done with the front part of your dog, begin working over your dog’s back.
Start with the top of your dog’s back, working slowly downward. It’s very important to keep brushing in the direction of your dog’s fur, unless you encounter a significant tangle. When you begin to reach the underside of your dog, it’s recommended that you exercise a certain level of caution. Some dogs might become startled when their underside is groomed. To prevent this, be sure to speak to your dog in a low, reassuring tone of voice.
Once you reach your dog’s tail, try to be as gentle as possible. If you encounter a tangle, use slow, even strokes to remove it. Once you are done brushing your dog from head to tail, don’t forget to give your dog a significant amount of praise.
How To Groom A Long Haired Dog Properly
Some people brush a dog’s fur the same way they’d brush their own hair. But you need to get right under that top coat and get rid of all the loose hairs and tangles close to the skin.
Line brushing can be done with your dog sitting or standing but most people get their dog to lie down on their side. This keeps them nice and relaxed and means you can get easily to those hard to reach areas like the tummy and chest places that we all sometimes forget about when we do a quick brush-over.
Run your hand up the your dog’s coat the opposite way to which the fur naturally falls. Brush from the skin outwards, against the grain.
Some people like to start on the belly and work out but so long as you’re methodical and don’t miss any areas it’s really up to you. We like to start at the base of the neck and brush out a small section at a time. Work your way down in a straight line to your dog’s tail then come back up and start another line. Don’t forget to get under your dog’s legs and don’t forget the tail.
When you groom your dog it’s not only good for your dog’s health, it will help you to bond with your dog as well. The best and most enjoyable way to learn to groom your dog is through practice. So get your grooming tools ready and get to work.