Grooming 101: Maintaining Your Dog’s Coat and Nails
Are you looking for a safe way to groom your dog? Grooming your dog is a vital step to take as a responsible dog owner. As dog parents, we try our best to give our dogs comfort, love and care. However, this can be different from dog to dog. Learning how to grow a dog requires a strong understanding of your dog’s coat type, skin type, skin conditions, tools to use and a lot more. Professional grooming might be a quick and easy solution, but certainly an expensive one. Learning how to manage basic grooming procedures at home can be beneficial to you and your little canine pal.
In this blog, our experts at Petbites have highlighted the importance of regular grooming for dogs and how it affects their overall well-being. We have centred this article as a guide to help you groom your dog’s coat and nails well. Read along to find out what you will learn!
Understanding Your Dog’s Coat
Coat Types
In the current times, pets are precious to us. They help us get through the hard times in our life. As dog owners, we must be responsible enough to understand how to groom a dog. However, in order to properly do so, you might have to understand the types of coats dogs have and how to properly groom each type of coat. Here are the most common coats and it’s grooming technique:
- Long Coat: Requires grooming, to keep them neat from mats
- Medium Coat: Moderate brushing to prevent matting. Use a bristle or slicker brush every other day. Feathering on his legs and tail must be brushed
- Short Coat: Easy to groom natural short fur, brush weekly once with a soft bristle brush
- Curly Coat: Wash when needed, or can strip out all the natural oils. Keep fur moisturised. Detangle regularly to prevent discomfort and pain. Use detangling sprays and a metal comb. Visit a professional grooming session.
- Silky Coat: Moderate grooming. Brushing daily is not mandatory, but 1-2 times a week is essential. Fur trims would be advised, while the use of the right products to maintain gloss.
- Rough Coat: The coat is usually coarse to touch. Use a slicker or pin brush to remove tangles. You do not need to brush daily. Maintaining a regular routine is essential.
- Wire Coat: Wire-like texture. Requires hand stripping and clipping (of wire hair) to soften its wire-like texture over time
- Smooth Coat: Short, silky hair close to the body. Easy to maintain but heavy shedding. Use sensitive skin products to groom the fur.
- Chinese Crested: Brush weekly, and bath sparingly. May have pimples and blackheads. Keep surroundings clean and tidy.
- Hairless: No hair troubles but a regulated skincare is mandatory. Can be exposed to hard elements and UV rays. Use of sun protection, giving frequent baths, moisturising to prevent dry skin, and relevant clothing to protect the skin!
- Combination Coat: As the name suggests, the coat is a combination of long, silky, short, and smooth fur, with different lengths around the body. Requires moderate brushing every other day using a bristle slicker brush to reduce matting.
Importance of Coat Care
Learning how to groom a dog has a lot to do with coat care! A dog’s coat is what gives them their personality. Keeping your dog’s coat clean and well-groomed can help reduce shedding, prevent matting, and to keep it detangled. You may also be able to spot any skin issues early on for treatment. Coat care also makes life easier for you as owners and much more manageable and easy for them as dogs. Give them the relaxed freedom they deserve!
Essential Grooming Tools
Brushes and Combs
Coat care involves brushing and grooming your dog. It helps maintain a healthy looking coat, avoiding tangles, and excess hair and also assists in oil production. There are different types of brushes and combs for dogs. Here are the commonly used ones:
- Slicker brush
- Bristle brush
- Shedding blade
- Pin brush
- Undercoat rake
- Curry brush
Shampoos and Conditioners
When grooming a dog, bathing is a part of their grooming regimen to keep their coat healthy. Use of the right shampoo and conditioner is mandatory. Dogs cannot use human shampoos and conditioners. Therefore recognizing your dog’s coat type and investing in shampoos and conditioners that better suit your dog’s coat type is much advised by pet experts. For example, sensitive skin or oily skin dogs have a certain shampoo and conditioning regimen, while dogs with thick coats might have a stronger detangling shampoo!
Nail Clippers and Grinders
Like humans, dogs too have nails. These nails need to be trimmed to maintain their dog’s health and well-being. There are two main ways of maintaining dog nails. Nail Clippers and Grinders! Nail Clippers are available in three types: pliers, guillotine, and scissors. Nail Clippers are quite silent and are a quick method of getting rid of dog nails. However, this could split the nail if not done correctly.
Grinders on the other hand are much safer and can precisely remove excess dog nails. However, grinders come with an additional worry for the dog owners as they are often noisy when controlled by vibrating motors. This might put your dog in distress. Therefore only if your dog is calm and gentle, using a grinder might be advised.
Step-by-Step Coat Grooming Guide
Brushing
Dog skin can be sensitive! Therefore brushing must only be done accurately. If you are hoping to brush your dog’s coat at home, do not apply pressure as it can hurt your dog’s sensitive, subtle skin. Always make sure to brush in the direction of the hair growth. Apply strokes that can remove dead hairs while using tools such as shedding blades and mats. Always start your brushing from the head section and work your way down. Remember to be gentle and always leave your dog some treats for positive reinforcement!
Bathing
Once you have completely removed all the excess hairs and the tangles in your dog’s fur, why not prepare them for a refreshing bath? Here are some easy steps to do so:
Step (1): Wet your dog’s body using lukewarm water that’s not too hot or too cold. Always try to maintain water that is close to your dog’s body temperature.
Step (2): Use the right amount of shampoo that matches your dog’s coat type and lather gently. Cup your hands and cover your dog’s eyes. Work your shampoo starting from the neck, down to the tail. Be careful! Prevent shampoo from entering your dog’s eyes or ears, Scrub your dog’s belly, feet and other hidden areas. By now your dog must be looking like swirl-y frosting on a cupcake!
Step (3): The next step is to rinse away all the soap and residue. Cover your dog’s eyes and ears to prevent water from running down. Rinse from face to tail to minimise flaking.
Step (4): You can either choose to condition your dog’s fur to give it a glossier finish, or leave it as it is. This depends on your dog’s coat type!
Step (5): And finally make sure your dog is completely dry, clean and cuddly!
Drying
Drawing your dog is the last and final step involved in the bathing process. This can be done using a blow dryer or a towel. While most dog experts recommend a towel, a blow dryer can be used for specific dog coats. Make sure that you do not use hot air often as it can irritate your dog’s skin. To be on the safe side, towel dry your dog’s coat, and leave the air to run through it!
Nail Care Tips
Frequency of Trimming
Another crucial step in learning how to groom a dog is to trim their nails regularly. Trimming dog nails can help avoid overgrowth and discomfort. Dogs would feel much lighter and easier to move. The time between each trim is generally three to four weeks. However, this can also change with your dog’s breed or the activities they engage in. Therefore always inspect to see if your dog’s nails are touching the ground when they are standing. That’s when you know they need a trim!
Nail Trimming Tips
When trimming dog nails, choose a quiet and calm environment to initiate the process. This calms your dog by putting it out of any stress. If your dog is too wiggly, lay your dog on its side. Hold each individual tour using your thumb and forefinger. Use the relevant nail trimming tool, preferably the Clipper, and place it angled 90 degrees to the ground. Squeeze the handle together to chip off the excess nails. Remember to take your time and be gentle with this process. Trimming lighter colour nails is easier than dark ones. This is because the light-coloured nails can show you the blood supply. While the dark ones don’t. Do not cut too deep as this can cause bleeding. Trimming takes practice so have a lot of patience!
Using a Grinder
Grinding the nail off is a faster option for dogs. This is an alternative to Nail Clippers. When using a grinder make sure to use short tapping motions on the nail. Do not use the grinder in the same spot for a long time. This can heat up the nail or even grind a little too deep, causing bleeding. Make sure to check with your dog regularly on how they’re doing or showing any discomfort, after you finish filing each nail.
Common Grooming Challenges and Solutions
Dealing with Mats and Tangles: To remove Matt gently brush in the direction of the hair growth and use a detangling agent to help with this. To get rid of tangles brush a few hairs at a time. Separate it from the rest and continue detangling.
Handling a Nervous Dog: A nervous dog can be a hindrance to your grooming session. Ensure your dog is given appropriate restraint to prevent them from escaping the grooming table. By no means you must hurt your dog. Instead gentle restraint is much advised. If your dog’s anxious, stay away from punishments. It just worsens the anxiety! Be gentle but firm, and use treats as positive reinforcements.
Addressing Skin Issues: Dogs can have skin problems such as dry skin or allergies that can often be identified during or after grooming. Pay attention to your dog’s reactions. If you see your dog frequently scratching, or biting their skin, or notice any irritations or red bumps on their skin this is a clear sign of a skin condition. Other signs such as hair loss, flaky skin, change of coat textures, unpleasant smell etc., must also be treated. If you identify any such reactions, visiting your veterinary practice is ideal
Conclusion
In conclusion, grooming your dog is as essential as human skin care or hair routines. Learning how to groom a dog is as important as finding the right treats for them. Grooming a dog is not difficult under the right practices and relevant products. Know your dog’s skin type, coat type, and other crucial bodily features. This would be quite significant for your dog’s health and comfort. Maintain a regular grooming practice, and seek professional grooming services every once in a while.
In this blog, we have covered topics like “How to groom a dog’s coat” and “How to groom dog nails''. We also highlighted the importance of grooming, the types of coats, a brief guide on dog bathing and nail chipping, and a lot more. As a responsible dog owner, learning how to groom your dog is the right thing to do. At Petbites, we focus on giving your dog the absolute best. Visit Petbites Australia today to find everything your dog needs under one roof!
