Grooming 101
The importance of grooming
The importance of grooming
The importance of grooming
Grooming is about maintaining both your dogs physical health as well as their appearance. It helps to identify any skin issues such as fleas, ticks, dry skin, or any growths that may arise over time. Also any issues or changes with eyes & ears will be spotted.
Keeping nails trimmed
The importance of grooming
The importance of grooming
Nail trimming will make walking more comfortable and reduce the risk of painful nail breaks. It also reinforces healthy foot structure & posture. Touching a dogs foot is very crucial to the grooming process.
Dry/flaky skin
The importance of grooming
Dry/flaky skin
Dogs like people get dry skin. It's very important that your pet sits in a medicated shampoo. Dogs with seborrhea (flaky, oily, and scaly skin) will be soothed using a veterinarian strength shampoo that relieves most inflammation and redness.
socialization
socialization
Dry/flaky skin
Grooming is an important form of socialization. We all know this is very important for your pets long life of grooming. Through the process your pet will see & hear many different sights & sounds that they otherwise would not.
EAR CLEANING
socialization
teeth brushing
Keeping your dogs ears clean and smelling fresh is an imperative part of health maintenance. Dogs ears are warm and moist, making them potential breeding grounds for parasites, bacteria, and yeast. Routinely cleaning your dog ears will help to prevent pain full ear infections.
teeth brushing
socialization
teeth brushing
Dental disease results in bad breath, painful chewing, tooth decay, and gum disease. The bacteria under the gums can travel to the heart, kidneys, and liver. Oral hygiene is often overlooked but is an important factor to your dogs over all health and easy to maintain. Try to brush your dogs teeth at least 3 to 5
times a week.
Senior Dogs
intro
As dogs grow older, their grooming needs change and evolve. A good dog owner must be able to adjust expectations and accommodate an aging dogs unique needs. Taking an older dog to the groomer should and can be just as rewarding and enjoyable as ever, as long as proper considerations are taken into account. Also, the groomer must be willing to work with these changes.
Spread out the visits
Many older dogs must deal with joint pain, inflammation, arthritis, muscle soreness and general fatigue. It is important for dog owners to realize lengthy grooming sessions can expose your beloved friend to UNNECESSARY pain, discomfort, and stress. One of the easiest ways to solve this problem is to schedule shorter multiple visits, rather than having 2 or 3 lengthy grooming sessions a year.
Signs of distress
For the most part, an older dog will be able to communicate through body language and behavior if any part of the grooming process is painful or stress inducing. There are some tell tale signs of distress such as barking, shaking, growling, whimpering, and trying to move away from the groomer. This kind of behavior indicates the dog is not comfortable, and a responsible groomer should stop immediately. It may be necessary to reschedule the visit if the dog becomes too frantic and stressed. The most important thing to keep in mind is the dogs health, comfort, and safety.
understand limitations
An older dog may not be able to handle the same grooming regimen that they could in their younger years, and its crucial to realize that some sacrifices may have to be made for your pets sake. Giving older dogs vigorous baths and brush outs are often discouraged, due to their thinning skin which is more prone to tearing and brush burning. Dogs with pressure sores and benign fatty tumors may not be able to be clipped as short as before. Pets that are blind or have poor eyesight may not be able to be clipped close around the eye area due to their depth perception. Detangling an older dog coat is definitely not a good idea. Its best to clip the coat short and start over instead of subjecting the dog to unnecessary pain. Every dogs grooming needs are different, and proper communication between the owner and groomer is the best approach. It all comes down to understanding that aging dogs require more patience, tenderness, and kindness when being groomed. Dog owners must understand its all about comfort and well being of the dog and not about what their dog and not what hey look like in their senior years. Although senior dogs are adoradle anyways!