Grooming

Preparing Your Pup For Grooming

You need to prepare your pup for grooming by getting it used to having its body handled and being touched by the grooming equipment.

• Start as soon as possible, regardless of your pup’s age
• Go through Teaching Your Puppy to Tolerate Handling program
• Once your pup is comfortable with you touching its body, introduce it to the equipment, first letting it sniff each item. Reward it with yes/treat.
• Leave the brush or comb on the ground and let your pup eat meals or get treats near it.
• Then begin to very gently use the brushes or combs. Initially, brush for 5 seconds and reward your pup.
• Some dogs love to be brushed while others find it a chore. Initially, let your dog tell you how long it can tolerate being brushed and extend the time very gradually. Use lots of yes/treats to reward your dog for its tolerance.
• Keep offering treats even after you can groom your dog, especially when you need to get out snarls, mats, or burrs.
• Some hints about burrs, spray your dog’s coat with Show Sheenl or even Pam before it gets into burrs. If it’s too late, sometimes crushing the burrs with pliers can make them easier to remove. Obviously, be careful and don’t injure your dog–just crush the burr.

Coat Grooming Equipment

Different breeds and coat types need different tools. Here are some suggestions. Get a good quality tool and you likely will have it for years to come.

Pin Brush

Medium or long hair; break up coat; remove loose hair; Collie, golden retriever.

Bristle Brush

Short hair; Australian cattle dog, beagle, collie.

Slicker Brush

Medium or long hair; only gets surface unless you use it correctly, dense coats; chow, cocker, shepherd.

Hound Glove

Short hair; sporting, hounds, Dobermans.

Comb

Medium to long hair; all breeds, Akita, Brittany, chow, cocker, collie, golden retriever.

Rubber Curry

Smooth coats; shedding coats, Labs, Weimaraner, whippet, hounds, beagle, boxer.

Shears

For trimming feet, ears, and removing mats.

Brushing and Combing

All dogs should be gone over once a week. Short-haired dogs may not need a brushing but at least a check for cuts, bumps, ticks, flea dirt, etc. Medium- and long-haired dogs should be brushed or combed at least once per week. Some dogs with heavy, shedding, or easily matted coats, such as many doodles, Briards, and Maltese, may need grooming more than once a week. During shedding season, daily brushing is a good idea and will drastically reduce vacuuming.

During a grooming session, run your hands over your pup’s body, feeling for cuts, burrs, bumps, and swelling. Check its ears, eyes, toenails, paws, mouth, tail, and even anal glands. This can be part of cuddling during the day or be a more formal session on a grooming table or other stable surface. (If your dog’s coat needs a lot of grooming, we recommend you invest in a grooming table. It will make your life much easier!)

When combing and/or brushing your dog, be sure you are getting all the way to the skin. Sometimes that means parting the coat and gradually combing or brushing out the tangles and mats.

If your dog has small mats, carefully cut them out with scissors. If your dog has large mats, get your dog into the groomer ASAP and commit to doing a better job grooming in the future. Mats can cause pain, skin irritation, and infections. They can be the cause of dog bites to children and other family members. Mats are nothing to take lightly and should be dealt with immediately.

Bathing

Dogs can be given baths weekly, monthly, or as needed when they get dirty or smelly. Dogs don’t inherently have a “doggie” odor so if your dog is odorous, give it a bath. Even the shortest-coated dogs do best with a bath at least every 4 to 6 months. Dogs with longer coats or a more outdoor lifestyle, likely need them more often.

Preparing Your Pup For Bathing

The first “baths” you give your puppy should be focused on making your pup comfortable with the process rather than actually getting it clean. Once you’ve decided whether you are going to bathe your pup, begin by introducing the pup to that place. It might be your bathtub or shower, the kitchen sink for pups or small dogs, or a separate dog tub. Booster Baths are great dog tubs when you can bathe your dog outside.

• Place your pup gently in the space where you will bathe in the future. Yes/treat several times then remove the pup. If the tub is elevated, never take your hands off your pup so there is no chance of it falling.
• Once your pup is comfortable in the tub, try smearing xylitol-free peanut butter or cream cheese on the side of the tub and letting your pup lick it off. You can also stick a lick mat to the wall or side of the tub, smear it with a soft goodie and let your pup enjoy it. Remove your pup from the tub.
• Now that your pup is comfortable in the tub, turn on the water just a little. Reward with a lick mat, smear on the wall, or lots of treats.
• Gradually, over several sessions, turn up the water so that your pup hears the sound and feels the air movement.
• If your dog will need to be clipped, introduce the clippers first by just lying them on the ground, then holding them in your hand and eventually touching your pup with them while they are turned off.
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• Introduce toweling and the hairdryer separately.
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Giving Baths

Bathing steps include:

• Put cotton balls in your pup’s ears to keep water out (or promise to be very, very careful).
• (optional) Put one drop of mineral oil in each eye to prevent tearing
• Use a dog shampoo or mild people shampoo
• Wet your dog from tail to neck with warm water. Bathing in cold water or crating after a bath can cause cold tail.
• Don’t wet your dog’s head until you are ready to wipe it down since dogs shake when their head gets wet. If your dog has a water-resistant coat, it may take quite a bit to get the coat wet to the skin.
• Soap and scrub dog, starting with the back end and working towards the head.
• Wash your dog’s face with a sponge and wipe off shampoo.
• Rinse your dog from head to tail.
• Rinse again – make sure you get all the shampoo out. The most important part of the bath is rinsing–be sure to rinse thoroughly or your dog will itch and may get a rash.
• Dry your dog with towels or a cool-air dryer, human or dog.

Trimming Toe Nails

Your pups’ toenails need to be trimmed about every two weeks throughout its lifetime. Learn to do this yourself to keep your dog’s feet and body sound. We have lots more information on trimming toenails here.

Cleaning Ears

Weekly ear care is important for most dogs so go through the Preventing and Treating Ear Infections (COMING SOON) resource for supplies, recommended ear cleaners, and the process.

Cleaning Teeth

Dental health is as important in dogs as it is in people. Lifetime dental problems, both tooth and gum issues, can lead to kidney and heart disease. This is particularly a problem in small dogs but any individual dog can be affected.

Start teaching your puppy now to accept you examining its mouth and caring for its teeth through the Mouth section of Teaching Your Puppy to Tolerate Handling program.To get tartar off your puppy’s teeth, use a commercial brush and dog toothpaste (DO NOT USE HUMAN TOOTHPASTE!), or use a washcloth or gauze with baking soda. This should be done at least weekly, ideally daily.