Grooming your dog is not a luxury but a necessity. From a hygiene point of view, domestic pets need grooming to keep clean but for the sake of your pet’s own health and well being it is also important.
All dogs need to be kept clean and while they probably won’t need a bath every day you want to have a set routine for bathing, brushing teeth, clipping nails and applying tick and flea treatments.
A healthy pet is a happy pet and although grooming won’t necessarily keep them for getting any diseases, it will go a long way to protecting them from basic infections and common problems like ear and mouth infections, fleas and ticks which in turn can lead to much more serious issues.
So, what does it take to groom your dog? On a basic level it require a bath, cleaning teeth, cleaning ears and clipping nails.
Spending on the breed of your dog it could also involve more extensive hair brushing, trimming and combing. Some people also like to style their dogs which tends to be a more specialist job that a professional dog groomer can do for you.
Grooming a dog can take anything from 45 minutes all the way up to 3 hours. Our professional dog grooming service in Hobart is here to help and can do it all for you with the convenience of our mobile service that comes to you.
Here are some basic tips when you do your own dog grooming.
Preparing Your Dog For Grooming
Dog breeds with longer hair and thicker coast require a lot more care and attention. Brushing your dog before their bath will help you get much better results when you apply shampoo and conditioner.
Choosing a shampoo that is designed for dogs is also important. Dogs can be very sensitive to the chemicals found in most human shampoos. It is recommended that you use a shampoo that is all natural with an oatmeal base or a shampoo that is hypoallergenic.
For thicker coats it is also recommended that you use a conditioner. This makes it much easier when you brush your dog during the drying phase as it helps the hair to dry faster and makes the brush glide through the hair much easier.
Get an Assistant
This is not always possible but it can make a big difference. Getting a family member to help can make all the difference in the world since grooming the underside of a dog can be quite challenging.
Even if your assistant can just help to keep the dog calm and still it will make your life a whole lot easier and prevent mishaps and bathroom disasters.
Dog Grooming Tools
The most important tool to get is good quality clippers. Cheap clipper simply don’t cut well and can actually hurt your dog. You will also get frustrated and probably give up before the job is done.
Make sure the clippers come with tight fitting plastic guards and/or detachable blades that can vary the length you cut with.
A pin brush is another essential tool for dogs with long hair as it helps you comb through the hair and gets rid of many of the knots and tangles
You may also need a slicker brush and even a comb to do more fine combing after the bath and to get into harder to reach areas like the facial hair where a brush could hurt the dog.
A hair dryer is also an important dog grooming tool. Simply letting your dog’s hair air dry is not always a great option because your dog will feel compelled to go and roll in the sand to dry themselves.
You can buy a human hair dryer but make sure it is large enough and that is has a very low heat setting. Too much heat can startle your dog or even burn their skin as their hair tends to be more sensitive.
After shampooing, drying and brushing dogs with long hair can develop a lot of static electricity. This can cause their hair to look quite wild. Applying a spray/detangler will help straighten the hair out and leave you dog with a silky smooth coat.
Have Patience
Washing, brushing and drying your dog’s hair can be a very time consuming grooming task. For larger dog breeds this can easily take up 1 to 2 hours of your time. There are a lot of steps and if your dog is not keen on the process it can take even longer.
Applying flea and tick treatments should also be factored in and most manufacturers of these treatments will recommend the best conditions to apply the treatment. This is usually after a bath and a through brush.
While this is time consuming, the results will leave your dog looking and feeling great.
If you live in the greater Hobart area and you want a professional to take care of your dog grooming for you, then give Dog Grooming Hobart a call. We come to your house and our mobile grooming unit can do everything for you with a professional technician and professional industry standard equipment.