By: Caninecoalition
Your pets, especially dogs, play a vital emotional role in your life. You love them so much and want to treat them as one of your best friends that you spend some of your spare time playing with them. But what if your dog is not actually doing what you want him to do? What if he is not looking as good as he should be?
Herein lies the need for grooming your dog. More or less all pets, including dogs, require grooming. Pet groomers are easily available anywhere; some of them are cheap and some are very costly. You may not want to visit a cheap groomer, but you may not also be able to afford the costly ones. What is the solution then? Well, a better idea is to do it yourself. It�s not very hard to groom your dog yourself, but you should practice this right from the start. And to do that you must follow some guidelines:
Start early and groom your dog while he is still a puppy.
Grooming habits should start from a young age. You should train your puppy to do the most common daily activities like sitting, standing, eating, etc. This is necessary because if he can learn all these things at an early age, you will have no problem doing other typical activities like bathing, hair cutting, etc.
Devote some of your spare time in grooming your dog.
Dogs naturally take care of most of their grooming needs by themselves, but they still need grooming help for doing many of their activities. Devoting some of your time in grooming your dog has its own rewards, too, for it strengthens your bond with him and makes it easier to diagnose early the diseases that can be dangerous later on. You are not required to do all grooming activities on a daily basis. Some of them can be done on a weekly or monthly basis. For instance, nails, ears and teeth can be cleaned weekly or monthly whenever needed.
Give him a bath, frequently.
Generally, frequent bathing is advisable to keep your best friend clean and healthy. But you must heed some of the tips for bathing. Never give him a daily bath as it can cause dryness to the skin. Some experts even advise that a monthly bath is enough for normal needs unless advised otherwise by your pet doctor. Do not use very hot water and always brush his fur before giving him a bath.
Brush your dog�s hair regularly even he has short hair.
Brushing is like a silent communication between you and your dog. It is a necessity for all dogs, whether they have long hair or not, because brushing stimulates the oils on your dog�s skin. This will also free him of unwanted dust and alert you about skin related diseases well in advance.
Take care of his teeth, too.
Tartar builds up very easily on a dog�s teeth. This collects bacteria from the food he has consumed, causing common teeth problems like gingivitis, bad breath, ugly looking teeth, etc. These problems can be easily prevented if you taught him to let you brush his teeth regularly. However, if your dog has already built up so much tartar, it needs to be handled by a professional then. You should therefore begin cleaning his teeth right from a younger age so that tartar cannot accumulate.
