Puppy grooming and puppy care
While it might seem to some that the upkeep of dogs and puppies is obvious, it does not hurt to run through a list that will remind all of us as to which the main items are. Too often we forget one or two of the grooming aspects that if left alone could cause your puppy or dog discomfort.
The reason that I felt it was important to write this article is that if you can get your puppy trained in all the little grooming things that you do with them from a young age then you will never need to fight with them when they are older. If your dog runs and hides every time you take out a hairbrush then you failed to get the training done correctly at the puppy stage.
A young puppy does need regular grooming and if you build this all into the puppies’ house training then you will all be happier for it. The most common grooming items include brushing and combing out all the knots, mats and tangles, cleaning their ears, clipping their nails and checking for external parasites.
When your puppy is still very young start to get him (or her) into the habit of standing still for awhile while you do the brushing and grooming. Doing it when the puppy is a little sleepy would get the best results as normally by then the puppy is looking for a soothing voice and a bit of attention in the stroking department.
It could take months before your puppy is trained to stand still and to enjoy a complete grooming session in a single sitting, but if you train them in smaller sessions you will find that it becomes easier as you go along.
Teach the puppy to lie quietly while you do all the other inspections like checking ears paws and around the anal area. If you talk to him all the time in a soothing voice then they will be more reassured and not be nervous about the inspections.
Check with your local veterinarian as to what are the best ways to clip the nails, and clean his ears and all those grooming items. Some of the best tips could be garnered from your local doggie parlor – but I suspect that you would need to be a customer before they part with valuable advice. If you plan to be sending your puppy to the parlor for the regular grooming sessions then it might be a good idea to take the puppy there for a few visits. If the puppy is already comfortable with the parlor and their staff they will all get along much better in the future when the whole thing is just a routine.
With long haired puppies and dogs it is of vital importance that you spend a lot more time checking the trouble spots related to the longer hair. For example you need to check the anal area more often and keep the hairs around the dogs anus clipped short to not allow fecal matter to stick to the hair and cause trouble. Hair around the ears also needs to be kept short for similar reasons and if you allow matted hair to appear you will have a breeding ground for some very interesting parasites.
Just a quick comment here not really related to grooming, but definitely related to fleas, I have found that the best flea prevention has always been the one that causes fleas to stop breeding. It is a drop that you put onto your dogs neck and this brings any flea problems to a stop fairly quickly.
The entire point to starting a good and regular grooming session training with your puppy is to create routines that are both good for the health and cleanliness of your puppy ( and later dog) and will keep your home cleaner and less covered in hairs, fleas and any other sort of problem.
Most importantly guys – love your pets with all your heart, they will respond without reserve.
