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Grooming time is bonding time!
With the foundation work done properly, grooming can be a very pleasant experience for you and your dog.
Our dearly departed Glock getting his spring haircut back in 2012!
Make grooming pleasurable!
If you’ve ever laid back in the chair by the sink to get a shampoo and a scalp massage from your favourite stylist, you can appreciate the moment of relaxation and pleasant sensations. Obviously this is not a technique you can use with your dog, but you can make the process relaxing and pleasant with a few basic steps.
1. Start them young, practice often, keep it short!
It’s best to begin grooming sessions early in your pup’s life, make them short and pleasant, and plan for success. By handling your pup thoroughly and gently from tip to tail, you will condition your pup to accept your hands when it comes time for formal grooming. When you are in “relax mode” meaning you have the time, the patience, and your pup is sufficiently tired, massage him gently; handle his paws, rub his ears, his muzzle, belly, tail, and check his teeth and gums. Doing this for even a few minutes a day will make a huge difference in how he behaves for you or a professional groomer.
2. The dreaded bath time!
How often you bath your dog is really dependant on your lifestyle. If you do lots of outdoor stuff and your dog lives in the house with you, you may want to bathe more frequently. It also depends on your tolerance level for cleanliness! Or a lack of! Bathing too often will dry your dog’s coat and rob him of the necessary oils in his skin. Choose a good quality pet shampoo and if you like, a conditioner. Do not use human products on your dog; they do not have the same composition as our hair and scalp. We have a walk in shower and a grooming table for our dogs, most people don’t, but you can build or buy both pretty cheaply! For the 10-12 years you’re going to be grooming your dog, it’s really worth it! Having them at your comfort level saves a lot of aching backs, not to mention having to clean your bathroom from floor to ceiling afterwards! While it doesn’t have to be as fancy as the tub pictured here, if you have the room and the inclination you can save a lot of money and inconvenience over the life of your dog and future pets.
Bathing your dog doesn’t have to be a chore! I’ve written about this subject already, you can read it here!
Pictured is a professional bathing station. For the price of the set up, imagine how much money you can save, plus the trips to the local doggy wash.
3. Tools for Grooming
Most people choose to send their dog out for grooming, and that’s great, but expensive. If you have the inclination to do it yourself, you can build a decent set-up for the cost of just a few trips to the groomer. I will be stocking some grooming products in store, as well as recommending products that you can order on Amazon. Visit my Products Page for more details!
These are a few of my ‘must haves’ for grooming:
Grooming Tables come in so many different styles. This one is about as basic as it gets.
4. Cutting Your Dog’s Nails
Some people prefer to do their dog’s nails by sitting on the floor, and having the dog lying beside them. We prefer to work on the grooming table as it puts the pup at a bit of a disadvantage and it’s a more comfortable height for us. Clipping your pups nails once every week to 10 days will ensure a good length without the quick growing to the end of the nail. Just take the tip off each nail to begin with. As your pup becomes comfortable with clipping, you can take a little more off.
A good pair of nail clippers are essential, also some “Kwik Stop” in case you cut a quick. If you do cut a quick when doing your dog’s nails, please don’t panic! If you do, you will transfer your fear and stress to your dog, and future nail cutting sessions will be a nightmare! Simply say something like “sorry pal, I gotcha!” and carry on. If the quick is bleeding, moisten your finger, press it into the Kwik Stop powder, and apply to the dog’s nail with pressure for a few moments.
An essential part of any grooming kit!
5. Taking care of those teeth!
Taking care of your dog’s teeth is easy if he loves to chew! Feeding hard dry kibble and hard biscuits help to scrape plaque and tarter off teeth as well. Natural smoked bones, nylon chewing products and many other hard made-for-dogs products are essential to good dental health! Have a variety available to your pup all the time. Like children they get bored with toys and treats and need change. Pick up some of the old and put them away for a while, bring them out a month later, they will be like long lost treasures! When a bone gets small enough to fit inside your dog’s mouth it’s time to discard it; it can be a choking hazard, unless you are supervising the chewing. If your dog is not a chewer, you may need to take up a regular teeth-brushing regime. There are a lot of products available to make dental care easier! Preventative care is so much cheaper than veterinary care, and a lot more pleasant for your pup!
6. NO nonsense makes the best sense!
Not all dogs enjoy the grooming experience. Some will battle you in the bath, others with nail clipping although most will appreciate being brushed out. It’s important not to give in to your pup! A no nonsense attitude is necessary to ensure the grooming session and future sessions are successful and relatively stress free. If discipline is handed out fairly and without anger, it’s very effective. If you are firm you will get the results after one or two incidents, if you are not, you will have ongoing battles and the frustration will overshadow the joys of having your pup.
After grooming is one of the few times we treat our dogs, a single biscuit on the grooming table signifies the end of the session and makes the memory of the experience a pleasant one.
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