If you are a paw parent and love your fur babies immensely then their health too must be important to you. Dog’s health has a direct connection with their hygiene. To keep the dog’s internal organs especially the digestive tract clean we provide them with deworming and other medicine. But what about their external body?
The external body of too needs to be cleaned. This process of cleaning a dog’s external body is called grooming. But is just grooming about bathing the dog or are their other services included in it?
Through our blog, “What is dog grooming?” we will provide you with much-needed information related to grooming and the services included in it.
What Is Dog Grooming?
Dog grooming is the process through which you maintain the dog’s health and hygiene by bathing, brushing, cleaning their eyes, and ears and trimming their nails. Dog grooming[1] helps in changing the dog’s appearance and keeping them clean and healthy.
Here are the reasons why grooming is important for dogs:
- Grooming keeps the dog healthy and clean.
- The dog’s fur attracts dirt and debris, which causes skin infections and allergies in dogs. To prevent this skin condition you need to groom your dog on a regular basis.
- A dog’s ear can attract and promote yeast growth if not cleaned. This yeast growth then further results in serious ear yeast infections.
- Grooming includes teeth cleaning in dogs, this helps prevent the tartar buildup and stops the teeth decay.
- Apart from dirt and debris dog’s skin also suffer from parasites infection and fleas, which lead to discomfort and irritation in them. Grooming helps to prevent this and keeps the dog’s skin healthy.
How Different Coat Types Require Different Grooming Tools and Techniques?
The grooming tools to use for a dog depend upon the type of coat they have. Every dog differs from each other in terms of their breed and characteristic. Different breeds have different coats which have different grooming needs.
Smooth-coated dog
Dogs with smooth coats have short and shiny hairs. The dog with this type of coat requires either the bristle brush or the hound glove to brush. This bristle brush helps remove the dead hairs and debris from their short close-to-body hairs.
This type of coat requires mild shampoo and conditioner to bath which can maintain the shine of their coat. Breeds like Doberman and Beagle have this smooth coat.
Medium coated dog
This medium-coated dog has fur just slightly longer than the smooth-coated coated one. The breed with this type of coat requires the pin brush or slicker brush to detangle their coat.
The slickers and pin brush help to remove the loose hairs beneath their upper layer of hair. Medium-coated dog breed too requires mild shampoo and good conditioner to maintain their coat’s health and shine. This dog breed coat requires to be moisturized to prevent dryness.
Long coated dogs
The hairs of long-coated dogs are long and either wavy or straight. Their hair gets easily tangled and to detangle them they need a pin or metal comb. This metal comb prevents their hair from knots.
You can use the detangler spray for them. They need mild shampoo and conditioner to keep their hair moisturized and nourished. They also need the blow dryer to dry their fur. Breeds like Shih Tzu and Maltese have this kind of long coat.
How To Keep Your Dog’s Fur Healthy and Shiny?
Here are the ways to keep your dog’s fur healthy[2] and shiny:
- Regularly brush your dog’s fur with a suitable brush according to their coat type to prevent detangling and dirt. Brushing your dog’s fur on a regular basis removes the dead hair and helps in the distribution of natural oil.
- While bathing your dog use mild and gentle shampoo. Avoid using harsh chemical-loaded shampoo and conditioner. These chemical-filled shampoos make the dog’s fur and skin dry and frizzy.
- While brushing your dog’s hair before bath start from head to tail and repeat this several times.
- While bathing your dog, let the shampoo sit for at least 5 minutes, before washing it off.
Services Included in Dog Grooming
Here are the services included in the dog grooming process:
Brushing
This process is the most important and initial process of grooming services. In this process dog’s hairs are groomed to remove dead hairs, dirt and debris. By brushing the dog’s fur gets detangled making it easier to bath the dog.
Some groomers may use special dog grooming tables which raise the dog to a more comfortable height for the groomer and keep the dog contained during the process
Cleaning the ears
In this process, the dog’s ear is used using the tools available. By cleaning the dog’s ear the wax and dirt are removed from the dog’s ear. This dirt and wax in the dog’s ear if not removed promotes yeast growth in the dog’s ear causing infection and permanent damage.
Nail trimming
Dog’s nail trimming is important, long nails lead to discomfort in movement. This is a crucial process as you have to be careful with the quick (blood vessels in the dog’s nails). There are tools available to trim a dog’s nails. It improves the dog’s posture and mobility preventing injury.
Teeth brushing
By brushing the dog’s teeth the tartar buildup is prevented. Brushing cleans dog teeth and gums and prevents tooth decay and other gum diseases.
Hair trimming
Hair trimming is not done regularly but if your dog’s fur has overgrown then they need to be trimmed. Dogs with long fur need more trimming than the ones with short fur. Hair trimming prevents matting and overheating in dogs.
Anal gland expression
In this anal gland expression the dog’s anal gland is squeezed and the fluid is released. This process helps in preventing impaction and infection in dogs.
Bathing
After all this process comes the core and important process which is bathing the dog. The grooming of dogs is incomplete without bathing. Bathing helps to deep cleanse the dog. It helps remove the dirt and debris in your dog preventing the parasites and skin infections, allergies and fleas in them.
As mentioned by Rozanski in petmd, “Bathing at home can be fun, but if the dog is not rinsed or dried properly, or if the wrong shampoo is used, a skin condition can occur. Also, the pH balance for a dog is different than a person, so only dog shampoos should be used,”
These are the key services a professional dog grooming business provides. If you're considering how to start a dog grooming business, being skilled in providing these services is crucial.
FAQs
What is dog grooming?
Dog grooming is a process of maintaining a dog’s overall health and hygiene by cleaning them. This dog grooming includes bathing, brushing teeth, cleaning ears, eye cleaning, flea treatment, grooming the fur and many more. Through this service, the dog’s body is cleansed.
How often should I groom my dog?
A dog’s grooming period depends on their fur length, lifestyle and their breed. For dogs with long fur and more outdoor activities, frequent grooming is required. A dog should be bathed at least once a month, and the nail trimming should be done on the basis of the growth of the nails. Similarly, the teeth of a dog should be brushed once a week.
How do I groom my dog at home?
To groom your dog at home, you can follow the basic grooming techniques. To start grooming your dog at home you need to prepare yourself and your dog for the process. Start with brushing your dog’s fur, then clean the ears and nose, brush your dog’s teeth, and then proceed towards bathing your dog.
How do I find a professional dog groomer?
To find a good professional dog groomer, you can take the help of online platforms and look for reviews. You can also take recommendations from the other pet parents, from the vet and pet store owners. When finding a professional groomer look for years of experience, and certifications.
How do I choose the right grooming tools and products for my dog?
Choosing the right grooming tools and products for a dog is important. To choose the brush choose the one which is suitable for their furs. The shampoo should not be harsh on their skin and should not dry out their skin.
Conclusion
We hope that through our blog, “What is dog grooming?” we have made you familiar with the grooming process and its importance. Grooming helps prevent serious skin-related issues and allergies in dogs.
Though there are many professional groomers available you can still choose to groom your dog at home. Another aspect of grooming is to prepare your dog for the process. During grooming, it is advised to deal with your dog with utmost care and patience.
Dog’s comfort should be your first priority so, if your dog is not comfortable with the home grooming process it is wise to choose professional grooming.
While sedation is rarely needed, some vets may recommend it for extremely difficult cases. Always consult an expert first on proper techniques for how to sedate your dog for grooming.
Reference:
Admin. (2023a, August 3). Getting Familiar with the History of Grooming for Pets – Merryfield. Merryfield.
Admin. (2023b, August 3). Grooming techniques that help to minimize shedding – Merryfield. Merryfield.
