10 Days Dog Grooming Lessons
Sassy has a double coat of thick, soft fur, and it’s floating in dandelion-tufts all over the house, drifting under furniture in wispy dust rhinos, garnishing dinner plates, and adhering to clothing.
Brutus has short hair that drops off where he sleeps.
Freckles generously spreads her Dalmatian hairs wherever she travels, all day, all week, all year.
Long-coated Lad is matted to the skin, his hair twisted into thick felt pads, his tender hide raw and fleabitten.
Each of these situations could be helped by regular grooming sessions with the family pet.
“Grooming” conjures up pictures of expensive salons for poodles or Shih Tzus or images of the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club dog show. The family Sassy or Freckles or Lad certainly doesn’t need fancy haircuts or expensive baths with hot oil treatments. However, failing to groom the dog is akin to neglecting to comb a child’s hair and wash behind his ears.
A long-coated dog should have her hair brushed and combed several times each week. A double-coated dog should have dead hair combed from the coat to hasten shedding and prevent hairy tumbleweeds from infesting the house. Even a short-coated dog should be brushed or rubbed down a couple of times a week to keep skin and coat healthy.
Much grooming can be done at home. A brush suitable for the dog’s particular coat; a fine-toothed comb for soft, silky hair and flea control; a rubber mitt or coarse washcloth for short coats are minimal tools necessary for the job. Owners who can manage may also want a pair of clippers for trimming dog toenails.
The first step in home grooming is to teach the dog to accept the attention. The best strategy is to start when the pet is a puppy, teaching him to accept the handling of all his body parts and to stand and lie on his side by command. Use hands, a soft brush, or a coarse washcloth to groom a puppy. If the puppy has a tough time staying still, place a mat on the kitchen table for traction and work with the pup on the mat.
If the pup has grown up ungroomed, he can still be taught to stand or lie still and accept this necessary attention. As with any training effort, you will often need more patience to teach shy or fearful dogs than confident or dominant dogs.
When grooming a dog with a tangled coat, work gently to avoid irritating the skin. Comb the outside of the tangle, gently progressing towards the skin, just as you would comb a child’s snarled tresses. If the coat is severely tangled or matted, work in short sessions and praise the dog frequently for accepting the sometimes irritating or painful combing. Or consider taking the pooch to a professional for an evaluation of his condition and possible clipping.
Dogs may shed dead hairs continuously, particularly in dry winter household heat. Double-coated dogs generally shed massive amounts of hair twice a year. Undercoat shedding often begins on the haunches and proceeds forward until the entire coat has molted. You may notice a dullness to the hair before the tufts begin to emerge from the coat. Full shedding can take a month or more, particularly in the heavy coated breeds.
