Dog Care Tips for Grooming Your Dog

The best way is start grooming your puppy is when he first comes home with you, but if you have an adult dog who balks at grooming here are a few dog care tips. The first time you bring out the nail clippers hold the clippers in your hand next to the dog's paw and give him a treat with praise. The next time hold the dog's paw and place his nail in the nail clipper but don't cut. Again praise him and reward with treats. When the dog calmly accepts you holding his paw and bringing the clipper to his nail, and placing the nail in the clipper, then cut the nail quickly and confidently. Don't be nervous because your dog will pick up on that emotion. Praise your dog and give him a treat. Do this with the other dog grooming tools as well. The dog will associate being groomed with praise and treats. Keep your first grooming sessions short. Right before his dinner is a good time. Your dog will be alert and hungry which means he'll be more motivated. He'll start to associate grooming with dinner as well as treats. Don't lose your temper. Keep a smile on your face and the sessions as pleasant as possible. Most dogs don't mind having their teeth brushed and actually like it. If your dog struggles, use the same method with the toothbrush as you did with the nail clippers. Your first session, hold a treat in one hand and the toothbrush with a bit of dog toothpaste by his mouth. Give him the treat and lots of praise. Then gently lift his lip, again reward with a treat and praise. Finally lift his lip and gently scrub his side teeth. The dog should get a taste of the toothpaste and your struggles will be over. Don't overdo the toothpaste, a little is enough. Veterinarians say that the most common pet health care problem is their teeth. If your dog has tarter it could turn into a serious problem resulting in infection, loss of teeth, and at the very least, very bad breath. Tarter is that yellowish soon to turn brownish hard build up next to the gum line. Prevention by brushing is much easier than getting rid of tarter. Most of the time that means a professional cleaning and it's expensive. Dogs don't sit still to have their teeth cleaned like people do, so they have to be under a general anesthetic and that's costly. One method that seems to work with some dogs to get rid of a mild case of tarter is gently swapping their teeth with a piece of gauze soaked in medicinal strength (not hair bleach strength) hydrogen peroxide every day. When brushing your dog's coat, hold the hair with one hand on the skin side of a tangle and use the brush with your other hand to brush out the tangle. That way your dog won't feel the pull of the brush as much. Use a people hair detangling spray to make the brushing even easier. Use these dog care tips for grooming your dog and the sessions should be fun for both of you.

Dog Grooming Tools: What Dog Grooming Tools Do You Need?

Going into a big box pet care store and looking for dog grooming tools can be overwhelming. There are so many choices. What dog grooming tools do you really need? The basics that every dog owner needs are relatively few. Your first step is to get a shoebox, or basket to hold all the tools and stash them conveniently in one place. A portable makeup box with a closeable lid makes an ideal container. Nail clippers are a necessary tool. Get the size that fits your dog. A Great Dane needs larger and stronger clippers than a miniature poodle because their nails are bigger. That just makes common sense. Some clippers come with a guard that prevents you from clipping too much nail at one time and exposing the quick. The quick is a small blood vessel that runs down the nail but not to the end of the nail. In addition to the nail clippers, styptic powder should be in your dog grooming tool kit. Styptic powder very quickly stops the bleeding if you've cut into the nail quick. Tweezers are useful for removing stickers, debris and splinters. Dip them in alcohol before and after each use to sanitize the tweezers. A small bottle of alcohol should be in your kit for this purpose. Small blunt ended scissors can cut out mats, tangles, and plant material, such as thorns, from your dog's coat. Manicure scissors could be used but you have to be careful with their sharp pointed ends. If your dog moves suddenly you could end up jabbing him. A soft brush and a wire brush are both necessary. The wire brush detangles long fur and rakes out dead hair. The soft brush is used to finish the coat after the wire brush. Even if your dog is short haired like a Jack Russell Terrier he will still need brushing to remove dead hair, dust, and dirt from his coat. Most dogs need their teeth brushed several times a week so a good dog toothbrush and dog toothpaste are in order. Don't use people toothpaste, it's not meant to be swallowed and that's what your dog will do. Dog toothpaste comes in flavors so dogs love the taste. It contains enzymes that help break down tarter and freshen breath. Sterile eye cleaner should be included with your dog grooming tools to clean your puppy pal's eyes and flush them out if they've got that green gooey gunk. Ear cleaner is a must if you have a long eared dog but is useful for any dog. Cotton pads to wipe out the ears and eyes after they've been cleaned are useful. Use a clean pad for each eye. Squares of old terry cloth wash clothes can be used to clean the ears, but don't use them on the eyes, they're too rough and may end up scratching the eye. Once a year go through your dog grooming tools and see what needs to be replaced. Dump eye cleaner, ear cleaner, and toothpaste that are more than six months old.