The human body is indeed high maintenance, but you know who else's body is? Your four-legged best friend. And yes, that includes both dogs and cats. Today; however, I will be focusing on eleven essential pet grooming tips that every dog owner should know.
Grooming your dog must sound like a tedious task, but once you understand which pet grooming tools you need and learn our tips, the task will become much easier.
I will be focusing on three major categories in this dog grooming tips blog post. These include:
A professional groomer tends to be a bit expensive; that is why I decided to create this blog post to show you how pet grooming at home is possible and actually very cost effective. Here are some tips that are going to help you take care of your dog's beautiful coat.
Before I tell you about all of the tips and tricks that I have learned about how to take care of your dog's coat, we will first have to start with your dog's hair type.
I'll break it down into very simple and easy steps so that you can do it from the comfort of your home. So, how does one identify what type of hair their dogs have?
It’s actually pretty simple; there are four major types of dog hair. These types are:
Go sit next to your dog and start patting them. Then, as you glide your hand over their back, gently grab some hair between your fingers to get a better feel of it.
Curly hair is super easy to identify by just looking at your dog. If you touch the hair nearest to the skin, you'll feel its thick texture and soft curls.
Dogs with curly hair include Poodles and the Kerry Blue Terrier. You can google the images of the dogs I am using as examples to have an even clearer picture on what a hair type looks like.
A dog with long hair might either have a silky or a coarse coat. A silky coat is characterized by long, smooth, silky hair on the tail, rear of front legs and even the ears. However, the hair on the face, body, and front of legs are short and tight.
A coarse coat is characterized by a rough texture if you touch the outer layer of your dog's hair. However, if you touch the hair nearest to the skin, you'll be able to touch a softer undercoat.
Dogs with long hair include the Yorkshire Terrier.
Short hair is characterized by its smooth appearance. Though you can recognize it by just looking at it, you can grab a measuring tape and see if your dog's hair length is between 0.4 to 0.6 inches. If it is and your dog's hair has a smooth texture, then your dog has short hair.
Dogs with short hair include the English Bulldog and the Pit Bull.
A wiry hair type is characterized by its thickness and length. If measured, the hair could be as long as four inches and above. Some dogs who have wiry hair have a unique looking furry brows that are huge, and even rock out a cute beard
Also, some dogs who have wiry hair tend to have a double coat. The first is the wiry hair, and the second is smoother, shinier, and thinner hair.
Dogs with wiry hair include the Drahthaar and the Fox Terrier.
If your dog has short hair, just use a brush that has rounded polished tips. The rounded tips make this brush so unique because it is not abrasive on the skin, which also makes it great for dogs who have sensitive skin.
If your dog has curly hair, long hair, or even wiry hair, then use a slicker brush slicker.
The slicker brush is characterized by its gentle wired pins, so this brush does a great job at distributing the dog's natural oils throughout their entire coat. The slicker brush is also a great brush of choice because it won't cause much irritation.
You can also use a pin brush to brush your dog's wiry hair.
Some people don't know if they should use a comb or a brush while grooming their dogs. We can simplify this dilemma by only resorting to combs when we want to de-matt our dog's hair or while removing the shedded hair from their coat.
The stripping comb promotes healthy hair growths. The hair usually grows back even stronger. This is great for dogs who have wiry hair because their hair is prone to matting.
This is also a great comb to use to de-matt your dog's hair. This is great for dogs who have a double coat or just long hair.
A dog with a wiry hair will require daily hair brushing. It’s important to comb their hair with a stripping comb every four to six weeks to prevent their hair from getting tangled and matted.
A dog with short hair only needs to get their hair brushed twice a week with a pin brush that has rounded polished tips.
Dogs with long hair should get their hair brushed daily. If that is not possible, then they should at least get their hair brushed three times a week to prevent matts and tangles from forming.
The same goes for dogs with curly hair. They should get their hair brushed every day, or at least three times a week. Regular brushing is essential to prevent the dog's hair from tangling and forming mats. It also plays a huge role in reducing dog hair shedding.
For a dog with curly hair, look for a nourishing dog hair shampoo that is going to moisturize your dog's hair. Your dog is going to need a moisturizing shampoo because their curly hair is prone to getting dry.
For a dog with short hair, any general purpose dog hair shampoo should be fine.
If your dog has long hair, then look for a dog hair shampoo that has softeners in it.
If your dog has wiry hair, then look for a dog hair shampoo that is free of any oils and softeners.
For your dog's curly hair, stay away from any dog hair conditioner that is going to minimize your dog's hair volume.
If your dog has short hair, don't use any conditioner at all.
For your dog's long hair, feel free to use any dog hair conditioner.
If your dog has wiry hair, avoid using any type conditioner.
If your dog has curly hair, then regular baths are required. You could give them a shower every three to four weeks.
For your dog's short hair, a bath every six weeks is required. Short hair is the easiest and least time consuming when it comes to grooming.
If your dog has long hair, then a shower every four weeks is required.
For your dog's wiry hair, stick to showering your dog every three to four weeks.
Please note that these specific hair grooming regimes are created according to your dog's hair type to ensure that their coat stays healthy and not stripped away from their natural oils and moisture, so try to follow these tips accurately.
Before I tell you tips on which products to use, scissors or hair clippers, make sure you check out the following:
How to Cut My Dog’s Hair at Home? The Guide You Will Need, the How to Groom A Dog at Home with Scissors, and the How to Cut Dog Hair: The Step-By-Step Guide for Beginners blog posts to learn how to groom your dog's hair.
When trimming your dog's curly hair, do it after you've showered and completely dried them. You can first start off with scissors, then move on to using hair clippers.
You can trim your dog's short hair with either scissor or hair clippers, so the choice is yours to make.
Before you trim your dog's long hair, give them a bath where you shampoo and condition their hair. Use a scissor to trim their beautiful, long hair.
Use hair clippers to trim your dog's wiry hair.
If you're looking for a hair clipper to purchase, then look no further! Check out the HOMEGROOMER™: Professional Pet Grooming Kit while it's on sale, and starting giving your dog's hair the love and care it deserves.
Here is a little tip on how to know when you should trim your dog's nails. If you hear a clicking sound when your dog walks around, that means that their nails have grown to be too long and need to get trimmed as soon as possible.
For detailed information on how to trim your dog's nails, read this. Today, I am only going to give tips on which tools are safer to use. It all depends on the color of your dog's nails.
Many people get terrified of cutting their dog's nails in fear of cutting the quick as well, which will make their dogs bleed. Cutting the quick also makes a dog prone to bacterial infection. You can make your life easier and use a nail trim mer instead of scissors!
If your dog has white nails, it will be easy to see where the quick ends. Simply stop using the trimmer a little bit before you reach the quick.
If your dog has black nails, things might get a bit complicates since you won't be able to see the quick at all. To prevent any accidental bleeding, just use the trimmer to shorten the nails a little bit, or opt up for a nail grinder.
A nail grinder files down the nail, which makes the task of trimming your dog's black nails a little bit less stressful.
If you're interested in getting a nail grinder, then check out the PAWGRND™: A Rechargeable Dog Nail Grinder here.
The most important tip that you should follow while taking care of your dog's oral health is to never use a regular/ made for humans toothpaste.
Our toothpaste is toxic for our dogs, so if you're wary about using a toothpaste that is made for dogs, stick to just using a toothbrush.
The grinding effect of a toothbrush is what aids in the process of plaque removal.
Life hack: Use a finger toothbrush for better teeth brushing control and precision. You can get your dog finger toothbrush here.
That's it for today's post. You now know a lot of tips that are going to make your dog grooming regimes so much easier.
If you were looking for cat grooming tips or were wondering if cat grooming at home is even possible, the let us know in the comments down below. We'll make these blog post especially for you!
If you have questions about today's topic, or you're interested in sharing your dog grooming experiences with us, then feel free to share your questions and experiences in the comments section as well!