Basic Dog Grooming: A Couple of Things You Need to Know

Every responsible dog owner should know how to groom his dog properly. Basic dog grooming involves several activities such as brushing hair, clipping nails, bathing, brushing teeth and cleaning ears. If you’re unsure about how all these things are done, it is best that you go to a grooming salon and observe how the staff gets the job done.

There are several basic grooming techniques that you’ll find useful. One of them has something to do with brushing a dog’s hair. There are some parts of a dog that are especially sensitive even if they need some brushing too. An example is the skin on a dog’s head. It happens to be a sensitive part so you may have to use a dematting comb and you may also try to life the dog’s hair as you comb it.

The area behind a dog’s ears is also difficult to get to. If you fail to brush it however, your dog’s hair could easily get tangled and you’ll end up having to deal with lots of knots. To brush it effectively you have to lift your dog’s ears.

Another basic dog grooming technique is when you’re clipping your dog’s nails. You have to trim nails one at a time and you should only cut the very tip of the nail. If the nails you trimmed are somehow transparent, then that’s a good sign. Dark nails should be trimmed slightly and carefully. Also, nails that are square in terms of shape do not need to be trimmed, but if they are pointy then you will really have to trim them.

Pay attention to aggressive behaviors as you groom your dog. Biting or snarling is unpleasant, so teach your dog that these behaviors are unnecessary and that they will not be rewarded. Sometimes, when a dog is too aggressive, you may even need to muzzle it.