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Tips for grooming your pet
By Anjie Coates, AnimalForum.com staff
There are a number of things you should know in order to keep your pet in great shape. These tips will also reduce the cost of your grooming bill, or make grooming your own pet much easier.
Always brush your dog or cat before bathing them. This will loosen the
dead coat and prevent any matting from tightening.
When bathing your dog or cat, always be sure to rinse them until all of
the shampoo is gone to prevent their skin from becoming irritated.
Always bathe your dog or cat with pet shampoo. People shampoo can dry out
their skin.
Look in your pet's ears at least once a week. You can clean
them with a pet ear-cleaning solution. You should do this whenever they have
dirty ears.
Keep your dog's nails short. You can do this by walking them on cement or
the road, or have their nails clipped by a vet or groomer. If their nails
become too long, they can grow into the pads on their feet or cause their
toes to splay (separate), which can lead to joint problems.
Find out what the proper type of brush is for your pet. Even if you brush
your pet every day, if you don't do it with the proper tool, you're wasting
your time.
Check the bottoms of your pet's feet if they have been outside. Look for
things stuck between their toes. Matting and bubble gum can be there, and
for them, it's like having a rock in their shoe with no way to remove it.
If you find something, you can take them to a groomer or a vet to have it
shaved out. Always be careful when using scissors on an animal. They don't
always understand what your doing and may jump into the scissors, causing a
worse injury.
If your pet "won't let" you brush them, try feeding them while you do.
Pets will try to get away, just like a child will whine and fuss when you
brush their hair, but how long will you allow your child to go with
unbrushed hair?
If you have a dog who will not give in to being brushed, have him groomed
often (every two to three weeks) or have his coat cut down to a length that will
not mat up between visits. For long-haired cats, consider having a groomer do a brush and comb-out. Generally, it only costs about $10 for them to be brushed out about once a month.
Fleas don't need to be part of your pet's life any longer. There are many
once-a-month treatments available from your vet that will keep the
fleas away.
If your dog has a very strong odor, check his ears for swelling and
redness; they may be infected. If the ears look fine, check the teeth next;
there may be an abscess.
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