Dog grooming tips

Cold weather makes it difficult to inflict a bath on our dog... So we spot bathe him between groomings.  Here's how we keep our dog reasonably clean when we can't bathe him:

• After every walk (or at least once a day), we wipe our dog down with a wet wash cloth. I use a 'microfiber' cleaning cloth. I don't add any chemicals; the special cleaning cloth grabs the dirt and holds on to it. Rinse and re-wipe as often as necessary to remove dirty grunge. Our dog likes to sit down in those muddy, oily puddles which occur when the snows thaw...
• Wipe the paws after every walk. If you skip the total wipe-down, at least get the paws and use a clean cloth to wipe the dog's face.
• Wet a grooming brush with water and carefully brush the dog out. (A wet brush prevents hair breakage).
• for terriers: brush in direction of hair growth, then against it to remove tangles (gently).
• for long haired dogs: brush in direction of growth, parting the hair in sections. Use a light stroke.
• for dogs with harsh outer coats and soft wooly undercoats (sheep dogs, collies, chow chows): brush a small section at a time, part the hair to the skin and brush with the direction of hair growth in gentle, short strokes. Patience, thoroughness and gentleness pays off here. Our dog falls asleep when I groom him. I use a soft pin brush... (some groomers recommend a hard pin brush; I don't). It takes two hours to thoroughly brush him out.

You can use a dander remover (sprayed on the brush). You can also use the dry dog shampoos.... I've never had success with the dry dog shampoo powders. You don't want to leave any chemical residue on the dog, however. So, use a wet clean brush as you finish. Gently wipe the dog's outer ears out -- use a clean disposable wipe; you can buy ear wipes for pets at most pet supply stores.

(Once a week, we rinse his ears out... gently, no poking around... We put a few drops of ear cleaner in his ears, massage his outer ears, and allow him to shakeout the debris. Our dog puts his ears in bushes and all kinds of garbage. No wonder we see crud come flying out when he shakes his head after an ear rinse.) Have your vet show you how to do this properly if you've never done it before. Most dog owners don't realize how necessary it is to clean a dog's ears: without proper cleaning, a dog can suffer ear infections and go deaf...  Ear infections can change a dog's personality from happy to grumpy... because of the discomfort and pain. Ear infections can indicate food allergies and other physical ailments. Occasionally, ticks can take up residence in a dog's ears: ugh... If you live near a tick infested area (ie, lots of deer inhabit the areas your dog visits), check your dog's ears every day; also feel around for bumps on him. I've removed ticks which burrowed right into the fur next to our dog's nose (even though we use Frontline Plus every four weeks). Related: Dog ear hematoma (keep your dogs ear clean and you won't have to worry about an ear hematoma.)

If your dog is naughty and doesn't like getting brushed, you have quite a task ahead of you. Don't give up; a happy dog is a well-groomed dog. Lexi, the dog, likes to grab the hair brush and chase her owner around with it. And our own dog doesn't really like getting brushed either: but he knows he gets a reward afterward (we take breaks too); he knows he can't get out of it. When we first got him, he would not let me near his feet; so every day, rain or shine, I make a point of gently squeezing his paws. And I gently touch his ears... he's completely at ease now and he doesn't make a huge fuss over getting his ears wiped out or his paws wiped down....  I started with just getting him used to gentle handling... T-touch for dogs can also enable a dog to enjoy grooming, but that's another article altogether....
Related: Tips on grooming your dog [Capital News 9]