Who else loves giving their dogs a grooming session? I definitely do.
Grooming your dog is vital for multiple reasons. Yes, it does make their coat all proper and lustrous, but there's more to grooming than just beautifying your dog. In this blog, we will walk you through various reasons which make grooming important. Also, we will inform you on how often you should be grooming your dog. Read on!
The following are 8 reasons why grooming your dog is important:
1.Protects your dog's feet
A dog’s paws can get cracked, coarse, and house a whole lot of dirt and germs. If not taken care of, they might get infected and turn red, swollen, and painful.
2.Reduces shedding
Although all shedding cannot be completely avoided, one can notice a drop in excessive shedding after they start brushing their dog’s coat regularly.
3.Keeps fleas and ticks at bay
Regular cleaning of your dog's coat and skin will keep tick and flea infestations at bay. Helping your dog stay healthy and clean.
4.Spreading body oils
Brushing stimulates the production of oil by oil glands in your dog’s skin, and also helps the oil spread throughout the coat. This helps maintain a healthy, soft, and lustrous coat.
5.Detection and Prevention
Grooming sessions give us a chance of examining your dog while grooming it. For example: If during a grooming session one notices hair growing out from the paws pads of a dog, one must contact a vet at the earliest. The growth is an indication of Hyperkeratosis. Hyperkeratosis is not necessarily serious, but it can lead to severe pain for your dog if not treated in time. Just another reason why grooming is vital.
6.Keeping your pet happy and comfortable
Just like humans, when a dog is neat, proper, and clean, it naturally feels good about itself. It feels comfortable and happy in its skin. Grooming does exactly this.
7.Positive behavior
Each time your dog cooperates with you on grooming, and each time you give it treats, you are helping build a positive and interactive pattern in your dog’s behavior.
8.Encourages attachment, intimacy, and bonding
This is especially true if you go DIY with the grooming process. You get to know your dog’s body, likes, dislikes, temperament, and preferences. You also get to spend some time with your dog in the process.
Now that we know why grooming our dogs is vital, the question we are faced with is: How Often?
The answer to this is multi-layered. Grooming, as we know, isn't just about brushing your dog's coat. Grooming, in its entirety, involves clipping your dog's nails, taking care of its paws, its ears, its eyes, its (boop!) nose, its mouth, followed by its coat, hair, and skin. In this light, below we explain to you how often you should be grooming your dog.
Ear care: Weekly
Eye care: Bi-monthly
Nose care: Weekly
Oral care: Bi-weekly to tri-weekly
Nail care: Varies
Most dogs require their nails to be trimmed every 1-2 months. Senior dogs often need this to be done more frequently, even as often as once per week.
Paw care: Bi-monthly
Hair brushing: Varies.
Hairless breeds and those with minimal hair can be brushed bi-monthly.
Breeds with short hair, and little to no undercoat can be brushed weekly.
Those with thick and rough coats and short undercoats can be brushed bi-weekly.
Those with curly hair can also be brushed bi-weekly.
Those with long and silky hair need to be brushed 3-4 times per week.
One must use their discretion here or consult a vet for customised suggestions.
Hair trimming: Varies
A once-per-season, or four times a year, hair trimming session will be sufficient for short-haired pets who are less prone to collecting dirt and getting matted.
One session every 3 months will be sufficient for long-haired dogs with double coats.
Frequent hair trims (one session every four to six weeks) are needed for silky-coated dogs, and for dogs with curly or wavy hair.
Bath: Monthly
One must be careful in not doing this part of grooming, and go for it only when needed.
As a first-time dog parent, this might sound a bit time-consuming, but now that you know the importance of grooming your pooch, you can't even do away with it.
If you have the financial liberty of sparing an estimate of 15k INR/ year for your dog's grooming, you can go ahead with hiring a professional groomer. It will both save you time and get the task done professionally. However, if you don't want to dig a deep hole in your pockets by going this way, you can easily master the art of grooming your dog the DIY way. Our blog The To-Dos and How-Tos of DIY Dog Grooming: An Easy Guide will sure be of help. Check it out.