Grooming your long haired dog is a never ending process. The entire process should be down once or twice a week, and will take you around a ” an hour of time. Brushing your dog while he is shedding will help to control shedding quite a bit. While outside, if your long haired dog manages to get burs or other defects in his hair, you should instantly take a few moments of your time and get the burs or other matter out of his coat.
The first task when grooming your dog is to get a brush. You want to choose a quality brush that will stand up to all the use you will be giving it. Brush your dogs entire body thoroughly. Once you’ve finished that you can switch to a comb to get any loose hair that’s left. You can also clean out their ears and trim nails at this point if you want.
Bathing is the next step to grooming your long haired dog. You always want to make sure you have brushed your dog well before you give them a bath. This gets out any tangles and makes it easier. Never use human shampoo on a dog. You should always use a dog shampoo. They are specially designed for the skin of a dog. You don’t need to give your dog a bath very often, but it is nice to help them stay clean and take good care of them.
One issue with long haired dogs is matting. This can be avoided by good grooming. In fact, you should brush your dog daily to help keep his fur clear and free from mats. If your dog does get a mat, the best way to deal with it is to work through it with a metal comb. Using scissors to cut it out is not recommended, as it is very easy to cut the dog’s skin when trying to cut out the mat. Just slowly brush through it and it will come out.
Your dog’s nails need to be cut regularly as well, and making this part of your regular grooming will be good for your dog. Dog’s nails will keep growing, this is why they need to be cut regularly. If you don’t cut them they will start to take the shape of the dog’s foot and be very uncomfortable. You should trim your dog’s nails every few weeks. Doing this will keep them at a healthy length for your dog. If you cut your dog’s nails too short you will cut into the quick and your dog will bleed. This bleeding will continue for a long time unless you do something to stop it. You can stop the bleeding by applying styptic powder or using a styptic stick.
You also need to check your dog’s ears regularly. They may not only get dirty, but they may get mites. Both are easily remedied but can cause problems if they aren’t taken care of in a timely fashion. Use a cleansing solution on a cotton swab and just wipe out your dog’s ears.
Grooming is an important part of any long haired dog’s life. It takes time and you have to stay on top of it to keep problems at bay. If you find you don’t have time to groom your dog as often as you should you can always take them to a groomer. These are professionals who can do all the things we’ve discussed in this article. Whether you do it yourself or have someone else do it, grooming is a must when you own a long haired dog.
