We’ve talked about keeping a pet’s coat healthy at home, but let’s face it: Some breeds’ grooming needs just can’t be realistically met by most owners. For example, Poodles of all sizes need regular grooming to remove dead hair and trim the coat. Spaniels, terriers, and toy dogs also often require professional grooming. While an owner can learn to groom any breed at home, most pet parents don’t have the time or the desire to learn to do so. That brings us to today’s subject: Choosing a professional groomer.
No matter how much you love your pet, chances are, you hate shedding. Unless you own a non-shedding breed like a Standard Poodle, there’s also a good chance shedding is a fact of life. However, sometimes a pet develops a shedding problem that defies logic and the vacuum cleaner. If your pet is dropping hair like it’s going out of style, you may need to take some extra steps to keep a little more hair on the dog or the groomer’s floor, rather than on your dry-clean only pants.
Every pet looks its best with a healthy, shiny coat. Whether it’s the family cat or a show-ring star, pets deserve proper skin and coat care. Healthy skin and coat can also indicate overall health and wellness, and a sudden change in the health of the skin and coat often indicates an underlying medical problem. For these reasons, every owner should take time to maintain and inspect their pet’s skin and coat regularly. These three tips will help you keep your pet looking and feeling great.
Earlier this week, I talked about two traits of an ethical pet shop. But, of course, the full picture could never fit in a single post; so, today, we’ll look at one more very important feature of an ethical pet shop, and will continue to explore this subject in the future. Every pet owner has the opportunity to make a tangible difference in animal welfare by purchasing those things we all need, like litter and pet food, from an ethical retailer. Without further ado, the third feature of the ethical pet shop:
3. The ethical pet shop treats its employees well, equipping them with knowledge, skills, and responsibilities that enable every employee to uphold the core values of the business.
Depending on where your German Shepherd walks the most, nail care may be needed often or only very rarely. Long walks on city sidewalks can slowly wear down a dog’s nails to an acceptable level. But if you live in the country, or the dog spends almost all its time in the house or the back yard, you may need to trim his nails about once a month.
As with any dog, it’s important to use the proper tools and technique. Dogs have a small blood vessel called a quick that runs from the foot out to about midway into the nail. If you nick that quick while cutting the nail it hurts the dog and produces blood. Keeping the nail trimmed, while avoiding injury requires some care and practice. Start conservatively.
German Shepherds require only modest grooming effort. They have a double layered coat, with the outer layer composed of medium-length, coarse hair and an undercoat that is soft and dense. The outer section provides protection against bushes and ground while the inner layer keeps the dog warm and protected from sunlight.
Proper care for a German Shepherd’s coat starts before you ever take out a brush - with a good diet. Feeding your dog high quality food that’s appropriate to its nature as a carnivore is key. High protein, high fat kibble or well-prepared chicken, lamb or beef are great for this. If you choose to make your own dog food, though, take some care to get the right balance of needed components.
Grooming your pet rabbit isn’t primarily to keep it looking good. Good grooming promotes good health. Rabbits groom themselves frequently and can accumulate hairballs that may cause intestinal problems. It also helps keep down the hair around the house, which surely helps your health by reducing your stress.
Rabbits almost never need a bath. In fact, because they are easily stressed and overheated, it’s not usually a good idea. If they get something on their fur that needs to be removed - pine sap, dog feces, a household product - it’s best to spot-remove the material with water only. A little pet shampoo is acceptable, but should be diluted and used sparingly.
Trimming your rabbit’s nails can be a trial. Rabbits are akin to small dogs in that they tend to be fairly high strung. As prey for so many larger species, they evolved to be on a constant look out for danger. Even though they’re safe and well protected in your home, those instincts are still there. Proper technique can help overcome those instincts when they kick in (sometimes literally) to make nail trimming difficult.
First, pick yourself a nice open area, such as the bathroom or living room floor. Lay down a couple of towels, one of which will be used to wrap the rabbit, in order to restrain him or her. The other towel makes it easy to pick up the nail clippings and discard them. Arrange your materials so everything you may need is close at hand. That way you can stay seated near your rabbit for the whole procedure.
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