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.
It’s not always easy to find time for your dog, especially if you have work, a family, school, and other committments weighing heavily on your time. However, it doesn’t always take hours of hard work to prevent problem behaviors like barking, chewing, jumping, nipping, pacing, and begging. Eliminating a problem behavior that’s firmly entrenched can be very time-intensive, but if you’ve got an average dog and want to prevent future problems while improving her current behavior, all you need is an extra 15 minutes a day.
That doesn’t mean you can replace meeting your dog’s exercise needs with these 15 minute training sessions. However, if you can give up one section of the paper, 15 minutes of surfing the web, or half of a TV program, and dedicate that time instead to training your dog, here are five ways you can use that time to improve your relationship with your dog and build productive behaviors while preventing undesirable ones. More →
Posted on June 26, 2008 by Jelena Woehr • There are 2 comments!
Guinea pigs are exceedingly easy to care for. They enjoy a big cage and won’t show signs of stress being confined, unless they’re left alone all day every day. But they still require some hair and nail grooming in order to remain in top health. Fortunately, taking care of those tasks is simplicity itself.
For short-haired breeds, like the American or Teddy, little in the way of hair care is needed. Long-haired breeds like the Peruvian or Silkie benefit from occasional gentle brushing. Bathing is generally not required unless they’ve gotten into something they shouldn’t. Sometimes, a bath is essential to treat a fungal-caused skin condition, but that falls under the category of medical treatment, not grooming. Texels, with their long, curling ringlets will definitely require regular hair grooming.
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.
The phrase “dog grooming” conjures up an image of expensive salons for pets. It’s true that your pet does not need fancy haircuts, expensive baths or oil treatments. But shunning away the idea of dog grooming is akin to handling your pet with shortsightedness. Your pet’s appearance is a mirror to its overall health and wellbeing. Lack of grooming may lead to major health problems. Dog groomers ensure that your dog not only looks good but feels good as well.
Professional dog groomers suggest basic grooming for eyes, ears, teeth, face, tummy, skin, feet and nails, and coat should be done regularly.
Horses are amazingly beautiful and sensitive creatures. Horses require not only understanding and patience to have a horse as a pet, it also requires a whole lot of care.
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