Getting Your Puppy Used To Grooming
Your puppy’s physical state influences the way he feels and the way others perceive you as the owner. It’s important, therefore, to keep your puppy’s coat in good condition. If you begin to groom as young as possible, your puppy will quickly get used to this type of handling and won’t struggle during the process.
In order to get your puppy used to being groomed, you should start with a good knowledge of the most basic of dog grooming techniques, and that’s brushing.
Brushing has been universally acknowledged by expert dog groomers as the single most important step in grooming.
The benefits of brushing are many. These include:
-
Better blood circulation
-
Shinier and healthier coat
-
Better bonding between puppy and owner
Like all puppy grooming techniques, there’s a right way and a wrong way to brush, and caring owners like yourself will want to know they’re doing it right.
Here are the FIVE essential steps to successfully brushing your puppy:
- Brush against the growth of the hair first with a slicker brush and then with a medium or wide-toothed comb.
- The slicker brush removes all the loose hair and the comb takes care of the tangles.
- Brush your puppy along the hair growth and make sure you reach the skin as you brush his way.
- Then use a flea comb over the coat to get any fleas and remove any remaining tangles. Part the coat and start from the root and then comb through.
- If your pup’s paw pads are hairy, then clip them using electric clippers. Do not clip the hair in between the pads. Clip only the excess hair.
Brush your puppy’s hair regularly to prevent it from matting. Matted hair is painful to detangle, and can make your puppy averse to being groomed the next time.
If you brush your puppy regularly then matting is unlikely to happen; but if it does use a detangle solution and a medium toothed comb and gently tease the tangles apart.
Don’t wait until your pup is dirty or matted to introduce him to grooming. That would make him associate the experience with unpleasantness. Treat the process as a way of petting your puppy and he will enjoy the attention and care.
Copyright (c) 2009 TrainPetDog.com
