Dog grooming is an essential part of dog care. Dog grooming involves a number of diverse jobs. Regular combing and brushing to take out dead hair, skin and general rubbish. Bathing and nail trimming, as well as maintaining your dog's ears, eyes and mouth.
For good dog health you should groom regularly, it is also a great moment for quality time and bonding with your pooch. This is a great time to fuss your pooch. Dog grooming should be commenced early in the Dogs life, build a regular routine, do at the same time, same location and how. When commencing dog grooming, be soft, but firm, that way he will be relaxed, but knows where he stands.
The brushing and combing will care for your dog’s coat, taking out all sorts of skin irritant and pests, giving a healthier and more brilliant coat. The exact type of grooming required depends on the dog breed, the below is general and ideal for most dogs, but either verify with the dog breeder, or research it on the net, or your dog sitter should be able to help.
Bathing
Bathing is an important task in dog grooming. There is no consensus on how often a given dog or breed should be bathed. The trade off discussion turn around natural self grooming preserves natural body oils. Whilst bathing, even with specific dog shampoos will bathe the natural essential oils away. So some people wait until the dog is dirty prior to washing. There could be a female / male bias, with the ladies normally wanting to wash routinely and more frequently. Normally a bath around every two months or so should be planned.
It is easier to introduce a dog to bathing whilst a puppy, so it comes naturally, and even look forward to it. Before a planned bathing of the dog it is best to brush the dog well.
For a stress free bath, plan the dog bath well, get everything you need at hand before collecting the dog. This is particularly difficult for those in large cities, with lack of space and without the delights of shower rooms and utility rooms by the garden. For us town dwellers, we often have to take the dog up to the bathroom.
Keeping a secure footing is important, so place the rubber mat in your bath. To evade ear problems, shield the ears by using cotton wool in the dog’s ears to prevent water ingress into the ears. Some breeds with open ears such as collies can be especially susceptible to ear problems.
You do not want to shock your dog so use warm water to bath your dog. It is easier to use a shower or spray hose. Keep the nozzle head close to the animal and do not spray onto the dog’s face, as this could upset him.
There are specially formulated dog shampoos which are specially formulated to meet their special needs. Only use a little and start from the head and top and work downward and in the direction of the tail. Be careful to avoid the eyes. Crucial areas to spend time on washing well are around the chin, especially if he is a messy eater, behind the ears, around the toes and the rectum.
At the end rinse with warm water, removing all the shampoo.
The dog will remove a lot of the water by shaking, so watch out!, then you can towel him down. You may like to use a hair dryer, especially women again! This is not normally needed unless you must take him out. It is better to finish drying off naturally inside.

The other parts of dog grooming and dog care will be dealt with later, including coat care, nail trimming, ear and teeth care