1. A Well-Groomed Dog will be Happier and more Sociable
There will be times your dog will want to get dirty, but your dog likes to be clean and nice-smelling just as much as you do! Every time my dog comes back inside, whether he was just playing in the yard or we went out on a longer adventure, he spends a good amount of time grooming himself.
Obviously dogs with huge mats and long fur covering their eyes will be obviously uncomfortable, but even short haired dogs enjoy being clean. Take care of your dog by bathing and combing it regularly, and you’ll have a happier dog and enjoy more time together bonding and playing and having a great time.
Plus, you’ll be able to and have the desire to take your dog out more places with you when you don’t have to worry about what people will think of your dog. Poor grooming can be embarrassing for the owner as well as the dog and sometimes discourages dog owners from taking their dog out of the house when they fall behind on grooming them.
2. Grooming Prevents the Spread of Dirt and Disease
A dirty dog will make your clothes, furniture, and floors unappealing muddy or dirty. There’s also a higher chance that your dog will be harboring nasty surprises in the form of insects like fleas or ticks or bacteria that are vectors for human diseases. I once new a person who didn’t realize their dog had ticks, because they thought they were just seeing spots of dirt on their dog’s face.
Grooming will help you spot symptoms of internal problems earlier, or find foxtails that may be stuck in their fur before they become bigger problems.
By regularly grooming your dog you’ll learn what its normal vital signs are. When its coat loses its sheen, it can be a sign of significant problems like allergy, poor diet, parasites, even illnesses like cancer. Catch these problems early to keep your dog healthy!
3. It Can Be Time Consuming and Costly
Think of grooming as an investment in the health of your dog because, unfortunately, if you’re just starting out, getting the grooming equipment and products together can cost a bit of money. Typically you’ll need dog wash, tools to wash a dog depending on your set-up, combs, nail trimmers, and dog tooth-brushes to name a few. If you plan to trim your dog’s hair at home, you’ll need specialize dog trimming kits as well.
It can also be a huge time commitment to do all of these things. Washing, combing, and bathing your dog regularly will take a few hours out of each week. Make sure that you have the time to properly take care of your dog’s grooming needs before you decide to purchase or adopt one.
If you don’t have a lot of time to commit to grooming your dog, then consider dogs with shorter coats or a smaller dogs as they usually require less time for grooming. Long hair and high maintenance coats need more time. Double coats blow fur two times a year which requires a lot of grooming for those weeks.
4. There are Two Types of Coats
There are two basic types of coat, the single and the double. Dogs with double coat have a stiff top coat and a soft, warm undercoat. Single-coated dogs are missing the undercoat layer, meaning they often shed less than dogs with double coats.
If the thought of lots of dog hair around the house, daily combing, and fur all over your clothes terrifies you, you’re probably going to want to stick to single-coated dogs. However, just because a dog doesn’t have a double coast, doesn’t mean that they’ll be low maintenance. Many dogs with a single coat become matter more easily when their hair isn’t cut and combed regularly.
5. You Will Need to Train Your Dog to be Groomed
It is best to start getting your dog used to being groomed early when they are still a puppy. Even if they don’t really need it, go through the motions of grooming. Get them used to your touching their paws, underbelly, teeth, as well as with the tools being around them. This will make life easier for both you and your dog as they grow. Especially if they grow up to be a big dog. Use simple commands and cues like sit, down and stay to prevent either of you from getting hurt or unnecessarily frustrated. It’s not easy to groom a dog that’s constantly squirming!
However, it’s not always possible to train your dog as a puppy when you’re rescuing or adopting older dogs. These older dogs can be especially tricky to groom as they may not have had any previous experience with it. Consistency is the key here. Keep grooming your dog, even if they don’t like it at first, and little by little they will become more used to it. Also, using treats can be a good way to distract your dog from being groomed and make them a little less squirmy.
Make sure to always read your dog’s body language when you’re grooming. If they start to get too fearful or stressed, ease up. You don’t want to push your dog to a point where he lashes out and creates even worse habits.
6. Keeping a Log of Your Grooming Sessions can be Very Useful
This can help you learn and keep track of your dog’s individual needs and state of health. It doesn’t need to be anything special. Simply make notes about things like date, types of grooming, possible indicators of poor health, any odd behavior, etc. If something serious come up later, these notes can be very valuable to both yourself and your vet.
