Reasons for grooming – remember ‘CHAIR’
Cleanliness – keeping your dog’s coat clean by removing dirt and dead hair helps encourage new hair growth, and reduces the amount of hair deposited on household furniture
Health – grooming helps to stimulate new coat growth, and prevents the formation of knots or matting which may lead to skin irritation
Appearance – most owners take a pride in their dogs looking smart, and regular grooming will certainly help your puppy to look its best
Inspection – regular grooming is also a great way to check for parasites, or any suspicious lumps and bumps
Relationship – grooming is part of your dog’s socialisation activities. Regular grooming helps create a bond between you and your puppy, and accustoms your puppy to being handled. Do remember that grooming should include checking ears, nails, teeth, and eyes etc. on a regular basis
Getting Started
It is important to groom your puppy at a height which is comfortable for both you and your dog. For many dogs it may be advisable to groom them on a table and custom made grooming tables are available. But any sturdy table or workbench with a non-slip surface will suffice. Remember: never leave your puppy unattended on the table for even a short moment.
Start the grooming experience at an early age as part of your puppy’s socialisation programme and routines. Keep the sessions short to start off with – just a couple of minutes, gradually increasing the time spent on the table. Always make the experience positive, rewarding with praise and suitable treats. Any struggling should be dealt with firmly but kindly, as your puppy may be frustrated, mischievous or even afraid.
Build up the experience and your puppy will come to accept the grooming routine and also being handled on the table. This will help with other activities such as veterinary visits.
Finish the grooming if your puppy shows signs of getting bored or tired, so that each session ends on a positive note.
Dog Coat Types
It’s worth bearing in mind that factors like neutering, age, poor diet and poor health can dramatically influence your dog’s coat.
There are five categories of coat type:
Double coats – a dense coat with soft undercoat concealed by a long topcoat
Require approximately 30-40 minutes once a week to prevent heavy shedding
Recommended Grooming Equipment:
● Slicker brush
● Pin brush
● Wide toothed comb
Silky coats – as its title describes, a silky texture not necessarily with coat length
Require approximately 20-40 minutes once a week to prevent heavy shedding
Recommended Grooming Equipment:
● Bristle brush
● Pin brush
● Wide toothed comb
● De-shedder tool
● Rubber palm brush
Smooth coats – short and tight to the body. Very low maintenance. Grooming achieved by removing the dead coat to leave a
glossy finish
Require approximately ten minutes once a week to prevent heavy shedding
Recommended Grooming Equipment:
● Massage mitt
● Bristle brush
● Cloth
Wire coats – these coats have a coarse, harsh topcoat with a soft undercoat
Require approximately 30 minutes once a week to prevent heavy shedding and matts and tangles forming
Recommended Grooming Equipment:
● Slicker brush
● Terrier pad
● Wide/narrow toothed comb
Wool coat – dense, bouncy coat requiring great care. A coat of high maintenance which requires specific drying techniques and trimming styles
Requires approximately 40 minutes twice a week to prevent matts and tangles forming
Recommended Grooming Equipment:
● Slicker brush
● Wide/narrow toothed comb
Saluki Grooming Requirements
Coat type:
Silky Coat at the legs, ears and tail.
Short Coat on the body
Amount of Grooming Required:
We groom all our dogs Once a Week for between 20-40minuets.
The most important areas to check on your dog are the paws, were long silky tufts form between the toes and the pad.
These should be checked Daily.
It is important to keep this well groomed and to check it every DAY to prevent lugs and tugs forming.
Finally we clip and trim their nails once every 2-3 weeks.
Suggested Grooming Equipment & Routine:
We use a Furminator on our dogs ears, legs and tail.
Followed by a soft bristle brush over their body.
Next we go over the whole body with a rubber grooming glove and finally buff them with a sheepskin grooming glove to really bring out their shine.
When we trim their nails we cut away excess with guillotine nail cutters and then file and grind the nails to a rounded shape for conformation with their P.A.T roles and to help prevent them catching and causing injury.
Recommended Grooming Equipment
Furminator
Guillotine Nail Clippers
Guillotine Nail Clippers
Guillotine Nail Clippers
Guillotine Nail Clippers
Guillotine Nail Clippers
Rubber Grooming Glove
Guillotine Nail Clippers
Sheepskin Grooming Mitten
Sheepskin Grooming Mitten
Sheepskin Grooming Mitten
Sheepskin Grooming Mitten
Soft Bristle Brush
Sheepskin Grooming Mitten
Soft Bristle Brush
Knots and Matts
A knot occurs where the coat is slightly tangled but it can be removed by careful brushing or combing out. Matts are formed when dead, loose undercoat hair becomes trapped by the top or guard hair, and starts to clump and twist together. If this matted coat becomes wet, the matting tightens and becomes almost solid. Do not attempt to remove matts unless trained in the procedure. Otherwise, refer to a professional groomer.
Care of Ears, Nails & Eyes
● Check your puppy’s ears to see if they are clean. You can remove excess dirt from the inside of the ear flap with damp cotton wool. Never probe inside the ear as you may perforate the eardrum. Any odour is usually a sign there is something wrong and your puppy should be taken to a vet
● If nails are excessively long remove the tip of the claw, taking care not to cut the quick or blood vessel
● If needed, clean the eyes with clean, damp cotton wool using a separate piece for each eye
External Parasites
A parasite is something that lives on another animal (the host) and gets its nourishment from the host. If left unchecked, the parasite causes disease or even death. The most common external parasites found on dogs are fleas and ticks.
● Fleas are very small, brownish black, extremely agile creatures. Excessive scratching and self- biting can be symptoms of flea infestation. Even if no fleas are to be seen the presence of shiny black specks like coal dust (flea excreta) is a sure indication of the presence of fleas (dab the specks with a damp piece of cotton wool and if it goes pink it confirms the presence of fleas; these are the remains of a digested blood meal from the host)
● Ticks are largish grey pea shaped parasites that can be 3-4mm in length. They attach themselves to other animals in order to have a blood meal. There is evidence that ticks are also a threat to human health as they can spread Lyme disease.
There is now a wide range of proprietary powders, sprays, ‘spot-on’ treatments and anti-flea and tick collars available. A dedicated pet care professional will be happy to advise on suitable products.
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Other Skin Problems
● Ringworm is a fungal disease, affecting the skin, nails and hair. Circular lesions appear causing hair loss, which become scaly and crusty. Ringworm is contagious and is a zoonotic condition (transmissible to humans)
● Dermatitis causes irritation, hair loss and inflammation and is a result of sensitivity to the environment
Alopecia can range from a thinning of hair to total hair loss and can be caused by a number of factors such as skin parasites, hormonal imbalance, infections, stress or poor nutrition. Seek veterinary advice for any skin problems
YouTube Videos
Teach Your Dog to File Their Own Nails - With a Greyhound!
Nail trimming can become a very stressful event for both dogs and owners, here's how to cheat the system and turn trimming nails into a game to bond you and your dog.
Improving Scratching Behaviours for Self Filing Front Nails - With an Iggy!
some quick tips and tricks on how to improve the behaviours needed for the self nail filing game.
How to Train Your Dog to File Their BACK Nails
ok so we can do the front nails, but what about the back nails? Here is the cheat sheet to back nail filing through games.
How to Make a Scratch Board For Your Dog (and an IGGY demo how to use it)
Easy how to on creating a scratch board for your dog to file their own nails.
Blogs
Beacon Dog Training - Training Cooperative Care
It is important to make grooming a positive thing for both you and your pup, it makes it a bonding experience and also somethign you are more likely to engage in regularly. Here is how to ensure your dog has a positive association with grooming.
Live Pant Play - Veterinary Complications of Matted Fur
Matted fur can be very uncomfortable and painful for your dog, this article explores how matts are formed and the complications which can arise if they are left unmanaged.