Puppy Grooming - Your Online Source for Tips on Puppy Grooming
Some Helpful Puppy Grooming Tips for You
Puppy grooming can be quite an experience, whether you're a professional, or someone who wants to groom your first puppy. You need to learn how to take care of his skin, coat, teeth and nails.
Don't be afraid to start right in on gentle puppy grooming with your new friend. Brushing is not too rough on a puppy's coat – but if you wait until he's matted, then combing and pulling and cutting will make him uncomfortable, and less willing to participate in the grooming experience. There are also gentle puppy shampoos you can use, and it does not harm a pup's coat to be washed even when he is young. It used to be that dog owners were advised not to bathe young puppies, but with the gentle shampoo, you can wash him whenever he gets dirty.
Puppies generally like splashing about in the bath, which can be your first step in proper puppy grooming. Before the splash games begin, be sure to work out any tangles or knots from the pup's fur with your fingers. And brush him out to remove burrs and dead hair. Then wet the coat down to the skin, and shampoo and rinse as you do with your hair. Be sure to rinse him off well, so no shampoo remains.
After you're done rinsing, dry your pup off with a series of towels. If he doesn't mind a hair dryer, that can speed up the job, but be sure to use the cool setting, not warm or hot. Make sure he's thoroughly dry, especially when the weather is cold, before you let him go outside.
Brushing is the next step in puppy grooming. Although he may be wiggly, pups usually enjoy the brushing; it feels good and stimulates oil glands. Get your pup used to brushing now, while he's young, and then everything else will be an extension of this basic grooming.
Puppies often come with their nails already trimmed, but if you weren't fortunate enough to have this done already, you will need to address your pup's nails. They can be very sharp – much sharper than an adult dog's nails generally get. Thus, they can make a mess of your furniture, just like a cat might. Be sure when you clip nails to use a safety clipper, which has a guard so that you can't clip his nails too short. And never clip into the “quick”, which is the part of claws closest to the skin, because that's where the claw gets its blood supply. Check his claws often, to make sure they haven't grown long again.
Taking care in each step of your puppy grooming will teach your friend that this is nothing to be worried about. Soon he'll be taking all his regular groomings in stride.