Dog Owner Information

Grooming Your Dog

Grooming Your Dog Regular grooming does more than keep your pet looking its handsome best. It also protects your pet's health. As you groom your pet, become familiar with its distinctive characteristics. By learning what is normal for your pet, you will be able to observe changes in its appearance that may be warning signs of potential health problems. If diagnosed and treated promptly, minor problems can usually be prevented from developing into serious conditions.

Look at your pet's eyes. They should be clear and bright with no excessive tearing or mucus discharge. Red, inflamed or cloudy eyes or excessive tearing are indications of possible infection or eye injury. Because eyes are very delicate organs, any injury should receive prompt veterinary attention.

Clean teeth and healthy gums are essential to your pet's general health. Always check for strong breath odour, swollen gums and excessive tartar on the teeth. Swollen gums may look bright pink or red and be sensitive to touch. Tartar build-up is indicated by teeth that are yellow to brown. If you see evidence of dental problems, consult your veterinarian. Your veterinarian can show you how to brush your pet's teeth. Yearly teeth cleaning by a veterinarian is also recommended for pets prone to tartar build-up.

Signs of an ear infection include ears that are inflamed or have a strong odour. The pet may also repeatedly shake its head or scratch its ears. Dogs with thick, long ears tend to be susceptible to ear problems. If you have questions about the appropriate method for cleaning your pet's ears, or how to observe warning signs of ear problems, consult your veterinarian.

As you groom your pet to remove dead hair, dirt and dead skin flakes, take the time to examine its body. Look for unusual lumps under the skin, rashes, bald spots, sores, dull or flaky skin. These are potential warning signs that may warrant a trip to your veterinarian.

Brushing and combing your cat's hair coat regularly removes loose and dead hair before it can be ingested by your cat during self-grooming. This helps minimize the formation of hairballs and prevents your cat from vomiting on your favourite bedspread or carpet. Excessive accumulation of hairballs, particularly in older cats, may cause impactions in the gastrointestinal tract.

Grooming is the time to check for fleas or other external parasites. Part your pet's hair to the skin and examine your pet from head to tail. Fleas are tiny and not always easily seen, especially on longhaired pets. However, you will know if fleas are present if you observe black specs which are flea droppings.

When you groom your pet, look for cuts, punctures or the presence of foreign objects in its foot pads. During winter months, snow, ice, salt or other chemical de-ices as well as mud can injure paws. They should be cleaned to remove salt and mud particles and the pads treated for cuts from sharp edges of ice. Clean with soap and water and apply an antiseptic. During summer months, when your pet romps or roams outside, inspect its paws for thorns which should carefully be removed with tweezers. Then apply an antiseptic.

Cuts on a cat should be kept meticulously clean. Cats who spend considerable time outdoors tend to be prone to abscesses. A small cut may appear to be healed, but in fact, remains infected. A pus pocket gradually forms and enlarges. It becomes warm, swollen and extremely painful to the touch. A cat who has an abscess should be seen by a veterinarian. With a high level of bacterial toxins, the potential for tissue damage or even death exists.

Some pet owners say they groom their pet regularly, but their pet's hair coat remains dry and brittle. This condition may result from low humidity, particularly for pets who are housed indoors. Frequent bathing may also be the cause of a dry hair coat. Under normal circumstances, bathing a cat is not necessary. However, cats who spend a considerable amount of time outdo ors and sometimes get substances on their hair coat may require baths on occasion. Dogs should be bathed when they look dirty and/or have a strong doggy odour. Show cats and dogs may require more frequent bathing.

If a dry, brittle hair coat persists or if your pet experiences excessive shedding or scratching, consult your veterinarian.

Diet also affects a pet's skin and hair coat. Excessive feeding of table scraps, greater than 10 percent of the pet's total daily diet, or extended feeding of imbalanced pet foods (those that say "for intermittent feeding only" on the label) may result in a poor hair coat. Feeding a nutritionally complete and balanced diet that has undergone animal feeding trials is your best assurance of a diet that promotes a healthy hair coat.

A final thought
Ideally, grooming should begin when your pet is a puppy or a kitten. They will become accustomed to regular grooming, and it's easy for you to establish a grooming routine including a health check. You will also find that grooming can strengthen the bond between you and your pet