Dog Allergies and Treatments

Grooming your new dog so you can stay allergy free

Regular brushing helps eliminate  tangles and mats and helps your dog get accustomed to being handled. It  also gives you the opportunity to check for ticks and fleas, lesions,  lumps and changes in his skin and coat. Pet-supply stores and catalogs  sell a wide array of brushes for different coats and conditions.

Slicker brushes have a bed of fine, closely spaced wires  that usually are hooked or bent; they're good all-purpose brushes for  removing mats, loose hair and debris.

Pin brushes have a bed of widely spaced tines that look  like straight pins. The tines sometimes are tipped with plastic. Pin brushes  are also good for removing tangles but can be uncomfortable for grooming  temperature. dogs.

Bristle brushes and metal combs are used in the final grooming  step for longhaired dogs, leaving their hair sleek, smooth and shiny.  A bristle brush may be the only brush you'll need for a short haired dog.

Begin the brushing process with a slicker or pin brush to  remove dead hair, debris and tangles. For breeds with long and very thick  coats, you should groom with both brushes, using the slicker brush first.

For tough tangles, gently comb or brush small sections at  a time, giving yourself and your dog a break every few minutes. Be careful  not to tug at or tear the hair.

After the coat is smooth, give your dog a final brushing  with a bristle brush (for short haired dogs) or a comb (for longhaired  dogs). Give plenty of praise during the brushing process and reward your  dog with a treat when you're finished.

Bath time is much easier  after you’ve brushed your dog and have gotten all the tangles and mats out. Place your dog in in the bathtub with a nonskid  surface. Buy an attachment for your shower that will allow you to spray water over your dog like they use at the groomers avoiding the head.  The head will be washed last and will help you out because your dog won’t shake as much and get you wet!

Soap your dog's body with a dog shampoo, then massage the  soap into a lather, talking to your dog and praising him as you work.  When his body is lathered, move to his head and apply a baby shampoo so that if you get any soap in his eyes it won’t hurt.

Rinse and dry your dog's head, then rinse his body. When  the water runs clear, rinse one more time.

Thoroughly dry your dog with towels. If your dog has healthy  skin, you can dry him further with a hair dryer set on low or warm temperature.

Bathe smaller dogs such as poodles and schnauzers every  two or three weeks, except in the winter when once a month probably will  do. Larger pets need bathing several times a year. Of course, always wash  a pet when it is dirty or smells, regardless of when it was last bathed.

Proper foot care will keep your  doggie dancing and help prevent unnecessary pain and infection later on.  Most dogs don't like to have their feet handled.  In fact they hate it!

Remove mats of hair from between the toes and pads of dogs with hairy feet; if ignored, the mats can become as hard as rocks. Then, using scissors, trim the hair between the pads and between the toes so it is level with the dog's foot.

Regular exercise on a hard surface may keep a dog's nails  worn down. However, many dogs live indoors and their walks are just not enough to keep those nail at a length that they should be.  You will need to have their nails clipped  every few weeks. If your dog has dew claws (the smaller claw on the back  of each front leg, they will need clipping too. If  the nails or dew claws are allowed to grow, they may curl inward into the  skin and cause pain and even an infection.

Use nail clippers designed specifically for dogs. One type,  known as the guillotine style, is not a good choice. The type works like  a pair of scissors is much better. I have used both and the scissors type is much better type & puts less pressure on the nail and is more  comfortable for the dog. Make sure the blades are sharp.

Trim only the "hook" end of the nail. Clipping  a nail to short can be painful and may cause bleeding. Frequent trimming  of a small amount of nail always is better than waiting until the nail  is long. Never trim into the quick -- the live portion of the nail.  If your dogs nail are black then trim carefully and note how much you’ve cut off the nail.  then cut the other nails being careful not to cut too much.  Imagine the torture of having your nails pulled off by some crazy person.  Now imagine that pain when you clip your dogs nails too short and they bleed.