Popular Breeds With Long Hair/Double Coat
Bathing and Haircuts
As we said, dogs are unique and their coats can vary even within breeds. Here are the most common types of coats. These will give you the basics of what your dog needs for bathing and haircuts.
It may seem obvious but short-haired dogs have fewer grooming needs that long-haired dogs. Short-haired dogs do not need to have their hair cut. The only exception may be if there is a medical need such as a surgical procedure.
Short-haired dogs only need occasional baths but should still be brushed regularly. Dogs with oilier skin types should get a bath in a tub about every 4 to 6 weeks, otherwise they can go about every 6 to 12 weeks between baths.
Regular brushing will remove debris, distribute oils and keep your dog’s skin and coat healthy.While your short-haired dogs are shedding, run a rubber brush or curry-type brush over their coat.
Example breeds: Boxer, Dachshund, Dalmatian, Great Dane, Greyhound, Miniature Pinscher, Weimaraner
Short-haired dogs with a double coat typically shed seasonally. Grooming them about 4 times per year will help pull out the dead undercoat and will allow your dog’s skin to breathe without losing the function of insulation. This will also leave your floors a bit less hairy.
Example breeds: Beagles, Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd
Grooming Dogs With Curly & Wavy Coats
These breeds are the most likely to mat. Any hair longer than half an inch should be brushed at least twice a week, and hair longer than an inch should be brushed daily. Most groomers recommend keeping curly and wavy hair at a maximum length of two inches.
These dogs require professional grooming every four to six weeks to prevent severe matting. Very curly dogs like Poodles should be brushed at least three times a week, if not daily. As with other long-haired breeds, do not attempt to remove mats yourself.
How to groom a short haired dog – dog grooming demonstration
Dogs grooming needs depend on a number of different factors, including its breed, coat type, age, and other variables. For example, a long-haired dog would require more frequent grooming than a short-haired dog. But regardless of that, you have a dog grooming schedule in place to make sure you maintain your dog’s overall health and wellness. Your dog grooming scheduling should be made keeping in mind your dog’s breed and its current health. Following are some of the specifics which will help you get a better idea of what a good dog grooming schedule looks like:
Brushing is done for a number of different reasons – to remove dead hair from the coat, to remove dirt and debris from the coat, to reduce shedding in the home (and your clothes) by removing loose pet hair from the coat, and lastly for stimulating oil production to keep the dog’s coat healthy.
Every dog should at least be brushed once a week to make sure its coat maintains a healthy appearance. Working dogs, long-haired dogs and dogs prone to matting of the coat should be brushed more frequently.
Ideally, you should brush your dog’s teeth daily. This will prevent plaque buildup which contributes to poor health and bad breath. At the bare minimum, you must be brushing your dog’s teeth three times a week and supplementing with dental toys and raw bones to prevent plaque buildup.
Bathing is something that dog owners frequently do far too much. Veterinarians explain why bathing a dog too frequently can be unhealthy for canines. Basically, a dog’s skin health is dependent upon a delicate balance of oil produced by the skin and over-bathing can end up depleting these oils and cause him to feel itchy and uncomfortable.
Ideally, a dog should be bathed once in 2-3 months or twice a year. However, do keep in mind that bathing and rinsing your dog off are two different things. You can rinse the mud off your dog without bathing him using shampoo. Make sure to use a canine-friendly shampoo which will help to maintain a healthy balance of necessary oils on the skin. Also, it’s really important that you don’t ever use human shampoo on your dog as it will strip the oils from your dog’s coat and leave it dull and dry.
Dogs, typically, need their nails trimmed once every three to eight weeks. This number varies as a result of your dog’s breed and activity. It’s common to cut your dog’s nails too short when trimming them. Thus, it’s important to trim nails slowly and to keep styptic powder on hand to control any bleeding when the nail quick is clipped.
This process is not required for most of the dogs. Dog ears have a way of maintaining health and thus introducing any foreign cleaners into the ears can disturb this natural balance. However, for some dogs, particularly longer eared dogs or dogs prone to swimming, ear health is an important part of grooming.
Just like people, not all dogs need their coat clipped, those dogs that do need their coat clipped, need it clipped at different times depending on many factors. Typically, the best way to determine how often to get your dog’s coat clipped is by visually inspecting his hair/fur.
Removing the undercoat is very important not only for the comfort of your dog but also for the amount of hair bunnies floating around your home, all winter weather dogs with thick coats need furmination- huskies, labs, shepherds and the like with thick coats can benefit form furminating especially during seasonal changes here in Florida.
VIP offers all of the above services, call today to book your grooming and bathing care appointment.