4 Tools To Groom Your Small Dog At Home

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When you are thinking of small dogs, one of the first things you might think about is that they’re fairly low maintenance and need very little grooming. While it’s certainly true that some breeds need less grooming, the other breeds need routine grooming for both ticks and fleas. Not to mention any small dog needs the occasional bath and their grooming procedures.

Of course, you can pass this responsibility over to a professional dog groomer who’ll look after all this for you. However, the fees can be hefty for each session. It’s for this reason why some owners will be patient and decide to groom their dog themselves, but that comes with its own challenges. With this in mind, we’ve got some tools to get you started and to help you with making the grooming process as seamless as possible.

The first tool is combs and brushes. Of course, dogs with a shorter coat will not have to worry about this, but for those with longer hair, you’ll need to brush it regularly. With longer hair comes matting and with that the hair serves as a mat, trapping dirt and moisture which can turn into skin infections later. Generally speaking, the slicker the brush is the better it’ll be. It’ll help in untangling knots. For combs, you want a rubber or currycomb which will eliminate dead skin and fix any tangles brushes left behind.

The second tool is something you might not have thought of: cotton swabs and cotton balls. While we use cotton swabs for our ears, you don’t want to use them on your dog or else you risk pushing dirt deeper into their ear. Instead, use cotton swabs to look after your dog’s cute face as they help in cleaning out face wrinkles. Cotton balls are better for your dog’s ear for the same reasons why we use cotton swabs on our ears. Just make sure that the cotton ball is dipped in ear cleaning solution before and you use new ones for each ear. You can also use cotton balls to wipe up and eliminate any discharge on your dog’s face. Gently and briskly wipe around the eyes with the cotton ball. Like the ears, use a fresh cotton ball for each eye.

The third tool to look at is dog shampoo. A lot of beginners initially think when it’s bath time for dogs, they can get away with using their shampoo. The reality is that human shampoo is highly acidic to a dog and can damage their skin and thus their coat. Now before you start groaning about it, dog shampoo is substantially cheaper to buy so if your dog is someone that loves to run around and get dirty, then it’s not going to break your wallet. Conditioner would also be a great idea as well in brushing out tangles and leaving coats healthier too. There are dog conditioners as well which you should use in those cases.

The last tool we’ll be covering is one that is often neglected: the teeth. Just like our own teeth, it’s an important step in grooming, but especially for small dogs due to their small mouths. In order to prevent tartar and plaque buildup, it’s advised to do this on a daily basis. It seems excessive, but not when you consider unhealthy dog teeth can lead to heart, liver, and kidney diseases for them. Naturally, there are toothbrushes and toothpaste designed for dogs and it’s ideal to go this route. A human toothbrush on a dog is far more painful especially when you get to the back teeth. Furthermore human toothpaste is meant to be spat out which dogs can’t do so their toothpaste is designed specifically for swallowing in mind and won’t harm them.

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