How Often Should My Dog be Groomed?
The question most often asked of dog groomers is, “How often should my dog be groomed?” The answer depends entirely on your pet. The breed, length of hair, coat-texture and environment all impact the frequency required. Other contributing factors include: the amount of shedding; if pet parents brush their pup’s coat; and how often a pet parent brushes the pup’s coat.
Desensitization
Firstly, puppies require a bit of unique attention. To prepare them for grooming touch a puppies’ paws and brush their coats often. The pup will become accustomed to being groomed and the process will be smooth when grooming starts. Desensitization is the name of this process.
Hair length and type
If your pup has short hair, he will require a bath periodically. Occasional brushing might help reduce any shedding. Low-shed services might also benefit them. Short hair pups include Boston Terrier, Chihuahua, French Bulldog, Boxer, and Pugs
If your pet is short-haired double-coated, she will need to be groomed quarterly to eliminate the dead undercoat. Otherwise, hair will end up covering your floor.
Some examples of the long-haired double-coated breeds include the Akita, Alaskan Husky, Shiba Inu and Siberian Husky. If your pup’s coat is of this type, he might need to be only groomed on his feet, belly, legs, sanitary area and ears. Problem areas include the back end and behind the ears. Have a professional remove any mats in these areas.
Those with an especially dense undercoat need to be groomed with the change of the seasons. In other words, at least every three months. Otherwise, the dense undercoat can cause extreme matting. Never have your pup shaved to remove the knots. Doing so will result in unnatural exposure of the skin and your pup will be prone to sunburn. Having your dog groomed at the correct frequency is important.
Silky dog hair is like human hair and will grow continuously. Breeds with silky coats include Afghan Hound, Chinese Crested (half silk and half hairless), Cocker Spaniel, Irish (or Red) Setter, Silky Terrier and Yorkshire Terrier. These dogs should be brushed often and depending on how long the coat is, frequent grooming is a must. For hair longer than one inch, at least every six weeks is acceptable.
Eight to twelve weeks is fine for terriers who have kept their wiry coats. They are not as likely to mat as silky or curly coats. Affenpinscher, Border Terrier, Brussels Griffon, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Irish Terrier, Otterhound, Scottish Terrier, and the appropriately named Wire-haired Fox terrier are examples of wiry coat breeds
Dogs with curls and wavy coats these are prone to matting and must be brushed two times per week if not more. Hair beyond one inch in length must be brushed each day.
Other factors to consider
Other considerations for knowing how often your pup should be groomed are nail length and ear cleaning. Nails need to be checked monthly in case they need trimming. Pups that usually play outside and have high activity levels rarely need it. However, dogs who spend most of their time indoors will need nail grinding or trimming every month. Most dogs required ear-cleaning about once per month. The pets’ ear wax production, breed, coat, age and environment can all have an effect. Check the ears at least once per week. If they are healthy, then they will have a light pink color with little to no build-up. If they are unhealthy, they will appear red, inflamed, and/or produce bad odor or crust.
Having your dog groomed will help maintain a healthy coat while paying attention to nails and ears will help prevent infections and pain. And, your dog will look and smell great!
This guest article was written by our friend Samantha Walstra of Guardian Grooming Mobile Pet Spa. Contact her today for your pet grooming needs.
To learn more about how Top Dog Pet Sitters can help you and your pets, check out our Services page. To reach us directly, use the form on our Contact page, or call us at (214) 244-1629.