Grooming advice for dogs [How to groom, Best haircuts & Grooming products]

If you’re tired of paying to have your dog groomed every few weeks, I have good news for you. With a little of patience and some good advice, you can groom your dog yourself. You will also need the right products and tools to make it as simple and easy as the groomers do.

Why Is Grooming Important?

We all feel our best when we look good, whether we are humans, cats, dogs or birds. It's important to keep up with our pets appearances for several reasons: it helps to keep an eye on any skin issues that our pets might have, it helps avoid hairballs for the particularly furry dogs, and also keeps loose hair from taking over your house. Grooming also includes nail trims for dogs, which keeps their nails healthy and short enough that they can walk comfortably on any surface without a problem.

Not trimming their nails can lead to poor posture, infections, and more destruction of your floors than you’re counting on.

How to choose the best hair cut:

When it comes to choosing the best haircut for your dog, you have to look at the type of dog you have. If you have a poodle, it's going to need a different type of haircut then an Alaskan malamute. I highly recommend doing some research on the types of haircuts that you're kind of dog can get. If your dog is a mixed breed, then I recommend going with whichever breed they look like more, unless they have a different kind of fur.

Look at the show dogs of your dog’s breed. Show dogs are supposed to be the prime example of what your dogs freed should look like, so take that into account when you're choosing that haircut for them.

If you have a good relationship with your groomer, ask your groomer to show you how they do it. This can help you get a handle on the basics of grooming your dog. It can also help you to see how your dog reacts to certain things. Some dogs are skittish about having clippers in their faces, while others hate having their nails trimmed. Knowing your dogs needs will help you make grooming simpler and easier on both of you. From there, you can go on Youtube and watch other groomers’ techniques to make your work easier.

Look at problem areas for your dog - does it get matted on his legs or behind his ears? Does poop get stuck to the fur on its behind? Does the hair hang in its eyes? If any of these are problems for your dog, you’ll want to make sure that the haircut you choose works with those areas to make your dog as happy and pretty as can be!

How to choose the best grooming products:

You will need to buy a specific shampoo and conditioner for your dog. While it might be tempting to use human shampoo, that would not be a good choice. Human shampoo is designed for human hair which is very different than dog fur. Human shampoo has  a lot of chemicals that could do a lot of harm to your dog’s fur and skin.

Different dogs have different needs. If your dog has sensitive skin, you should that's full of natural moisturizing ingredients like oatmeal, honey and vitamin E. if you have a dog who tends to smell, there are options for deodorizing shampoos as well. If your dog is averse to water, there are waterless shampoos and wipes, but those are not great for using before you groom your dog.

Whichever kind of shampoo you choose you should avoid artificial fragrances and dyes. If you want something scented aim for natural fragrances like chamomile or citrus. If you can, keep your dog shampoo as natural and simple as possible. The addition of things like vitamins and herbal proteins can help your dog look as great as you know they are on the inside. If you notice any changes in your dog’s hair that don't look right to you, talk to your veterinarian to make sure that there isn't an allergy.

Styptic Powder is helpful when trimming nails because it helps stop the bleeding quickly and painlessly. You can pick up styptic powder pretty much anywhere that sells animal products

Blade Coolant is important because of the speed that your clippers will be going. The blade that is cutting your dogs hair heats up, sometimes very quickly. Blade coolant allows you to keep cutting a little bit longer without risking burning your pet’s skin while you work.

However, blade coolant can only do so much. If you find your clipper blades are heating up too quickly, it would be worth your time to buy a few extra blades to make sure that you won’t harm your dog while you trim its fur.

How to Choose The Right Grooming Tools:

Clippers are one of the most important tools that you can have for grooming your dog. However, you cannot use clippers designed for humans on dog fur. Human hair clippers do not go as fast, nor are the blades set up properly to actually work well on dog fur. This leads to more trouble than it’s worth. There are several brands of dog clippers that have a reputation for working well and being good quality. What you want to look for depends on the kind of dog you have.

If your dog tends to get mats easily, you may want to choose something with more than one speed so that you can get rid of those as quickly as possible. The real thing you have to look for when you're looking at tools are the clipper blades an attachment combs.

Clipper blades and attachment combs are what help you get the look that you want for your dog. An easy way to find what you're looking for is to ask your groomer what blade sizes they use and to go from there. Attachment combs help with longer-furred dogs, allowing the clipper to get to the base of the hair or the undercoat.

You will want a pair of sharp scissors designed for trimming hair. Dull scissors will cause more problems than they're worth, and are more likely to cause slippage while you’re working.

Nail Trimmers are the other most important tool you need when grooming your dog. There are three types of nail clippers for dogs: scissor clippers, guillotine clippers and grinders.

Scissor clippers are designed for larger dogs that require a little bit more force to trim through their nails, and work like scissors. Guillotine clippers, as their name suggests, work by placing the dogs nail into a hole and squeezing. This slices off the end of the nail. However, these don't tend to work well on larger dogs nails simply because of their size. If you have a dog who is anxious about having their nails trimmed, a grinder tool maybe your best bet. It works like a large, motorized nail file. However, you may have to get your pet used to the vibrations.

When it comes to finding the right tools and the right products, it comes down to personal choice and your dogs needs. When you're getting ready to groom your dog, have the treats at the ready to help make it more fun for your pet. If you have any questions, most groomers and veterinarians are willing to answer them for you.