Dog Grooming DIY

There are many different brushes out there. Most are familiar with the wire brush but this is not the best way to groom your dog. Yes your dog may like the wire brush but consider it a finish brush . It is a brush thought that will dog owners would have. If you dog has a dense undercoat consider A Furminator. This is the best brush for removing dense or thick undercoat. This is great when a dog blows its coat at the end of the season. It removes so much undercoat that its best to do it outside or in the garage. When your are finished there is so much hair that it looks like you may have killed a small animal. If in the yard you can rake it up or better yet let the birds pick it up for their nests. If in the garage a shop vac will take care of it. With our yellow lab I usually have to use this about 2-3 times a week from April though June just to to keep the hair under control in our house. After that about once a week until fall sets in.

Another great brush is a Zoom Groom. It looks useless but is great for medium to long hair dogs. Because my lab has a very unusual coat I use this too and it is great for removing undercoat ant other loose hair. I tried it on a friends Golden Retriever and Great Pyrenees and it did a fantastic job of removing loose hair that a wire brush or rake would miss. At under ten bucks it is well worth it.

Cutting a dogs nails is not that difficult. But I must state never do this without seeing an expert or groomer show you how to cut nails first as you can cause your dog some serious pain an bleeding. I am so adamant about this that I will not attempt to explain it here. Just take your dog in for a nail clipping and ask questions and observe. you should not have to pay more than 10 bucks to have your dogs nails clipped.

How often your dogs nails should be clipped will be determined on the breed but more likely how active the dog is. If your dog is on soft surfaces, carpet or grass then nail clipping will be required than a dog that spends its time daily on concrete or asphalt surfaces.

After cutting a dogs nails over the years I soon discovered there was a better way. The best way to clip a dogs nails is to use a rotary tool or a Dremel. The sanding disk works best and 60 grit at rpm's of 3000 to 5000 work best. Never use a grinding disk it heats up too quick.

The reason this works better than nail clippers is that it does not break the nail and the potential for clipping the quick is diminished.

If you do get near the quick or hit it is less likely to bleed as much.

Filling or using a rotary tool also gives a less jagged finish or a rounder nail that is less likely to scratch hard wood floors.

Never spend more than 3 seconds a nail then move on to the next then you can always come back.

It is less painful for a dog because you are not pinching the nail and on large breeds it is just a better method for clipping a dogs nails.

If you use this advice use at your own risk but there are kits out there that are made specifically for this but if you already have a rotary tool you can start with that.

If you would like more information with pictures about how to clip a dogs nails using a rotary tool >>> How I Dremel Dog Nails

Dog food can have an effect on how healthy a dogs coat is. Cheap dog foods or an unbalanced diet can make a coat look dull and difficult to brush. Always consider a premium food it will help a dogs coat look shinny and it will be stranger and more elastic.

Many people due to the recent dog food recalls and deaths due to certain brands of dog food have resorted to home made dog food.

If you want to make your do a healthy dog, extend it's life and reduce health problems consider Dog Food Secrets