Brushing your Golden Retriever regularly will help prevent shedding (especially important if you have allergies) and matting of his fur. Matting is not only unattractive, but it’s uncomfortable for your dog as well. Brushing also helps you remove burs and other foreign matter that could threaten his health. Regular grooming will help maintain a shiny, healthy coat and enhance your Golden Retriever’s quality of life.
Grooming your Golden Retriever is a time-consuming process. Grooming should be done at least once, preferably twice, ever week. You can expect to spend about one-half an hour in the grooming process. The first step in the grooming process is a good brushing. Brush the entire body, from head to tail. When you’ve finished brushing, you can use a comb to remove any remaining loose hair and help distribute oils evenly throughout your Golden Retriever’s coat. While you’re accomplishing hair removal, you can also inspect your pet’s roots and skin for ticks and fleas or skin irritations. This will also be a good time to inspect his ears to be sure they’re clean and healthy and trim his nails.
You should give your Golden Retriever regular baths, too. Though it’s a little complicated, the path will keep his coat and skin in good condition and reduce your exposure to allergens. After brushing to get rid of tangles and loose hair, bathe your Golden Retriever with a shampoo designed specifically for dogs. Human shampoos are too harsh for a dog’s sensitive skin. You’ll find that two baths a month will be sufficient to maintain your Golden’s coat. If you do it consistently, your Golden Retriever’s coat will be easier to brush and clean.
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Step By Step Instructions For Bathing Your Poodle
How To Bathe Your Poodle
1. Only after completing the brushing should you move on to the bath. This is so because if the Poodle coat is not tangle-free, the accumulated dirt will not shampoo out and any mats will be even harder to remove.
2. Secure a hose to the bathtub faucet so that ample free-flowing water is available at all times.
3. Have all your necessary supplies close at hand, for once you have started the bath you should remain by the Poodle side to reassure him and to make sure he does not jump out of the tub. A dog shampoo (preferably “tearless”), sponge, brush, and towel will be needed.
4. Until you are adept at giving proper baths to your pet, place cotton plugs in your dog’s ears to avoid any water getting into the ear canal.
5. The dog must be thoroughly soaked with warm water before he is soaped. Once you have worked the water down to his skin, soap and cleanse the coat along the spine; move next to the legs and the underside.
6. Be especially careful when cleaning the head and ears to avoid direct contact with the sensitive areas. Unless you have a special “no tear” shampoo, it would be wise to apply several drops of mineral oil into the dog’s eyes to avoid stinging.
7. Since a dog’s coat naturally repels water, you must actively massage the shampoo down through the layers to the skin. Rub vigorously and work the shampoo into a lather. Depending on the condition of the coat, you may have to shampoo the dog twice to get out all accumulated dirt and oil.
8. It is imperative that all traces of soap be removed from the coat after the bath. Several rinses with warm water, again working your fingers down to the skin, will ensure that no soapy residue will remain on the skin to cause irritation.
9. Once you are satisfied that all soap has been washed out, rinse him once more for good measure!
10. Squeeze as much water as possible from the coat before you lift him out of the tub. This will considerably shorten the drying time. Rub him briskly with a towel to blot up as much excess water as possible and to prevent him from getting a chill. If you have an enclosed area such as a drying cage, put him in and direct your hot air blower over him. You can leave him in the cage until he is dry, and then brush him to make sure he is dry down to the skin. However, if you have a show dog you can leave him in the cage only until he is partially dry, and then proceed to “fluff” dry him by brushing the coat while having the stream of air directed at your work area.
This produces the powder puff look for the Poodle needed for competition.
Grooming Your Golden Retriever
Grooming your Golden Retriever is a never ending process. The entire process should be down once or twice a week, and will take you around a ½ an hour of time. Brushing your dog while he is shedding will help to control shedding quite a bit. While outside, if your Golden Retriever manages to get burs or other defects in his hair, you should instantly take a few moments of your time and get the burs or other matter out of his coat.
When you groom your pet, you should always start with a good brushing. Brush his entire body, then once you have finished brushing you can switch to a comb to get out any loose hair that remains in the coat. While you are getting out the hair, you can also inspect your pet for ticks, fleas, and other types of skin ailments. If you wish, you can also check his ears and trim his nails as well.
Bathing your Golden is essential to grooming, and can be somewhat complicated. Before you attempt to give him a bath, you should always brush him first, to get rid of tangles. During shampooing, you should always use shampoos that are specifically for dogs, since human shampoo can dry a dog’s skin out. You don’t need to bathe your dog often, once every other week is good enough. If you properly maintain your Golden’s coat, you’ll find it’s much easier to clean.
To prevent matting, which is very common with Golden Retrievers, you should always make sure that you brush your pet on a daily basis. Metal combs and brushes work extremely well, and will help you to get a great deal of the hair out. Although some people choose to use scissors and cut the mats, you can easily injure your Golden Retriever if he happens to move or jerk. Scissors aren’t recommended, as brushing and proper bathing will help to prevent matting of the hair better than anything else.
When you cut your dogs nails, you should trim them a great deal, all the while avoiding going down into the quick. You should never let the nails of your Golden Retriever get too long, as long nails can easily take the shape of the dog’s foot, resulting in a splay. Therefore, you should always check your Golden Retriever’s nails and trim them every few weeks. If you trim them just right, you’ll have at least 2 weeks before they need to be trimmed again. If you do happen to trim the nails past the quick, bleeding will occur. To stop the bleeding, always keep some styptic powder on hand to make sure that you are prepared if you do make a mistake.
With other types of grooming, you should also make sure that you clean your Golden’s ears as well. They can get ear infections quite easily, if you don’t clean their ears on a regular basis. To get the best results and protect your pet from ear infections, you should clean his ears once a week using a quality cleansing solution. This way, you can rest assured that your Golden Retriever has healthy ears.
Grooming is an essential aspect to the health of every Golden Retriever. All it takes is a little bit of time from your day to groom your pet and keep him healthy. If you don’t have the time to groom your Golden, you can always take him to a professional. Whether you do it yourself or take your Golden Retriever to a pro – grooming is something that simply must be done.