You come to Fon Jon Pet Care to get your dog groomed and looking great, but you can’t leave all of your dog’s grooming care to your groomer. The amount of time between grooming appointments just isn’t enough to keep your furry friend healthy. While our groomers here at Fon Jon Pet Care can take on the bulk of the grooming work, there’s some upkeep you’ll need to do yourself between visits. Following our dog grooming tips will help you keep your pup looking and feeling great until her next grooming session.
#1: Teach Your Dog to Enjoy Grooming
Because grooming is a necessary part of keeping dogs healthy, dog owners need to take the time to teach their dogs to feel comfortable being handled. Although this is especially important when you first get your dog, it’s important to keep handling your dog so she’ll continue to accept grooming.
If you can easily lift your dog, put her up on a countertop (so a grooming table won’t be strange to her), touch her feet, run a brush through her coat. All of this will help her get used to the experience of being groomed and she may even come to enjoy it. Once your dog is used to being groomed, it can be a very relaxing and enjoyable experience for her.
#2: Brush Your Dog’s Hair Between Grooming Appointments
Brushing removes dirt, dead hair, and unpleasant odors from your dog’s coat and skin. Brushing also distributes natural oils in your dog’s skin, making her coat shiny and healthy. Properly brushing your dog’s coat in between dog grooming appointments will make your appointments go more smoothly.
While short-haired dogs can benefit from brushing, it’s especially important for long-haired dogs. Regular brushing will keep her coat from becoming matted. If mats develop in your dog’s coat, she may begin to lick or bite them due to irritation. This licking and biting can cause skin infections. In addition to this, objects like grass seeds can end up in a dog’s matted coat and potentially burrow into the skin, causing abscesses. To avoid mats, follow up brushing with a metal comb to get down to your dog’s skin and brush out any mats that may be beginning to form. Remember to be gentle with the metal comb if your dog’s skin is sensitive.
All dogs benefit from regular brushing for a healthy and shiny coat, but the specific amount of brushing your dog needs will depend on her coat length and texture. Long-haired dogs should be brushed at least once a week or as often as every other day.
#3: Brush Your Dog’s Teeth Regularly
We offer teeth brushing services, but your dog’s teeth should be brushed at least 2-3 times a week, if not every day.
When brushing your dog’s teeth between visits, you should only use toothpaste made for dogs. Human toothpaste can be made with ingredients that are unsafe for dogs to ingest. There are toothbrushes that are specially made and angled to make brushing your dog’s teeth easier, but your dog may prefer a rubber finger brush. Either is fine to use, it just depends on your dog’s preference. Dental sprays and dental chews can also help you keep your dog’s teeth clean.
When brushing, you should remember to brush the gum line as well as her teeth, but be gentle, and remember – dogs can get all of the same dental issues we do as humans, but they can’t brush their own teeth!
#4: Trim Your Dog’s Nails
Some dog’s nails grow more quickly than others. Your friend’s dog may require a trim every 2 weeks, while your dog may not need a trim for up to 6 weeks. How often you need to trim your dog’s nails will just depend on how quickly your dog’s nails grow.
If you can hear your dog’s nails tapping on the hard surfaces of your house, it’s time for a trim! Letting your dog’s nails get too long can cause discomfort and affect their ability to walk and move around. If you need a guide for trimming your dog’s nails, you can find that here.
#5: Clean Your Dog’s Ears
Dogs need to have their ears cleaned at least on a monthly basis. However, if your dog has long or heavy ears that flop over her ear canal, you’ll need to clean her ears more frequently to avoid infections. It’s also recommended that you clean your dog’s ears every time they swim.
Your vet can recommend a gentle cleaner that is safe to use to clean their ears. You can also use a cotton ball wet with a cleansing solution to clean the outer area of the ear first, working your way in toward the inner area. You can also use cotton swabs to clean the ear folds on the outer portion of the ear flaps, but avoid using them inside the ear canal.
Get a more detailed guide for cleaning your dog’s ears here.
#6: Check Your Dog’s Skin While Grooming
Last but not least when it comes to dog grooming tips, you should make sure to check your dog’s skin every time you groom her at home. Allergic skin diseases are common for dogs, and they can cause itchiness that leads to scratching, chewing, or licking their skin. Your dog can also get external parasites like fleas, ticks, lice, and mites that can transfer diseases. This is why it’s important that you should check your dog’s skin every time you groom her.
You can do this by running your fingers through your dog’s coat, feeling her skin for any unusual lumps or bumps. Doing this regularly will also familiarize you with your dog’s skin so it’ll become easy to detect anything unusual. You can also part your dog’s coat to look for sores, redness, rashes, bald spots, or evidence of parasitic infestations. This will help you catch any issues early, stopping them before they become serious.
Get the Best Dog Grooming in San Diego at Fon Jon Pet Care!
At Fon Jon Pet Care, you can get top-quality dog grooming services right here in San Diego County! Whether you’re looking for a nail trim, teeth brushing, basic bath, or a full spa day, we’re here to help you. Dog grooming isn’t always easy, so we’re here to help you make sure that your pup is healthy and happy. You can see all of our grooming services and packages here on our website.
Trust your dog to a pet care facility with more than 70 years of experience providing top-quality boarding, daycare, and training in San Diego County. Visit our website or call us at (858) 490-2117 to get more information about all of our services. You can also make an appointment online!
