How To Groom Dogs With Long Coat
When your fur baby is a dog with long, luscious hair, it becomes a difficult task to keep up with the daily maintenance and yes, the coat of a long haired dog does require regular care. Some adventurous dogs love playing around which then causes even more knots in their coats, compelling you to spend additional time brushing their mane every day. To keep your pooch looking and feeling his best, regular trips to the groomer’s will need to be supplemented by a rigorous home-grooming regime. Knowing how to properly groom your long-coated dog and having the right grooming equipment makes the process easier. Read on to find out how-
The Grooming Process:
Brushing:
Untangling a matted coat is challenging and painful for the dog, hence catching the knots before they mat too much is critical. To successfully brush out those knots, maintain the following routine- First, only run your fingers through his mane to loosen the matted hair. Next, use a pinhead brush to comb through and untangle the hair, ensuring extra care in sensitive areas. Rather than brushing all at once, do it in sections. Focus on areas with thicker fur that would require thorough brushing. You can apply a mist or spray conditioner or a detangling serum on each layer to help ease the process. When brushing out knots, hold the hair close to the skin to avoid pulling and tugging. As you brush down the back of your dog, make sure to lift up the top layer of their coat to brush through the hair underneath working from the roots to the tips. Use a slicker brush as well, if you have a pooch who sheds a lot.This is important because loose fur also causes knots.
Bathing:
It’s important to know how to give your pooch a bath correctly. Using proper shampoo and the correct method, you can provide your dog with a thorough yet calming bath. Let’s learn the procedure-
First of all, gather everything you need for the bath so it's readily accessible once your dog is in the water. Lead your dog to the bathing area and thoroughly wet his body with lukewarm water. Lather his coat with his specific dog shampoo starting with his head and working your way down and back. Lastly, shampoo his tail and backside. Use your fingers to gently massage and comb out any knots you come across. You can use a conditioner after, to smooth out his long hair and to provide a soft and shiny coat. Be careful to prevent getting shampoo in his eyes, nose, mouth or ears. Praise your dog for his cooperation and reward him if needed. Dry your dog gently with towels or a blow dryer. If you use towels, do not rub him vigorously. Instead wrap the towel around him and use gentle blotting motions to absorb the extra water. If you use a blow dryer, use it at a low-heat setting and keep it at a small distance from your dog so as to not spook him.
Trimming:
Follow the steps below to properly trim your dog’s long coat:
Choose a professional-grade clipper. For the more sensitive areas it will be best if you use thinner shears. These shears are helpful because it allows you to trim hair from a specific area precisely instead of accidentally cutting out a whole chunk of hair. If the trimming is minimal, meaning only around the face, then you can skip the use of clippers and give a quick trim with the shears. Don’t use the shears on the whole body. Keep the grooming sessions short during the first few times and give your dog a break if he gets uncomfortable. Keep the coat dry and void of any matting or debris. Get the clippers ready and start trimming the coat of his back. Always move with the lay of the hair for best results. Keep checking the temperature during the trim to ensure the blade is not getting hot to touch as it might hurt your dog. Next, proceed to clip hair on his belly and upper front legs. Lift up his leg with your hands to have access to the belly portion. Fur on his lower legs would probably be too short for a trimmer and in that case, you may need to use the shears. Next, trim his back legs and rear portion, paying special attention to the rear. Same would go for his backside and thighs. You’ll need to use the thinning shears for lower legs, private area and tail. Give him a nice brush down after the trim to clean up any loose hair. Ensure extra care when trimming hair around the face. With a comb, pull away the hair from his eyes. Hold it with your fingers and with the shear, trim the hair. Ensure a straight, even cut so the hair around one eye is equivalent with the other side. Next, trim around the muzzle with the same procedure. If your dog stayed calm while you were giving him a trim, be sure to reward him with a treat to encourage this positive behavior.
Grooming a dog takes a lot more work than one might think, especially grooming long-coated dogs. Many dogs don’t cooperate which is why treats go a long way during pet grooming. Grooming is one of the things which helps you to gain your pet’s trust, hence, you need to make sure that it is a positive experience for them. Yes, it could be painstaking at times and yes it could be draining but at the end of the day, it is what allows your dog to stay healthy and positively radiant. As a pet parent, you have to care for and pay attention to his mandatory needs so that he could lead a healthy and comfortable life.
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https://shakehands.co.in/collections/dog-grooming/dog-clippers-&-blades
