How often does my pet need to be groomed? One of the most frequently asked questions and can be subjective to each individual pets needs. A good rule of thumb that grooming for long hair breeds is recommended at 4-6 week intervals with daily or weekly brushing and combing at home.
Shorter hair breeds can typically go longer. but is recommended at minimum every 2-4 weeks to decrease shedding and cleanse the skin.
Have you been told time and time again when visiting the groomer how Fluffy is always matted? The only way to avoid matting or heavily packed undercoat is with daily brushing and combing.
Brushing with a slicker or pin brush is the best method for most long hair breeds. If you cannot comb through your pets coat starting at the base of skin and working it completely through to the end, that's a good indicator your pets coat is becoming matted or the undercoat is becoming packed.
Contrary to popular belief, most dog breeds labeled as "low shedding", "hypo-allergenic", and "non-shedding" is wildly inaccurate. The coat and skin work by releasing dead hair to be replaced by healthy new growth. Some dogs shed these hairs easier, but others require daily attention to help release it from their coat.
More often than not, select breeds or mixed breeds of similar hair types are notorious for being left alone due to the myth of "non-shedding" like Poodles, Bichons, Doodles, and any variation or mix of these breeds. This still applies to other breeds like Cocker Spaniels, Shih-Tzus, Yorkshire Terriers, Schnauzers, Pomeranians, Aussies, etc.
Mats left in a pet’s coat only grow tighter and can strangle the pet's skin resulting lots of serious issues. Some of these issues are listed like trapped moisture resulting in urine burns, hot spots, skin infections, fungal infections, hematomas, lesions, dead tissue, loss of limbs, or even cutting off circulation resulting in potentially life threatening injury. Matting can also cover up injuries or health problems that were hidden underneath the coat and were left undetected.
Constant reoccurring matting in the same areas is heavily damaging to the coat and are prone to re-mat in those areas more frequently once damage.
In those scenarios, the best thing to do is cut the hair short and allow new hair to regrow that's healthy and strong which is much easier to maintain and to keep in good shape.
Attempting to de-mat dogs or cats with severe matting can result in accidental injury and is very uncomfortable or outright painful.
When matting occurs like this, it's best to leave it to a professional under a veterinarians care instead of attempting to cut them out and removing them at home due to the high risk involved. The best way to avoid matting is keeping pets on a 4-6 week consistent grooming schedule and brushing and maintaining at home in between appointments.
Congratulations on your newest family member!
If you were wondering what's next for your puppy's development and growth, grooming can be a wonderful way to not only desensitize them to this type of environment but expose them to socialization skills that are critical for their future and making good impressions of the process for the remainder of their life.
The earlier the better to get them started off right!
Puppies with little to no exposure of the grooming atmosphere and process are usually best starting out slow with adjustments made every appointment.
For the first 2-3 appointments at bi-weekly intervals, your pet will become more familiar with each visit.
To keep stress levels low as sometimes it can be a lot to take in, the best way starting out is with bath, blow drying, and minimal clipping of their body hair initially to help ease them into grooming. Once they are used to and more comfortable with this process, adding to each interaction like trimming the paw pads, around the rear, and around the eyes are usually achieved quickly and with little negative impact on their comfortability level.
However, every pet is different and may take more time than others, and in some cases they may never fully tolerate or be accepting of grooming. In those cases, it may be in the pets best interest to be groomed under a veterinarians care.
Does your pet click and clack everywhere they walk? Sounds like it's time for nail trim. Nail trims are essential to your pets daily life and comfortability.
When left untrimmed, overgrown nails can quickly transition from an audible sound on the tile or scratch on the arm, to embedding in their skin, pain or discomfort walking, joint inflammation, and chronic arthritis.
Imagine us walking around with overgrown nails, it can be pretty uncomfortable and not pleasant. Our pets are no different.
Our pets ears can be so delicate and sometimes are more prone to possible infections than others. If your pet has sensitive ears, please notify us so that way we can make adjustments to how we care for them during their appointment.
Ear plucking is NOT something we do, instead they are shaved on the outer part of the canal and gently wiped clean with a professional grade pet ear cleaner.
Although sometimes it is necessary, so for those circumstances it's best to let your veterinarian handle that. Ear canals are incredibly delicate and improper or unnecessary plucking can potentially lead to bacterial infections, potentially the skin can become broken open, and the trauma to the ear can cause severe damage to the inner part of the canal. For those reasons we refer to your veterinarian for extenuating ear care.
Has your pets breath smelled bad enough to almost knock you out? That is a strong indicator that your pets dental hygiene needs to be addressed.
Something that is overlooked frequently but is another detrimental part to our pets overall health is their teeth and mouth!
Plaque and tartar build-up can happen from lack of brushing or scraping by means of chew toys, hard food, genetics, etc. Addressing this while it is still relatively manageable can deter any further decay or possible health complications and brushing daily at home is best.
While some pets do need routine anal gland expression from health and weight complications, consult with your veterinarian if your pet needs their glands expressed frequently as this is NOT a service we provide. In some circumstances, it can do more harm than good to constantly having them expressed.
By doing so, it can train the body to become reliant on manual expression and become very uncomfortable if they are NOT expressed. It could lead to potential complications by not allowing them to be expressed.
If your pet is "scooting", licking, or biting near their rear end it may not always mean their glands need attention, but always be mindful of any changes in behavior. Sometimes it can be hair, fecal matter stuck, a recently shaved potty patch area, or just an itch they have scratch.
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