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Dog Breeds & Their Grooming
Needs
A well-groomed
dog is bound to look healthy and feel healthy. More
or less, every dog needs grooming. Whether it is
a long-coated dog like the German Spitz or a curly-haired
Bichon-Frise, a double-coated Australian Cattle
Dog or a short-coated Dachshund – all of them
needs grooming. Of course the type and amount of
grooming varies from one dog breed to another –
depending on their pelt-type, eyes and ears.
Subscribe to a Free
Course on Dog Grooming and learn all about how
to groom your dog at home, how to use different
grooming tools.
Most dog owners look forward to
the grooming sessions as these moments spent together
enhances the bonding between a pet and its owner.
Dog Breeds with
Very High Grooming Needs
Dog Breeds with High
Grooming Needs
Dog Breeds with
Moderate Grooming Needs
Dog Breeds with Low
Grooming Needs
Dog Breeds with
Very Low Grooming Needs
Dog
Breeds with Very High Grooming Needs
A double-coated, a thick-coated
or heavily-coated dog comes with very high grooming
need that will entail daily brushing, combing and
cleaning. This is a must for them. Some might even
need professional dog groomers if their owners are
not experts at grooming. Even the ears, armpits,
legs and tail of such dogs need regular combing
and trimming. Without frequent grooming and care,
these dogs will look dull and the coat will tend
to tangle.
Cleaning the eyes and the ears
are important to keep away the fungal attacks. If
the dog has prominent eyes, special care is required.
There are eye-care and ear-care solutions available
that washes the eyes and ears and keeps them clean.
Dog Breeds with Very High Grooming
Needs
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Dog
Breeds with High Grooming Needs
The dogs having long-hairs or thick
and curly coat needs good amount of brushing and
combing everyday. Bathing the hairy pelt with good
pet shampoo is necessary to keep away breeding of
hidden ticks and mites. Some dog owners prefer to
keep the fur long while others clip the furs after
every 8 weeks. However, to make these dogs look
and feel healthy, clipping or combing away the bad
mats is important.
For dogs with long coats, the
hair around the eyes should be trimmed properly
for better vision – as this is a major part
of eye care. Also fur present in-between the pads,
near the ears, and around the bottom needs close
trimming. The dead hairs need to be plucked out
of the ears every week and the nails need to be
trimmed each month. Some even needs stripping of
the coat once or twice a year.
Dog Breeds with High Grooming
Needs
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Dog
Breeds with Moderate Grooming Needs
These dogs do not require extensive
grooming although they do need regular brushing
and combing to maintain the glossiness of the coat.
They also require bathing only when necessary. A
medium-coated dog might not have tangles to deal
with. However, many need regular cleaning of the
eyes and the ears to avoid infection. Some dogs
need grooming only during the time of shedding.
Dog Breeds with Moderate Grooming
Needs
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Dog
Breeds with Low Grooming Needs
Such dogs need limited attention
where grooming is concerned since they have average-to-groom
coats. Brushing is required only to keep the pelt
in good condition. These dogs are generally low
maintenance breeds. Bathing is strictly when required.
Some dogs might have long coats but should never
be clipped, like for example Affenpinscher. Also
these breeds are mostly non-shedders. However, even
they require regular cleaning of the eyes and ears
to avoid fungal infections.
Dog Breeds with Low Grooming Needs
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Dog
Breeds with Very Low Grooming Needs
These dogs need very little attention
where grooming is concerned. Brushing should be
done only once or twice a week. Bathing for these
dogs is unnecessary most of the times. Most of them
also don't need clipping. However, even though they
don't require much of brushing or combing, their
eyes and ears should be cleaned regularly to avoid
infections and for hygiene purposes.
Dog Breeds with Very Low Grooming
Needs
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Grooming is important to keep a
dog healthy and happy. Proper grooming ensures a
dog is free of tick and mite attacks, allergies
and body odors. If a dog's pelt looks dull and its
skin looks dry and flaky, the dog is definitely
not well-groomed and needs immediate human attention.
After all a bright, shiny coat, smooth skin, and
normal body odor provides proof of a dog's health
condition to everyone around him.
Grooming Eyes, Ears, Nose, Nails
Grooming does not only mean brushing
and combing. Grooming also entails trimming the
nails, cleaning the eyes and ears and giving periodic
baths, not to mention brushing the teeth. Many require
haircuts too.
For example, the coat of long-haired
dogs tend to tangle and become smelly, thus they
needregular brushing. The 'silky-coated' Setters
and Spaniels have abundance of dead hair that needs
to be removed by hand as the matted hairs become
very painful. Wire-haired dogs need stripping of
the coat at least once a year.
Even the hairless dogs need special
care. Dogs like American Hairless Terrier or Chinese
(Hairless) Crested have delicate skin that cannot
take direct sun rays, thus they require sunscreen
lotion before being taken outside. Dirt and moisture
tend to find home in the wrinkled or creased skin
of dogs like Pug, Shar Pei, and Bulldog that needs
to be cleaned everyday with a damp cloth to avoid
skin disorders.
Dogs like Chihuahua, Boston Terrier
or Pekingese have prominent eyes where dirt tend
to collect. Also, dead hair tend to accumulate in
the eyes and ears of dogs having hairy coat like
Affenpinscher, Golden Retriever, Japanese Spitz,
etc. Cleaning is necessary to wash away the gathered
dirt, hair, wax and even mites inside the eye and
ear ducts.
Dogs like the Toy Poodle, the Dachshund
or the German Wire-haired Pointer needs extensive
brushing and combing several times a week, if not
more. Whereas the Basset Hound or the Doberman Pinscher
can do with a little brushing.
Thus the level of maintenance or
grooming depends on each individual breed itself.
Grooming vs Shedding
Shedding
is a natural process of discarding dead hairs off
the body. A heavy shedder or a seasonal shedder
will continue to shed when its shedding-time comes.
Many suffer from the misconception
that a dog that sheds little need less amount of
grooming and the ones that shed heavily need extensive
grooming.
For example: Dogs like the Collie,
Spanish Mastiff, or Alaskan Husky shed heavily
twice a year but Don't need much grooming
apart from regular brushing and combing.
On the other hand, dogs like the
Kerry Blue Terrier, Poodle, Bichon-Frise need Extensive
grooming but they shed little to no hair.
Grooming encompasses, not just
brushing and combing the coat, but cleaning and
taking care of eyes, ears, nose, skin and nails
of your dog. Shedding is but a natural of getting
rid of dead hairs, and whether your dog is a heavy
or light shedder, grooming is a daily dog care routine.
Proper grooming might reduce shedding
but it will not stop the process altogether.
Subscribe to a Free
Course on Dog Grooming and learn all about how
to groom your dog at home, how to use different
grooming tools.
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