Grooming Basics

Dogs need to be bathed and brushed on a regular basis to keep their skin and hair in prime condition.

Now is the perfect time for you to improve all of your pets’ care and overall health, by getting their grooming program into full swing.

Grooming basics…..

Your dog should be combed and brushed every few days (daily for some breeds) and bathed at least every six weeks, otherwise it can lead to matting of the coat.

Matting, by definition is, hair that is tangled.

The tangled hair in some cases is so extensive that it cannot be combed out, so air never reaches the skin.

With severe matting, the mat will form a kind of pelt on the pet.

Bathing a matted dog makes the matting worse, because as the hair dries, it shrinks like wool and adheres even more tightly to the skin, trapping in moisture.

The matted pet…..

Mats have to be removed one way or another before your pet is bathed. If they are not, the shampoo cannot be completely rinsed out (causing possible irritation to the skin) and drying your dog would be nearly impossible.

If the matting is so severe that it cannot be removed in less than an hour, your pet may need to be shaved into a “nudie”. A “nudie” is what professional groomers call a haircut that is, quite frankly, very short, leaving the hair on the body and legs about ½” long.

Shaving a matted dog is unbelievably stressful to the animal, and best left to a professional groomer.

Most pets cannot stand having their hair pulled and de-matted for more than one hour. Understandably, the matted animal is impatient; the shaving is tedious and it can be dangerous.

The danger arises due to the matted hair clinging close to the skin, especially under the legs and around the ears and neck. It can be very difficult to separate the skin of the animal from the mats, therefore the risk of "catching the skin" is incredibly high.

Groomers don’t like to shave matted dogs, because of the stress it may cause to your pet.

So, by following a regular grooming plan, along with routine visits to The Grooming Pad, your dog should remain mat and stress free.

Happy Grooming!