Guide for Pet Grooming at Home

Pet Health

dog nail trim

Many dog owners opt to be their pet’s hairstylist. While getting the perfect poof for your pooch might be ambitious, there are some necessary aspects of grooming you need to know to ensure you’re doing it properly and in order to keep your pets healthy.

Grooming Tools

Combs & Brushes: Have the right tools for the job including brushes and combs appropriate for your dog’s breed: some require a slicker brush with pin-type bristles; Labs may benefit from a de-shedding blade to eliminate loose hairs; and a Furminator rake grabs dead undercoat hairs in dogs like the German Shepard.

Nail Clippers: I love my Miller’s Forge trusty orange handled nail clippers and have cornstarch or Kwik-stop styptic powder on hand should I accidentally trim nails too close to the blood vessel.

For Eyes and Ears:

  • Sterile eye lubricant, like Genteal, and cotton balls are great for protecting eyes and ears during bathing and grooming procedures.

Shampoos:

  • A mild pet shampoo is a must; ask your veterinarian for their recommendation as the pH of pet skin makes it unsuitable to use a human shampoo. Some pets have skin conditions that require a medicated shampoo and a bathing routine that is more frequent than once a month.

Shampoo Dog

Hair Clippers:

  • Professional pet hair clippers like the Wahl Bravura or Andis Excel Pro-Animal along with a blade lubricant and disinfectant are an investment worth making if you will be trimming your pet’s coat regularly. A number 10 blade can be used close to the skin on areas such as the tail or chest. Some cordless varieties like the Starryfield dog clippers are great for smaller areas between the toes or closer to the face. They have a narrow blade and are easy to maneuver in tight spaces. Use extreme caution on think skinned areas near the underarms, hock, and groin. I’ve accidentally clipped skin in that area and I do not use scissors for the same reason! If you can secure your pet on a non-skid table or yoga mat with good visualization and lighting, you will have a better grooming experience.

Provide plenty of high value treats like rotisserie chicken bits and your pet will have a better experience too! Above all, have plenty of patience and a sense of humor!

Brushing Your Dog’s Hair

Depending on your dog’s breed, daily brushing of the coat and teeth are necessary for maintaining optimum skin and oral health. Some dogs with double coats, such as the German Shepard Dog, shed dead hair on a continual basis and need daily brushing. Other breeds such as terriers need less aggressive coat maintenance. Regardless, a daily brushing, coat inspection, or massage allows you to check your pet head to tail for mats, ticks, and any new lumps or bumps. It also helps distribute the oils in your pet’s skin and remove dead hair which can lead to infection if left to mat and obstruct airflow to the skin’s surface.

brushing dog hair

Brushing Your Dog’s Teeth

Use a pet toothpaste and a finger brush, a kid’s soft-bristle brush, or even a gauze square, to gently massage your pet’s gums. Daily oral care is just as important to maintain your pet’s health as it is for humans. Not only does the accumulation of bacteria and minerals in saliva lead to unsightly tartar, but gingivitis, halitosis, and even heart or kidney disease can develop if bacteria is left to colonize the surface of the tooth and gum line and enter the bloodstream.

brush dog teeth

Cleaning Your Dog’s Ears

Ears are an extension of the body’s skin and should also be examined daily.

  • Cotton balls can be placed in the ear canals to avoid introducing water inside the ear during bathing and grooming.
  • Use a drying solution recommended by your veterinarian to saturate the inside of the ear canal once a week.
  • Massage the ears to loosen debris and let your pet shake, shake, shake! Cotton balls can be used absorb the remaining moisture.
  • Lots of treats should be involved in ear cleaning.

There is nothing worse (except for nail trimming) than attempting to clean a dog’s ears that is unaccustomed to ear handling and maintenance. A foul ear odor, excessive debris, redness, or pain should be brought to your veterinarian’s attention immediately.

Trimming Your Dog’s Nails

When you’re feeling confident and your pup is relaxed and comfortable, it’s time to tackle the nails! It’s extremely important to acclimate your dog to the sight and feel of the clippers as well as handling of the feet before attempting the trim. Rub the clippers over your pet’s feet while they’re eating, snuggling, or are otherwise happy and content. Give lots, and lots, and lots of food rewards and praise when they settle while having their feet touched! Then to trim your dog’s toenails…

  1. Have a hungry pup and a partner who can continuously distract and offer snacks.
  2. Use the scissor-type nail trimmer and don’t use the guard as it impairs visualization of the nail.
  3. Have your pup give his paw while sitting on a non-slip surface.
  4. Place the nail in between the blades and decisively snap the clippers together to shave just a few millimetres off the tip of the nail. Usually the tip of the nail, which is safe to trim, is brittle; as you get closer to the quick, which is the vessel in the center of the nail that looks like a small dot, the nail becomes softer.
  5. Shave bits off around the quick if your dog is still happy and eating treats.
  6. Should you injure the quick, use cornstarch, Qwik-stop, or even cold snow packed in the nail to staunch the bleeding.
  7. The goal is progress, not perfection. Aim for one or two nails a session.

dog nail trim

Cutting the quick isn’t fatal, but it is painful, and your dog will be less likely to willingly participate in nail trims in the future. Weekly trimming causes the quick to recede. You should be able to trim your pup’s nails shorter and shorter as recession occurs, which means there is less likelihood of torn or ingrown nails!

Positively associating grooming with food, attention, and verbal praise can make bathing, trimming, and keeping your pet clean and healthy a cinch. It should ultimately be a fun bonding experience for you both!

The Most Common Dog Diseases

Pet Health

tick on dog

I remember when I had my children and a wise old soul told me, “The days are long, but the years are short.” This saying is also applicable to pet ownership. We bring home a squirming ball of fluff and begin the hourly dance of taking them out to potty and hoping they’ll sleep at least four hours.  Puppies DO grow up and countless walks, snuggles, games of fetch, and visits to the dog park later, you’ve got a 7-year-old dog; giant breeds such as the Great Dane may have just a few short months left based on their average life expectancy, while smaller toy breeds like chihuahuas or Yorkies can live happily until their mid-teens.

For any breed, reaching their golden years seems to happen overnight when they’re beloved companions. The key to helping our pets age well, lie in good preventative care and disease detection, grooming, dental care, proper nutrition, and TLC, which includes physical exercise, mental stimulation, and affection.

Dental Disease in Dogs

Many ailments that affect senior pets are consistent across all breeds. Over 80% of dogs older than 3 have some form of dental disease. Without preventative care such as daily brushing, plaque, tartar, and inflammation can lead to damage of the supporting structures of the tooth.  Tooth loss, bone destruction, pain, and bacteria that enter the bloodstream causes infection and infiltration of organs such as the heart, liver, and kidneys. End-organ damage can dramatically affect the quality and duration of a pet’s life.

dog diseases

Dog Joint Pain & Arthritis

Large and giant breeds are prone to developing degenerative joint disease, commonly known as arthritis. Some combination of genetic predisposition and conformation, nutrition, weight, activity level, and previous injury lead to deteriorating cartilage that can eventually culminate in bone changes and even bone-on-bone rubbing. Many dogs will offset the pain of joint disease by shifting their weight to less affected limbs; this leads to muscle loss (atrophy) and inappropriate weight distribution compounding the problem. Inactivity in older pets can lead to obesity; excessive weight also contributes to degeneration and discomfort.

Vision & Hearing Loss in Dogs

Diminished vision and hearing are two common afflictions of senior animals. Lens thickening, cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal detachment are common causes of vision loss. While some conditions are correctable, most are a result of normal aging processes.

Hearing loss is typically caused by nerve degeneration and is not reversible. By keeping furniture arrangements constant, using hand cues for deaf pets, and keeping senior pets on a leash so they can enjoy the outdoors safely, vision and hearing changes need not disable your pet.

Canine Cancer

All pet owners fear the “C” word, and rightly so. Cancer affects many senior dogs; golden retrievers are disproportionately represented among lymphoma patients, boxers develop mast cell tumors, and bladder tumors are commonly found in shelties, Scotties, and west highland white terriers. While some tumors are malignant, many are benign. Fatty lipomas and wart-like adenomas are common. It’s important to let your veterinarian know if you find any new lumps or bumps on your pet so an aspiration, biopsy, or mass removal can be performed.

Heart & Kidney Disease in Dogs

Heart disease and kidney disease are two additional concerns in older pets. Mitral heart valve leakage is typical in smaller breeds. Kidney disease affects breeds indiscriminately and affects 10% of senior dogs. Physical examinations every 6 months and routine blood and urine testing often pick up changes before your pet exhibits symptoms. Though not reversible, management with medications, prescription diets, weight control, and supplements may help slow the progression of chronic diseases.

Dog Dementia

Like humans, dementia is common among geriatric pets. Cognitive dysfunction is a diagnosis of exclusion; symptoms such as whining, pacing, urine accidents, and disorientation can mimic symptoms of other illnesses such as arthritis, urinary tract infections, and seizure disorders. Imaging and laboratory testing can help differentiate dementia from other illnesses. While there is no treatment for cognitive dysfunction syndrome, keeping your pet mentally stimulated with food puzzles and training courses as well as supplemental antioxidants may help slow mental deterioration.

dog diseases

Pet Health is Important

Bottom-line, keep your pets healthy and active so they can best enjoy their senior years. Provide regular exercise, twice annual veterinary visits, and alert your vet to any changes in habits such as increased water intake, accidents, reluctance to climb stairs, decreased appetite or vomiting, coughing or exercise intolerance so disease can be detected early enough to slow progression. Enjoy these golden times!

What Does My Dog’s Urine Mean?

Pet Health

dog urine

Naturally, a follow-up to our ever-popular poop blog would be about the wonders of the urinary system.  Specifically, what do all the smells, colors, volume, method, and frequency of your pet’s urine excretion mean about their overall health and behavior? There is a wide variation in “normal” pet urination, from amount of water consumed (and thus presumably urinated), to the color of urine and everything in between. Let’s cover a bit about what is typical and how to know if your pet’s urinary system has gone haywire.

FAQs About Dog Urine

Urine is constantly being formed by the kidneys when the body’s blood is filtered. The urine then and travels through tiny tubes called ureters from each kidney to the bladder. When the muscular bladder contracts or becomes overly full, urine is forced down the urethra (which courses through the male’s prostate gland), and out a small opening in the male or female sex organs. Blood volume, hydration, and thus urine volume has a lot to do with how much water your pet has consumed; normal dogs drink about an ounce per pound of body weight a day.

How Much?

This translates into 10-20 ml urine produced per pound per day. Smaller and younger dogs tend to be on the higher end of this number.  For example, a 10-pound dog may urinate a cup of pee a day! Dogs that urinate frequently but are straining to do so with minimal urine output and discomfort undoubtedly have inflammation and/or obstruction in the urinary tract. Contact your veterinarian immediately if your pet is experiencing these symptoms.

How Often?

For a puppy, it’s not unusual to have to urinate every 3-4 hours when they are very young. Healthy adult dogs need to urinate at 6-10 hour intervals, though some rock stars can hold their urine for a longer duration if you are stuck in traffic.

How?

Most pups, some neutered males, and most adult females squat to relieve themselves. Lifting the leg to pee is normal for adult males in order to eliminate and to mark territory in males and some females. Marking behavior can occur normally, though disruptively, at every tree during a walk. Marking is intentional and lasts just a few seconds while your dog is seemingly alert and happy.

What Does Healthy Dog Pee Look Like?

A well-hydrated dog should be producing light yellow colored urine that has just a slight ammonia smell and be asking to potty at regular, but not too frequent, intervals throughout the day.

Because we’re all special snowflakes, there exists a spectrum of normal when it comes to pup pee and poop. It’s best to monitor your pet and consider anything outside of their typical behavior and urine odor, color, volume, or frequency a sign to call the vet. Many times, your veterinarian will request you present them with a first morning urine sample. This entails chasing your pet outside before coffee with a ladle or small dish to catch a teaspoon of pee.  What fun! Other methods of urine collection include allowing your veterinarian to pass a urinary catheter or to use a fine needle to extract urine through the bladder wall for a sterile sample.

What Does My Dog’s Pee Color Mean?

What should you be watching for in your pet’s pee that may indicate a health problem? Urine that is especially:

  • Dark
  • Orange
  • Red, with a visible blood clots
  • Greenish tint

These can all indicate troubles such as liver disease, muscle breakdown, infection anywhere in the urinary tract or just outside the urethral opening, tumors, or stones.

Clear Urine

Especially clear urine can be an indication that your pet is over-consuming water, has an endocrine disorder such as Diabetes or Cushing’s Disease, or the kidneys aren’t functioning at their full capacity and unable to normally concentrate urine.

Why is My Dog Peeing in the House Again?

Should you be concerned if your previously housebroken puppy or dog starts peeing in the house? Can I get a “yes, ma’am!”?

  • In some cases, especially with juvenile or senior pets, they may have been incompletely housebroken or are having symptoms of cognitive dysfunction syndrome or senility changes. Behavior problems and canine dementia cannot be diagnosed without working up other medical disorders first.
  • It’s possible your puppy has an infection, a congenital defect in the urinary system, or stones.
  • Senior pets may have a medical condition associated with the urinary tract or even arthritis which makes going down the deck stairs to get to the yard or lifting their leg painful. You might “hold” it a bit longer if you were hurting too!

It’s important to differentiate having an intentional pee accident from unintentional urine leakage or incontinence. Many times, the volume of urine released by an incontinent dog is smaller, happens at rest and in a reclined position, and your dog may be completely unaware the accident is happening. In older pets, relaxation of the sphincters or urine overflow caused by a neurological disease may be to blame.

A urine test, bloodwork, and imaging by your veterinarian may be needed to determine and treat the cause and get you and your dog back on the right track!

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