How many times have you met someone’s dog that just looked like a big tangled mess? Or maybe he smelled terrible, felt greasy and you felt terrible for not wanting to touch him. This is common amongst owners who don’t understand the importance of keeping a pet dog well groomed. It goes far beyond just making a pooch look good, but it directly affects their health, safety, and comfort.
Prevent Matting
You can keep your dog from getting the dreaded mat, or dangerously tangled hair simply by thoroughly brushing your dog’s coat with the proper tools. A mat occurs when loose hair, debris, and skin dander all clump up together. It becomes hard and pulls on the dog’s hair. It then grows and grows until it is either brushed out or removed. A dog with a neglected coat can become so terribly matted that he must be shaved down to the skin to save his life from his own hair.
A mat will harbor some terrible dangers for your canine companion. Bacteria and fungi both thrive in these conditions, as mats will hold moisture and dead skin cells that your pet sheds off. These infections make their way to your dog’s skin and cause rashes, and skin infections and can lead to mange, gangrene, and painful tears or rips in your dog’s skin. Don’t think that just because your dog has short fur he cannot get matted. Even dogs with short undercoats can get them.
Prevent Eye, Ear, and Mouth Disease
You should routinely check your dog’s ears, eyes, and mouth as well as clean them. A build-up of gunk around your dog’s eye can grow so big that it mats his fur under his eye as well as causes scratches on his cornea. If your dog is secreting an unusual amount of discharge from his eyes, veterinary help should be sought. If you are keeping a close eye on your dog’s grooming needs, you will be able to catch any unusual eye leakage early.
Ear mites, bacterial infections, and fungal infections including yeast are very commonly reported problems in a dog’s ears. Most often, these happen in dogs who are not kept clean and dry. Especially in dogs that have folded ears, moisture is able to be retained in the ears and allow these pesky, uncomfortable conditions to occur. Weekly ear wipes and checks do wonders to keep your dog comfortable and free from unwanted ear problems. Simply wipe with ear wipes or ask your local professional groomer to clean them for you.
Dental disease is a tale-tell sign of an unkempt mouth in a pooch. Small breeds are especially prone to early tooth loss and mouth infections. Your dog’s mouth is the first part of his digestive system. Once that is compromised, his entire body is in danger. Tooth decay and other mouth diseases directly affect your dog’s organ function. If he gets a tooth abscess or decayed teeth, that bacteria will travel straight to his organs through his digestive tract. You can stop things like a liver disease just by brushing your dog’s teeth every night before bed and using other oral care products made specifically for dogs. Always use dental brushes and paste made just for dogs.
Nail It
Overgrown nails are probably the second most common problem in dogs with neglected grooming needs. Overgrown nails are far more dangerous than you may think. When a dog’s nails are just too long, his toes are bent backward. This causes pain, discomfort and can lead to injuries in his toes. Left to continue growing, your dog’s nails will begin to curl. Some of the worst recorded cases of a dog with overgrown nails had nails growing under his paws and into the bottom of his feet. Surgery had to be done to correct the problem, and he had to battle an infection that came along with walking on feet with open wounds. Don’t let that happen to your pet. Pet nail clippers are cheap, and a few short training sessions can help teach your dog to enjoy nail clipping time.
Groom Your Pet, Save His Health
Your dog’s grooming needs goes far beyond making him look and smell presentable to your friends. His health and life depend on your ability and willingness to keep his skin, coat, eyes, ears, teeth, and toes all in good working shape. If you are unable to do this yourself or don’t know how you can use a search engine online to find the nearest professional groomer near you. Some even travel to your home. Your pet depends on you, don’t let him down.