Grooming Your Dog

Do you need to groom your dog? There are a lot of reasons why people need to groom their dog – probably the biggest reason for grooming the dog is that the dog has gotten dirty or its fur has gotten too long. A lot of people decide to groom their dog at the beginning of the summer, so the dog won't get too hot during the summer months. Other people decide that they need to groom their dog so that they can enter their dog in a dog show! Grooming your dog can take a little bit of work, but it can also be fun. Here are things that you need to do when you groom your dog:

• Bathe and shampoo: First of all, you will want to give your dog a good bath and shampoo. You can buy lots of different kinds of dog shampoos at your local pet store. Some shampoos are made specifically for dogs that have a certain coat color, and other shampoos are milder for dogs that have allergies. There are also medicated shampoos for dogs which have itchy skin, or for dogs that have fleas and ticks. In order to work the shampoo into your dog's fur, you can either use your hands, or a little rubber shampoo massager that can be bought at your pet store as well. Follow the shampooing directions on the back of the shampoo label, and then rinse your dog off.

• Dry the dog's fur: After shampooing and rinsing off your dog, you need to dry your dog's fur. You can either do this with a towel, a hair dryer, or by letting your dog walk around in the sun. However, if you let your dog walk around in the sun, make sure that he doesn't get dirty all over again!

• Brush the dog's coat: After the dog's fur is dry again, you will want to brush the dog's coat. There are lots of different kinds of dog brushes that you can use, depending on the type of fur that your dog has. Dogs that have longer, finer hair will require a more fine toothed brush. Your pet store will have different brushes and explanations of what brush will be right for your dog.

• Cut the dog's coat: If your dog's hair is getting really long, then you might also want to trim the dog's coat. You can buy dog clippers at your local pet store – they can range anywhere from $60 to $150. Oster is one company which makes dog clippers. These clippers are very similar to hair clippers for people, and depending on the model that you use, you will have a lot of options for the trim length that you want. If you are not sure about what length you should trim your dog's hair, you can ask a pet groomer. Some stores, like PetsMart, have groomers right in their store, and you can ask them if you have the right model even before purchasing your clippers! Follow the directions of the clippers for cutting the dog's coat – and make sure that you go slowly and carefully, so you don't nick the dog!

If you are nervous about grooming your dog, or if you have a hard time managing your dog while you are grooming, you also have the option of getting your dog professionally groomed. Many people feel like going to a professional groomer is a lot easier, and it is a really popular option. The price for grooming your dog professionally really depends on the size of the dog and how much grooming work needs to be done on it. People can pay anywhere from $25 to over $100 to get their dog professionally groomed.

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