How Often Should I Groom My Dog?

Regular grooming is important if you want your dog to stay looking his best. Grooming prevents fur from matting and keeps your dog’s coat in a healthy and beautiful condition.

But how often should you groom your dog? It depends on the length of your dog’s fur and the kind of lifestyle that your furry friend enjoys.

Long-Haired Dogs

Long-haired dogs should be brushed daily, and need regular baths and grooming sessions to keep their fur, skin, ears, pads, nails and teeth in tip-top condition. Certain breeds of dogs, such as yorkies, poodles, maltese, shihtzus, wheaton terriers spaniels, and all kinds of “doodles” have high-maintenance coats. Yorkshire terriers, and other breeds with long, straight coats need to be trimmed regularly so the little dog doesn’t trip over their long locks. Poodles and other breeds with curly or wavy coats can be coiffed into a variety of styles. Any parts of the coat that you decide to keep long need regular brushing, preferably on a daily basis. Even breeds that you’ve been told “don’t shed” still need to be brushed regularly to prevent matting.

If you can’t keep up with the thorough daily brushing that a long-haired dog needs to keep from developing painful mats, then a new, shorter fur-cut will make life much easier for you and your dog. A professional groomer can clip your dog’s fur into a shorter style that makes the coat easier to keep clean and tangle-free, with much less brushing needed.

You can cut your dog’s fur yourself, but make sure you use sharp clipper blades to avoid pulling at the hair.  If you can’t get the hang of it, or don’t want to spend the time or deal with the mess, then have a professional groomer take care of the task, and so you don’t end up being to blame for your dog having bad hair days until the cut grows out!

Short-Haired Dogs

Even short-haired dogs require regular grooming. Set aside some time each week to spend quality time brushing your dog; not only will this keep the dog’s fur in good condition, but it also helps you to bond with your pet and will help to keep to keep shedding under control.

You’ll also need to perform other grooming tasks regularly, such as clipping the nails and cleaning the ears and brushing teeth, and possibly expressing their anal glands. (These chores also apply to long-haired dogs.) One way to be sure that your dog gets a five-star treatment is to be sure he sees a professional groomer once every few weeks.

So How Often Should I Groom My Dog?

Ideally you will brush your dog’s teeth daily (ok, let’s make that a goal to work towards!), and also set aside a few minutes each day for brushing. The longer and thicker your dog’s coat is, the more brushing they will need.

How often bathing should be done depends on your (and your dog’s) lifestyle. Follow your nose on this one…and consider basic hygiene. How dirty does your pet get? Are they active, indoor vs outdoor, interacting with other animals? If they sleep with you or are allowed on the furniture, you’ll probably want to bathe them more often. Some families want this chore done weekly. Others find that every 4-6 weeks works for them.

Long-haired and curly-haired breeds will likely need to have a haircut every 4-6 weeks to keep their coat looking nice and easy to maintain. If you prefer to shave them naked periodically, then you can probably stretch the time between groomings to as much as every 2-3 months.

Nail clipping will be needed every 2-6 weeks (or possibly never) depending on how active your dog is, and whether they are walking on concrete or other rough surfaces enough for their nails to be worn down naturally. Certainly you should check monthly to make sure their nails are not touching the floor when they stand – that indicates the need for a trim.

So the answer to “how often does my dog need to be groomed?” is, “it depends.” But now you have some guidelines to help.

A well-groomed dog is a much happier and healthier dog than one whose grooming has been neglected. Not to mention, they will look and smell better, making your fur kids a much more agreeable family member. If you can’t keep up with your dog’s grooming needs yourself, let a professional pet groomer help you out, or ask about having your dog’s coat cut to a more manageable length so that you can handle it yourself.

Need a few more tips to get you started? Here’s are 5 pet grooming tips for your dog.