When To Leave Dog Grooming To A Professional

Many times, dog grooming is a dog owner’s particular choice. Certain breeds are very easy to care for when it comes to caring for their coats, nails and overall appearance. On the other hand, some breeds absolutely must have scheduled grooming sessions. Got a cute, fluffy lap dog? It probably needs regular grooming and haircuts to stay that way — every 4-6 weeks is a typical maintenance schedule. Have a dog that ‘doesn’t shed’ – like a wheaton terrier or poodle (or anything ‘oodle’)? Yep, you guessed it, those coats also need regular grooming. Even dogs such as Huskies and labs that don’t need haircuts, still shed 365 days a year, and a lot of care can sometimes be needed to keep their skin in peak condition. Whether you do it yourself or utilize the services of a professional, for heaven’s sake, please take care of your dog!

When grooming yourself, be sure all the products you choose to use on your dog, are labeled expressly for dog grooming. Human shampoos might smell great, but the pH is not right for your pet! Dogs have different skin chemistry than we do.

Here are a few dos and don’ts that might want to consider anytime your own pet needs to be groomed. You can use these as a guide for yourself, if you are doing the grooming. You can also use these as a guide for choosing a professional groomer by asking if they do these things. 

• When clipping your dog’s nails DO use a set of clippers that are nice and sharp and are the right size for your pet. This will ensure that the clip is neat and leaves no sharp edges that will rip or tear into the quick. DON’T clip the nails so short that it bleeds and causes pain. On dogs with white or light-colored nails, this is fairly easy to avoid, but dark nails are harder to clip, especially if you have no experience doing so.
• When brushing your dog, DO make sure you use a brush that suits the breed, size and hair length of your dog, starting at the head and brushing your way down the body. DON’T neglect ear and teeth cleaning while you’re at it. Doing everything at once ensures that you won’t forget it later, and an overall clean leads to a healthy, happy pet (even if they don’t care for the process while it’s happening).
• For long-haired pets, DO use a special comb or brush if necessary to get the coat nice and smooth. DON’T neglect mats in the fur, because doing so will only cause them to get larger and harder. Gently work them out and consider a trim if it turns out to be too much.

There might be times when you are simply too busy to spend the appropriate amount of time grooming your animals. This can be a problem around the holidays and in the summer especially when the kids are out of school and our social calendars are busy with outings, barbecues and other functions. Don’t make your fur baby wait (and don’t let those mats develop). If you find yourself too busy or don’t want to deal with haircuts and nail clips on your own, then by all means take advantage of professional grooming services. They can help keep your pets groomed, happy, healthy and ready to take on the world.

At Awesome Doggies, in the San Diego area, we not only groom your pet, we pamper them! We come to you and we take care of everything from bathing, eye and ear care and brushing to facials, paw and nail care and haircuts. For more information, and for details about our First Visit Special, please contact us today. You’ll be glad you did!