All About dog care

Dear all,
Here i'm starting this thread "All about dog care". It covers dog's health care, grooming care, etc....

Lets begin with grooming care.


Dog grooming care:

• Ear care:

Dog ear care is pretty simple if you keep up with it. Be sure to check your dog's ears for wax buildup, redness or inflammation around the ear, dirt in the ears, or anything else that might be in your dog's ear.

Also be sure to smell your dog's ears. A foul or sour odor indicates a problem like an ear infection, ear mites, or even fleas or ticks. If you think your dog might have an ear infection, take your dog to the veterinarian immediately. Letting your dog's ear infection go can result in a severe infection or even deafness.

When you are cleaning your dog's ears only use a gentle solution. Never use soap and water or alcohol. Never use Q-tips, or any other cotton tipped swab as these can push dirt further into your dog's ears creating a bigger problem. You can also hurt your dog's ear canal.

Dogs with floppy ears are very prone to ear infections, as there is hardly any air circulation around the ear so it is even more important to check your dog's ears weekly.


Here are some symptoms of a possible ear infection:

• Your dog shakes his head
• Your dog paws or scratches his ear a lot
• You notice your dog tilts his head to the side
• Your dog's ear smells bad (can indicate a dog ear yeast infection)
• You notice a heavy wax buildup when cleaning your dog's ears
• You see fleas or ticks in the ear
• You notice your dog's ear is red and inflamed
• Your dog's ears are moist

If you notice any of these problems it's best to get your dog to the veterinarian as soon as you can to avoid a worse problem.

Dog Coat Health:

Keeping your dog’s coat healthy and clean is a very important to maintaining a healthy and happy dog. The largest organ on your dog’s body is his skin and hair. Keeping your dogs' coat in good health is paramount, after, of course, letting your dog know how much you love them!

Most dog owners know to look for parasites on the skin but, what you may not know is that internal diseases such as liver disease, adrenal gland disease or thyroid gland disease can show itself through abnormal symptoms in the dogs' skin and hair. So, it is very important to examine and groom your dog so you can detect any abnormalities early.

Regular grooming will help decrease such infections like skin and ear infections. And you will be able to notice any abnormal skin discoloring or irritations.

Bathing and brushing on a regular basis can help keep your dog’s skin and coat free from bacteria that can cause infection. Bathing with a 'natural' and very mildly antiseptic coat care lotion can also keep down your dogs' chance of flea infestations. Be also careful not to bath your dog too much or that could cause skin irritation, flaking and more.

If your Dog is ok (not himself, but his skin & coat!) with being bathed regularly, weekly bathing will keep down the doggie odor, encourage a healthy coat and skin, and also get your dog use to bathing. If your dog loves the outdoors and like to roam, then he may need to be bathed more than once a week. If he encounters a skunk while on his journey, he will need an immediate bath!

Why brush your dog?

Mats in the coat are the main reason! Mats can be uncomfortable, and can cause destruction of the skin, and parasites can hide in the mats.

If your dog scratches the matted areas, he will pull his skin, which will cause him to hurt and possibly bruise his skin - ouch! Help your dog stay comfortable by brushing him often. Remember the longer the coat the more brushing that will be necessary. If you can not remove the mats by brushing, you can clip the mats very carefully by using a
blunt pair of scissors and being careful not to pull the skin. The most important thing to remember is to brush often so your dog will not get mats in his coat and this problem will disappear.

Your dog will soon begin to enjoy his bath time and quality time with you. You will be able to keep a happy and healthy dog for a long time. You will enjoy bath time with your dog as you see him enjoying the attention and the attitude after he is clean and shiny... Just make sure you dry him well, and don't let him outside as he may roll in anything he can to get his preferred 'smell' back!

Flea control:

Few problems are as hard to get rid of as fleas. Fleas have our poor dogs scratching and us dog owners searching for a solution.

Fleas are hard to control because there are different kinds and fleas on your dog are at different stages in their lives. So it’s difficult to get rid of them with just one method. Only 5% of the fleas on your dog are adults. The other fleas are in egg form, larvae, or pupae.

Climate also contributes to flea problems. Fleas are typically more common in the south and thrive in warm, humid or rainy conditions.
While flea collars and shampoos are a large part of the flea control market, topical squeeze-on applications such as Frontline are the preferred method of flea control.

As annoying as fleas are, fleas can cause more serious health conditions than just itching. Fleas carry disease. Fleas also transmit tapeworms.
The best way to prevent fleas is to make flea control a constant priority. Using a treatment such as Frontline year round is perhaps the best defense against fleas.

Brushing up on dog grooming:

Is your dog due for a makeover? Has she been enjoying the great outdoors a little too much? Here are some simple tips for helping your dog put her best paw forward.


It all begins with the brushing:

• Brush your dog regularly. Daily is best. Be sure to also brush against hair growth direction to check for fleas and ticks.
• The right tools. For short-haired dogs, most groomers recommend stainless-steel combs because they slide through coats very easily. For medium to long haired dogs start with a slicker brush and then follow with a stainless steel comb. In hot months consider investing in a flea comb to make sure your dog has not become a flea hotel. To make your dog's coat really shine, finish with a soft bristle brush.
• If your dog hates being brushed it sometimes helps to brush after play time. Start by brushing in the hair growth direction. When you are finished, reward your dog with a treat. Each day brush your dog a little longer. And if you are lucky, your dog may even begin to like being brushed.

Now for the bath:

• Brush your dog from head to toe making sure all mats are gone. For small dogs a sink works great. For medium to large dogs, a tub or shower works best. Use only warm water and a good shampoo made for dogs. People shampoo is too harsh and can irritate your dog's skin. Most groomers recommend working from the back end forward, lathering the head last.
• Rinse, rinse, and rinse again to make sure you have removed all shampoo.
• Short-haired dogs dry quickly and only need to be dried off with a towel. If your dog has long hair, you may need to brush him while he's drying to avoid tangles.

The Grand Finale:

• Finish by giving your dog a treat.
• Then celebrate! You and your dog survived the bath, and you have a clean dog.

Top five dog grooming basics:

Hair brushing, Nail trimming, Bathing, Ear care, Hair cuts.

Hair Brushing:

Most dogs enjoy being brushed, and sessions will strengthen the bond with your dog while maintaining a healthy coat. A dog’s minimum brushing needs depend on hair type. Choose the right tools and follow these guidelines.

• Long-haired dogs usually require daily brushing to prevent matting and tangling of hair.
• Medium-haired dogs may be prone to matting and tangles and should be brushed at least weekly.
• Short-haired dogs can typically go up to a month in-between brushing.

Regardless of hair type, you can brush your dog daily - especially if he enjoys it. More frequent brushing during shedding season can help prevent hair build-up and excess shedding.

Nail trimming:

Nail trims are often detested by dogs and owners alike. Most dogs dislike even having their paws handled and know how much it hurts when nails are cut too short. Dog owners are often uncomfortable with the process for fear of hurting their dogs.
Dogs will develop an aversion to nail trimming once they experience pain from it. The best way to avoid this is to learn how to trim nails correctly and exercise caution. Most dogs need monthly nail trims, but your dog may need more or less depending on the rate of growth.

Clipping a Dog's Claws (Toenails)

Most dogs do not like having their claws trimmed. Start trimming claws in young animals so that they get used to the process. Some dogs will happily sit in your lap or on a table while you trim their claws but many require some form of restraint.

One method to restrain the dog is to place her/him on a table. Stand on the side of the table opposite to the claws you are trimming. Drape your arms and upper body over the dog. When trimming the front claws, keep your left forearm over the neck to keep the dog from lifting its head. Hold the paw in your left hand and hold the trimmer in your right hand. If the dog tries to stand, lean your upper body over his/her shoulders to prevent him/her from rising.

The guillotine type trimmers have stationary ring through which the nail is placed, and a cutting blade that moves up to slice off the nail when the handles of the trimmer are squeezed.

Unlike cats, dogs do not have retractile claws. The color of the nail is determined by the color of the surrounding skin and hair. This dog has black claws on the brown paw and a mixture of white and black claws on the white paw. Always remember to trim the dew claws that are located on the inner surface of the paw.

The claws on the rear feet are often shorter and require less frequent trimming than those on the front feet. Always remember to trim the dew claws that are located on the inner surface of the paw unless they were removed as a puppy. Some breeds of dogs such as the St. Bernard have 2 sets of dew claws on the rear feet.

Light colored claws are easier to cut than dark claws as the blood vessels and nerves that supply the toenail, called the quick, is easier to see.

Cut the toenail to within approximately 2 millimeters of the quick. If you cut into the quick, the toenail will bleed and the dog will experience pain.

The tip of the nail is placed in the stationary ring in the trimmer with the clipper perpendicular to the nail (cutting top to bottom). If the trimmer is placed parallel to the nail (cutting from side to side), the nail is crushed and may splinter. The cutting blade should be facing you, NOT the dog. The screws on the handle of the trimmer should be facing the dog. If you turn the trimmer around with the screws toward you, the cutting blade is cutting closer to the quick than if the trimmer is held with the cutting blade toward you. You are less likely to cut into the quick if the cutting blade faces you. The handles of the trimmer can be held pointing toward the floor or ceiling, which ever is more comfortable in your hands.

The handles of the trimmer are squeezed to advance the cutting blade through the nail. Light colored claws can be trimmed with one cut on each nail.

	You cannot see the quick on dark colored claws, making them more difficult to trim without cutting into the quick.

	Cut dark colored claws in several small cuts to reduce the chance of cutting into the quick.

As you cut off small pieces of the nail, look at the cut edge of the nail. The light tissue (1) is the curved bottom part of the nail. The mottled light and dark tissue (2) is the top part of the nail.

As you cut the nail deeper, you will see a homogeneous gray to pink oval (3) starting to appear at the top of the cut surface of the nail. Stop cutting the nail at this point as additional cutting will cut into the quick. The sharper the trimmer, the cleaner the cut. The cutting blade on guillotine-style cutters can be replaced when it is no longer sharp. You can file the end of the nail to smooth the cut surface.

	A correctly cut dark colored nail next to an uncut mixed colored nail. The mixed color nail is darker close to the base of the nail preventing one from seeing the quick. This nail should be trimmed in several small cuts.
	If the toenail is cut too short, you can use a styptic pencil containing silver nitrate to stop blood flow, although many animals object to the styptic pencil as much, or more, than toenail cutting. The black end of the stick is held to the bleeding nail and gently rotated until bleeding stops. Even without any treatment the nail should stop bleeding in about 5 minutes or less.

Choosing The Best Dog Bed:

5 Reasons To Get Your Dog a Nice, Comfy Bed

• Your dog may not be human, but he is still your best friend and deserves to be treated that way. Would you want to live without a bed?
• Dogs come to know what is theirs. Giving your dog his own bed provides your faithful friend with a place to feel safe and secure.
• Beds provide support and comfort for your canine's bones and joints. This is particularly important for our older furry companions.
• Additionally a dog bed insulates your dog from cold floors in the winter and warm floors in summer.
• Since most dogs really do prefer their own bed to yours, it keeps them off your bed - saving a bunch of money on sheets and comforters.

3 Things To Look For In A Dog Bed:

• Removable cover - one that is machine washable or drycleanable (for luxury dog beds). This is a MUST unless you call stinky dog smell aromatherapy. Plus if you or someone in your home is allergic to dogs, frequent washing of dog beds can help tons.
• A "high-memory" poly-fill. Have you ever had a nice fluffy pillow turn into a pancake overnight? The same thing can happen to your canine friend's bed.
• Hate to say it, but you're going to have to spend a few bucks. Have you ever found yourself trying to save money trying to save money on something only to find that you have to replace it a month later? A dog bed is one of those things that is better to spend the money on up front to save money down the road. But even more importantly, you're dog will be more comfortable, your room will look and smell better, and you will save time and money in the long run.

What Size Dog Bed?

• Typically the best way to find the right size bed is to measure your dog while he/she is lying down.
• Measure from nose to rear end and add 10-12 inches or if your canine likes to curl up measure the longest distance across.
• If you are unsure pick the larger size - better your dog have a little extra room than try to squeeze into a tiny spot or not use the bed at all.

Beds That Stand The Test Of Time:

Now all you have to do is choose a bed. There are so many styles it's hard to choose. The beds below are wonderful ones to consider. They have received nothing but the best reviews from dog experts, dog lovers and more importantly - dogs themselves.