Get, Set, Groom at home!
Grooming is an art and science of keeping your pet healthy. It is a visible expression of your love for your pet. Grooming routines started at a young age will help you a lot in bonding with your pet. Let’s see how.
- Start grooming your pet as early as possible.
Chitkala Arun
- Practice grooming in small sessions at home.
- Place the puppy on a table, hold him still and comb gently.
- Brushing your dog’s coat everyday keeps the coat shiny and dust free
- Ear cleaning has to be practiced early safely and not to probe inside.
- Dogs do not need frequent baths. Once in 2-4 weeks bathing is sufficient.
- Always use dog shampoos only for bathing them. These are pH tuned for pets’ skin.
- Walking the dogs on rough surface will help the nails to wear out. If needed, they have to be clipped.
- During grooming, teach your puppy good manners through positive reinforcement.
- Train the puppy to trust you and not to bite during these sessions.
- Alternatively, you may take your puppy to a professional groomer. Again, start this early. Introduce him to the spa environment like going to a pleasant trip and give him positive inputs like “You will enjoy the spa”, “My boy will look great”, etc.
- Avoid telling him “I am sorry baby, you have to get this done” in a sad tone.
- Believe in your groomer. She will definitely be a pet lover who will treat your dog as her own.
- Follow the groomer’s instructions about maintenance of your pet’s health.
(Chitkala Arun runs PETZPAW pet spa in Mysore. She had her grooming training from International Grooming Academy, Singapore and Veterinary Assistant training from Worldwide Veterinary Services International Training Centre, Ooty).