A Quick Guide to Dog Grooming Basics

If you’re a newbie in pet hair care, then it can you probably think it’s difficult. We’ll give you a useful tips of how to properly groom your dog. This way you can use your clipper straight out of the box.

The first step is washing and combing your pet. Hopefully, he is acclimated to water and does not freak out. If they do freak out about water, then you can try giving them a snack to calm them down. You should also attach their leash to a sturdy pole to prevent them from running away and getting dirty.

Once they’re wet you should brush out any matting or knots that they may have since these can catch the clippers and cause both of you some trouble. A specialized comb can really help if your pet has a lot of matted hair.

You’ll probably want someone else around to restrain your pet during the process, so get a friend or family member to help. A small dog can be placed on a table that way you save your back. Just make sure your friend secures them if you place them on a table.

Start shaving at the back of the neck. You’ll want to move slowly in order to get the smoothest cut possible. Using too much force or cutting too quickly can cause an uneven cut. Next, proceed down the body. Make sure you go with the grain in order to keep things looking as natural and as smooth as possible.

You should then go to the back legs and then the front legs. When you get to the belly you should have your assistant stand the pet up that way you can easily reach it. You can go against the grain here and take off the plastic guard. Dogs tend to pickup a lot of dirt on their belly, so you want to keep the hair short. They may move around a lot when you shave their stomach and when you get near his private parts. Keep that in mind.

If the hair seems to come off slowly at any point, then you should use a brush to “back-brush” the hair. This raises it, which means the tool can catch more hair.

You might want to use a longer comb on the face since this area tends to be very sensitive.

Finally, you need to cut some of the longer hairs off the paws and possibly their face. Be careful not to cut the whiskers off. Your dog will get very stressed out and will not like you if you do that.

As you can see, it’s a relatively simple process to explain. Unfortunately, some pets are just very difficult to groom if they are not used to it. Do not worry, you can still groom your dog with enough practice. Treats also help to calm them down.