Do you want to try and groom your dog at home?
Offering a multitude of benefits including saving money and bringing you closer to your dog, read on to discover how you can safely groom your dog at home in just five simple steps.
Step 1: Invest in good equipment and supplies
If you want to ensure that you groom your dog safely and effectively, then you need to make sure that you have all the necessary tools and supplies at your disposal.
For bathing, you will need a good quality dog shampoo, a bathmat, and a towel. For brushing, you will need a dog brush and dog comb. It can also be a good idea to invest in some professional dog clippers as these will allow you to trim your dog’s hair in the same way that a professional groomer would.
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Step 2: Choose a non-slip surface
Although you can choose to groom your dog in pretty much any room in your home, if you want them to feel relaxed and enjoy the process, it can be a good idea to select a surface where your dog will not slip over.
When bathing your dog, this can be carried out in the family bathtub and when grooming, look for an area of your home that your dog feels comfortable in and one where they can take themselves off easily if needed.
Step 3: Offer treats
For dogs that are a not as fan of home grooming, you may want to think about offering a selection of treats to help keep them motivated and to reward good behavior.
Make sure that you choose healthy dog treats rather than sugary ones as you don’t want your dog to become overweight or develop tooth decay.
Step 4: Use nail clippers with safety guards
You need to regularly trim your dog’s nails as nails that are too long as can cause feet and joint problems. That being said, you need to make sure that you do not cut their nails too short as over-cutting can also be problematic.
To avoid this, choose nail clippers that feature safety guards as these prevent you from cutting your dog’s nails too short.
Step 5: Be patient
If you are feeling stressed when you groom your dog, then they are highly likely to pick up on this and start to feel stressed and agitated also.
If you are new to DIY dog grooming, then you may be feeling understandably nervous but the most important thing to remember is that you need to be patient. This is a new experience for your dog as well as you, and it may take a little time for you both to get the hang of things.
Start slowly and pay close attention to your dog and how they react to each step of the grooming process as this can help you to identify any issues and also see what it is that they enjoy.
