Written by Steph Tufft Vet assistant, groomer and pet sitter.
It is quite obvious that if you own a dog with long hair you need to groom him or her at least every couple of days, preferably daily (short haired too but long haired is more important...obviously).
Aside from the fact that you will be maintaining a healthy coat, removing build ups of dead hair and generally keeping the fur clean, you can also use that opportunity to find any changes in your dogs appearance (the older your dog gets the more important this is)
By this I mean any lumps or bumps. Any cuts, infections etc.
This is also where your groomer will come in as they should give the dog a thorough check over to ensure there is nothing out of the ordinary that you may have missed and need to be aware of.
I'm provoked to writing this as recently, when clipping a dog, I discovered it to have quite a seriously infected and blocked anal gland which needed immediate veterinary treatment.
The owners were quick to react at being informed and as soon as his clip was finished (and anal gland emptied) they took him to the vet. He also had an infected lump on his nose which had gone un-noticed.With luck the problems (especially the anal gland) will have been caught just in time and a strong course of antibiotics should sort it as opposed to emergency surgery.
The reason I started this by singling out long haired dogs is because it is by giving them a thorough once over during your daily/every other daily grooming sessions that you can find and deal with problems before they get to the stage where they become an emergency.
Through all that long and/or thick hair you cannot possibly see what is going on underneath without going through it.
So please keep on top of your dogs grooming and care whilst also ensuring he is regularly groomed and checked for anything that may have slipped the net.
Know your dog. It could save his life.
Aside from the fact that you will be maintaining a healthy coat, removing build ups of dead hair and generally keeping the fur clean, you can also use that opportunity to find any changes in your dogs appearance (the older your dog gets the more important this is)
By this I mean any lumps or bumps. Any cuts, infections etc.
This is also where your groomer will come in as they should give the dog a thorough check over to ensure there is nothing out of the ordinary that you may have missed and need to be aware of.
I'm provoked to writing this as recently, when clipping a dog, I discovered it to have quite a seriously infected and blocked anal gland which needed immediate veterinary treatment.
The owners were quick to react at being informed and as soon as his clip was finished (and anal gland emptied) they took him to the vet. He also had an infected lump on his nose which had gone un-noticed.With luck the problems (especially the anal gland) will have been caught just in time and a strong course of antibiotics should sort it as opposed to emergency surgery.
The reason I started this by singling out long haired dogs is because it is by giving them a thorough once over during your daily/every other daily grooming sessions that you can find and deal with problems before they get to the stage where they become an emergency.
Through all that long and/or thick hair you cannot possibly see what is going on underneath without going through it.
So please keep on top of your dogs grooming and care whilst also ensuring he is regularly groomed and checked for anything that may have slipped the net.
Know your dog. It could save his life.
If you would like to contact Steph for an appointment to groom your dog or pet sitting ring on 628859973 or email vetpetcare@hotmail.com website
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