The Dirty Truth: Skipping These Grooming Steps Could Be Hurting Your Dog

Having a dog is a huge responsibility. They need exercise, a well-balanced diet, and a solid training foundation to help them live their best lives in the human world! But an often-overlooked dog owner obligation, is your dogs individual grooming needs. From short to long, hair vs fur, single coat to double, course coat to smooth, every dog needs to be groomed. Their specific coat type will dictate how much grooming they require, and how often. Grooming isn’t just for pure cosmetic purposes. Proper grooming has a dramatic and positive impact on your dog’s physical and mental health. Professional groomers can keep your dog looking and feeling their best, but there are grooming protocols you should be doing everyday to ensure your dog is always looking and feeling their best.

Paw and Nail Care

I can’t tell you how many dogs I’ve worked with who are experiencing behavioral issues, who have had problems with their paws. From overgrown nails to too much hair between their paw pads, part of what was exacerbating their problems was the poor state of their paws. Now, most of these dogs also hated having their feet touched, which is why they looked the way they did. If you as the owner cannot touch your dog’s paws, a groomer or vet will be hard pressed to do so as well. Your dogs depend on their feet for survival and when they don’t feel good, they will not behave well. If your dog’s nails are overgrown, when they walk, they are making contact with the ground with their nails first instead of their paw pads. This affects balance and traction, thus impacting how they maneuver in the environment. Dogs with poor footing will also most likely suffer from increased anxiety. Your dog should also not have overly hairy paw pads! If the hair around your dog’s paw pads is so long that you can’t really see the pad itself, they need to be trimmed. A weekly or bi-weekly Mani/pedi session with your pup is a great way to bond, and to help them feel their best! If your dog does not enjoy having their feet touched, you need to contact a professional who can help you work through paw desensitization exercises.

Ears

I once worked with a dog who was newly adopted and her lovely owners were struggling with severe leash reactivity. They told me that when they adopted her, she had an ear infection and they were treating it, but were having a hard time administering the medication. We went over relationship building exercises that would help the dog learn how to trust them and the ear cleaning process, but I also recommended that they get a second opinion about the severity of her ear infection. The way she was behaving during the consultation led me to believe that the infection might be worse than what was initially diagnosed. They did as I suggested and turns out, she had a DOUBLE massive ear infection and required an extensive round of treatments to resolve the issues. And you want to know something? Once her ears were healed, her leash reactivity improved dramatically! The moral of this story? Health problems affect behavior! Cleaning your dog’s ears on a regular basis is an essential part of dog ownership and should not be overlooked. If your dogs ears are perpetually gunky, it may be worth looking into possible irritants, such as diet and environmental allergens.

Teeth

Does your dog suffer from dog breath? If your pup’s breath could clear the room, you definitely want to look into upping their oral hygiene routine. While getting them professionally cleaned by your vet is not a bad idea, there are many proactive measures you can take before things get really bad. There are dozens of products on the market today that promote healthy teeth and gums for your dog. Dogs love to chew, so giving them something substantial to chew on can also help stem the build-up of plaque and tartar. A healthy diet is also key. Teeth problems gone unchecked can lead to behavioral issues as well as major health problems, such as kidney disease.

Eye Gunk Removal

Eye gunk, or discharge, is a natural occurrence in dogs, just like humans, and relatively harmless. If you suspect that your dog’s eye gunk is more severe than average discharge, you’ll want to get them to the vet ASAP to rule out any possible ailment such as an eye infection or allergies. A problem that can stem from eye gunk, especially with our very hairy friends (ie: Doodles, Old English Sheepdogs, Schnauzers) is when we don’t remove it on a regular basis. As the gunk is discharged, and makes contact with the air, it begins to harden around the eye area. If we don’t clean the eyes, the gunk becomes more and more hardened and matted to the fur and can become a breeding ground for bacteria which, if you’ve already guessed, can then cause an actual problem where originally, there was none to begin with. So please, everyday when your dog wakes up, make it a point to clean out their eyes in the same way you clean out your own first thing in the morning. Your dog will be so grateful!

Owning a dog is a full-time commitment. If you love them, you will do more than just buy them toys and pup cups from Starbucks. You will become more attuned to their daily grooming needs so that they can live the happiest and healthiest life possible. Hopefully, you groom yourself every day. So, why not your dog?