Dog grooming is all about maintaining your pet’s physical health as well as appearance. Regular grooming is linked to a balanced mental and physical state of the pet. It keeps them stress-free and comfortable, especially those with long or heavy coats.

Grooming brushes are particularly designed to comb dogs with different coat types such as long and silky hair, wavy and short hair, or curly hair.

Benefits of grooming dogs

Grooming is linked to the dog’s physical and mental health, hence you can always benefit from grooming. Here are some of the major benefits of regular dog grooming.

• Grooming lessens the chances of contracting health problems such as skin allergy, parasitic infections, scratches, and matted hair. It can help eradicate major health problems.
• You can ensure the general tidiness and physical appearance by regular and proper grooming.
• Grooming keeps vital organs in check as the groomer will monitor the status of essential body parts for the infection, such as; Eyes, Ear and Teeth, Nose, Underside, Skin Coat, Nail and Pads, etc.
• The physical appearance and standard of the dog are maintained with regular grooming. Tidy dogs are more sociable.
• Grooming prevents matted hair, long and burly fur that can cause stress to many dogs on a daily basis. Grooming keeps them comfortable and happy.

Why is it important to get the dog groomed?

It is essential to start grooming at the early stage of a dog’s life. They may grow unused and hostile towards grooming such as nail clipping and ear cleaning at a later stage of life.

Here are some of the importance of regular dog grooming

a. Remove Dirt and Dead Skins

Dogs need regular cleansing of the exterior to remove dirt, dead hair, dead skin, and dandruff. Dirt and matted hair can invite tick infestation. Grooming helps to remove the hidden enzymes from coat fur and help stimulate the natural oils in the pet’s fur.

b. Avoid Nail Complications

Domesticated pet such as dogs requires regular trimming of nails to avoid nail complications. Indoor pets can often encounter problems with overgrown claws that are associated with painful conditions.

Dewclaws on the inner paws of dogs and cats can grow into toe pads, which can lead to a painful infection.

c. Avoid Dental Issues

The dental issue is one of the medical condition contracted by dogs.

By the age of 3, 70% of cats and 80% of dogs have some form of gum disease.

Periodontal is a dental disease common in dogs that starts after the bacteria in the mouth combines with food particles to form plaque on the teeth that forms tartar and enters the gum line to create toxins. If your pet remains uncured from dental disease, they are at a higher risk of heart, kidney, and liver disease.

d. Avoid Matting of Hair

Matted hair can be an extremely painful experience for dogs. It is generally caused by the uncombed hair mixed with moisture and dirt. The matted hair can be clumsy and severely painful during the movement. Severe fur matting also restricts the flow of blood and in many ways restrict their body movements resulting in temporary deformity.

e. Avoid Intestinal Conditions

Although uncommon among canines, coughing up hairball can sometimes be seen in dogs with medium to long fur. Dogs often lick their body which can accumulate loose hair into their system. It is mostly attributed to a lack of grooming

Known as tricholith or trichobezoar, hairball is the accumulated animal hair or fur that surrounds a non-digestible item generally stuck inside the stomach of the animal.

Grooming is essential to keep the pet skin cleaner. It prevents excessive licking of fur which may cause hair fall. Bathing cuts down the hairballs, which cats vomit or discard in the litter box.

f. Control Shedding

Shedding of the loose hair is common among many dog breeds. You can prevent excessive hair fall by keeping their fur clean. Regular brushing helps to prevent the accumulation of loose hair. During winter, you should avoid shedding dog hair as it helps to keep them warm

If you notice your dog shedding uncontrollably, you should seek the immediate veterinary in Des Moines to ascertain any underlying medical condition.

Types of Pet Brush

Much like your dog, pet brushes come in just about every shape or size. As a pet owner, you must first consider your pet’s coat and the grooming needs to determine what brush to buy.

a. Slicker brush

A Slicker Brush is primarily designed to get rid of any debris, loose hair and mats/ knots in the fur. It is typically rectangular in shape and has fine wire bristles, packed tightly together. This type of brush works with all pet coats.

Each wire-bristle is angled slightly as to not scratch the skin, however, you must be cautious while using this type of brush as it tends to be sharper. You shouldn’t apply heavy pressure on it.

b. Pin brush

A pin brush is often a wooden brush with wire pins that have a protective ball at the end to prevent scratching the skin.

It’s made for longer and silkier coat types. It’s usually recommended for show dogs –who have long fur coats.

c. Bristle brush

The bristle brush is best suited for dogs with short or wiry coats. The bristles remove debris and leave a nice shine. It can also be used on double-coated dogs (a soft undercoat and weather-resistant outer coat), such as Collies and Huskies.

d. Shedding blade

The shedding blade is a brush in a horseshoe shape comb with small, harmless teeth used for shedding loose fur. A shedding blade works in several ways, but you must ensure caution to avoid any injury to your dog. Do not apply heavy pressure when brushing with a shedding blade, especially around sensitive areas like the groin and bony projections.

e. Undercoat rake

The undercoat rake looks like a pin brush, but with fewer and longer pins. It’s designed to get deep into double and heavy coats of dogs.

On most shedding breeds, it can remove dead and fuzzy undercoat in minutes, and leave the topcoat shiny and healthy. On harsh-coated dogs, they mimic the hand-stripped look quickly and easily. Undercoat rakes can be used on wet or dry.

Urban Pet Hospital & Resort offers the premier Pet grooming service in Des Moines service in Des Moines. We offer best veterinarian care in Des Moines that accounts for highly skilled DVM or Veterinarians, experienced vet professionals, state-of-the-art technology and exam rooms, surgical procedures, grooming, and training.

Some of our most-sought after services include

• Internal Medicine
• Surgery
• Diagnostics & Lab Testing
• Grooming
• Training
• Dermatology
• Day Care
• Dental Care
• Nutrition
• Pain Management
• Boarding
• Preventive Tests

We specialize in pet grooming in Urbandale and offer professional grooming services for all kinds of pets. Our groomers have experience of over 40 years in handling and professional grooming of pets. We use the finest grooming tools and methods, and ensure to clean eyes, ears, teeth, nose, underside, Skin and Coat, Nails, and pads during every grooming session.