How Often Should You Groom Your Dog

How Often Should You Groom Your Dog?

If you own a dog, you know it’s important to regularly groom them

for their overall health and comfort. But how often should

you groom your dog?

Proper Dog Grooming: What’s Involved

Grooming any pet, especially those who share our home, is required regularly to keep our pets clean and healthy and our homes smelling fresh!

But there’s more to “grooming” than just a bath! The following steps are also necessary in addition to bathing, drying and styling the fur coat.

• Brushing, combing and dematting.
• Nail cutting.

Groomer Combing Out a Small Dog’s Fur

• Teeth cleaning.
• Cleaning ears especially dogs with long, floppy ears like the Cocker Spaniel, Poodle, Shar Pei, Lab and more.
• Cleaning eyes to prevent eye/tear stains particularly for the Maltese, Shih Tzu, Poodle and short-nosed dogs.
• Expressing the anal glands especially among smaller dog breeds.

While most of these steps can be done by the dog parent, many opt to have their dog professionally groomed. If you use a professional groomer, they can recommend a regular schedule for keeping your pooch in tip top shape! They will take into consideration your dog’s:

• Breed.
• Coat type.
• Activities, especially outside.

If you decide to use a professional groomer, do your research first for the best outcome for your dog.

Small Brown and Black Dog After Bath

Did you miss our “The ABC’s of Dog Grooming” blog? Click here!

Dog Grooming: How Often?

As mentioned above, proper dog grooming dog takes into consideration their breed and type of fur coat. Also, if your dog spends a lot of time outside and loves to roll on the ground, you’ll want to groom them more often!

Some dog breeds need a lot of grooming and other breeds can be bathed less often and are fine with regular brushing. Below we’ll take a look at the different breeds and their grooming needs.

According to the AKC, the 6 dog breeds below are considered “high-maintenance” because they require a lot of grooming.

• Poodle: This dog breed has hair (versus fur) and requires regular brushing, bathing and trimming as the hair grows to prevent painful matting.

White Puppy Covered in Mud

• Portuguese Water Dog: Another K9 breed with hair and requires regular brushing, bathing and trimming as the hair grows.
• Bichon Frise: This breed also has hair and requires regular brushing or combing (to prevent matting) along with bathing and trimming at least once a month.
• Afghan Hound: Their long, flowing hair requires regular brushing and bathing.
• Puli and Komondor: Due to their thick, corded coats (resembling dreadlocks) they need regular attention to keep the cords separated to prevent painful matting and becoming dirty.

When it comes to canines with minimal grooming needs, the AKC notes these seven breeds:

• Beagle.
• Boxer.
• Doberman Pinscher.
• Great Dane.
• Weimaraner.
• Vizsla.
• Italian Greyhound.

If you are unsure how often to groom your dog, talk to your regular vet who can help based on your dog’s breed, coat and health!

Dog Grooming: When it’s Too Much of a Good Thing

If you’re a first-time dog owner or adopting a puppy for the first time, get reliable, expert advice on how often to groom your dog.

Small Black Puppy Being Bathed

Bathing your dog too often can be worse that not grooming enough. This is because overbathing will remove the critical, natural oils in your dog’s skin and fur leading to dryness, flakiness (dandruff), irritation, hot spots and worse.

Regular brushing not only helps remove dirt (requiring less bathing), but also helps stimulate and distribute your pup’s natural oils for a healthy and luxurious coat.

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