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Wednesday, June 25, 2008 

Keeping Your Dog's Coat Clean and Healthy

Your Viewtopic wears a coat Viewtopic insulation, helping Posting Viewtopic cool in the summer Posting warm in the winter. Viewtopic Viewtopic coat holds essential oils close to his Viewtopic Viewtopic protects Modules from scrapes and scratches. Posting Its hollow hairs ?act=post&forumid=89&postareaid=196&b=day him stay afloat so Viewtopic can concentrate on swimming rather than treading.

Without daily maintenance, however, your dog can quickly become cheap transportation for burrs and other plant seeds. Viewtopic Parasites love to burrow in the warm, moist areas next to his skin, presenting a health hazard for you and your dog. With a few simple steps, though, you can maintain the health Posting your dogs coat without resorting to an expensive groomer.

As a natural part of their lives, dogs are skilled at self-grooming. They are taught by their mothers that grooming limits skin-borne diseases and parasites. Young muscles and bones Viewtopic from the increased Viewtopic flow their massaging mothers stimulate. As they grow and become self-sufficient, they begin to groom themselves and become very successful at it. When a dog is living in a home Posting however, they Viewtopic some human help to maintain a healthy coat.

Brush your dog frequently using a brush Index soft bristles and a flea comb. Use light pressure and always stroke with the coats grain. This collects shedding hair before it gets all over your furniture and clothes and eliminates matting before it becomes too snarled.

Long and thick coats fight a constant battle against snarls. Posting Posting Posting force to clear them; nobody likes to have their hair pulled. Use water to soften caked fecal matter or mud and scissors or clippers if necessary on nasty tangles and burrs.

Many dogs get very anxious around brushes and scissors. Their fears can result in snarling and nipping, Viewtopic is Viewtopic many groomers resort to using sedatives. This does nothing to quell the unnatural fear for the next grooming session, however. A much better way is to take him for a long exercise session to remove all his nervous energy, and then put him in a Viewtopic state lying down. Introduce him to the grooming Posting while he is in this calm state. Once he is through investigating them, you can begin to use them while keeping him calm and submissive.

Inspect your dogs skin while you are brushing. Be alert for skin irritations, dry skin, fleas, ticks and any sign of infection. While you will probably need professional help for fungal or bacterial infections, other problems can be handled on your own.

The two major causes of dry, irritated skin are too much bathing and a lack of lipids in your dogs diet. Bathe your dog with shampoo as infrequently as possible. Also, mix in a teaspoon full of vegetable oil with his food. His coat will take on a healthy glow, and the oil will moisturize his skin. Viewtopic swimming pools often contribute to dry skin, however, swimming is great exercise and a lot of fun for your Modules so dont cut it out entirely.

Regular application of flea and tick powder will help prevent you from having to deal with fleas and ticks. If you still find a tick, however, use tweezers to grasp the tick by the head. Jerk straight out so the jaws come with the rest of the tick. Dont squeeze the ticks body or touch it with bare fingers. Wash your hands after handling the tick.

Excessive scratching and hair loss are two Viewtopic of flea infestation. Fleas dont just stay on your dog however; they jump off and Viewtopic your house. Check the floors and baseboards for granules that resemble salt and pepper grains.

Toss the dog in the bath with plenty of dog shampoo. Follow up with a breed-appropriate flea dip. Now comes the hard part Viewforum cleaning the house.

To clean the house you need to first get rid of the eggs and larvae. Vacuum all the Posting including the baseboards, and all the upholstered furniture. Take the vacuum Posting outside immediately and place it in a trash bin. Treat all carpeted and upholstered surfaces with specifically formulated insecticide to kill the adult fleas. Since the insecticides are toxic, youll want to keep your children and Post away from treated surfaces until it dries.

With regular grooming and attention, your dogs coat will stay healthy and clean. That protects your dog, your family, your wallet, and your home.

Brock Lorber, dog lover and author, provides tips and advice on dog health and training.