A Safe Guide To Clipping Your Dog
Very few people see clipping their dogs as an art form. Instead, they just tackle certain areas, such as scraggly fur on the feet, to keep their dogs from tacking in mud. In an effort to get rid of undesirable hair, however, many owners forget that clipping their dogs can actually cause damage.
When you choose to clip your dog’s coat, it’s important to keep breed in mind. Longer hair breeds can suffer if you clip them wrongly. Dust accumulates in the coat, and skin diseases may result. In addition, parasites may more freely breed in coats that haven’t been cared for correctly.
You also need to trip your dog’s toenails correctly to keep them from breaking accidentally and making walking painful. Longer nails will tend to twist sideways, and in serious cases even dig into the foot and cause injury. Dogs with overly long claws will often catch them on hard surfaces, splitting or breaking them.
Injuries are common during the process of clipping a dog’s nails – the inside of the nail may bleed when cut. Since the quick of the mail is the source of blood and the location of nerves, it’s what keeps the nail healthy and growing. This area is located well back in the nail, but if the nail’s been cut too short or splinters, the quick may be exposed. This sensitive area will then be quite painful.
When cutting your dog’s nails and hair, make sure you always use very sharp clippers. For nails, make sure you get the right tools for the job – nail clippers for people just don’t work for dogs. There are lots of new types of nail clippers out there that are made to cut down on pain and damage.
If you live in an area that’s cold in winter, don’t clip your dog during the cold months unless you have to. The winter can be very stressful for your dog if his coat isn’t long enough to protect him. Remember that dogs can get frostbite the same way we can.
Never cut your pet’s hair too short in the summer, either. Otherwise, you could expose her skin to the harmful rays of the sun. Dogs’ fur keeps them cooler in the summer as well as warm in the winter. A slight cut will be fine, but make sure you leave enough fur to protect your dog.
It’s also important to avoid clipping unhealthy dogs. This can cause them stress, so clip sick pets only when absolutely necessary.
One way to help keep your dogs nails short and health is walking her on concrete on a daily basis. This allows the nails to gradually be worn down. It naturally controls the length of the nails, keeping you and your pet from needing to deal with nail clippers.
To get the best results, you’ll want to talk to a professional groomer who knows how to correctly clip your dog.
Tags: best dog training, clipping a dog, dog agility training, dog training, dog training program, dog training tools, dogs, how to clip a dog, how to train your dog, pets
dog training | Cliff Stone | 13 July 2009 |
