Dog grooming tips, advice & common mistakes on animal care

Dog Grooming Care

There are many dog grooming ideas that we endorse while also pinpointing some common mistakes that pet parents who are using our products do while grooming their dog and that could affect the grooming’s results and duration.
Our company is now an established choice for dog grooming products, pet dermaceuticals, and peripheral products concerning the wholesome pet care of your beloved animals.
In this blog, we will refer to some basic grooming advice and common mistakes in dog grooming.

Dog Grooming: First things first

All pet owners must know that dog grooming is a constant process. Showing love and devotion to our animals is a strenuous process that needs attention around the clock. Moreover, animal grooming is not limited to dogs but covers many types of pets. We would say that animal grooming has little to do with the appearance or good looks of our pets, but most importantly, covers the wellbeing, hygiene, comfort, and longevity of our pets. In addition, specific dog breeds (i.e. curly-haired or long-haired) require special treatment or specialized products for optimal results and should be taken into consideration when taking care of your pet.

Important points:

Animal grooming: Training is key

Whenever you groom your dog - or any other pet - it is paramount that your pet is familiarized with you and your actions. Thus, your pet should not feel intimidated by your movements or gestures in order to have a successful grooming outcome. The sooner you train your pet to get familiar with other people, or with people touching his paws, tail, ears, etc., the better. Ideally, this should start from a very young age and needs patience and persistence in order to be successful.

Dog grooming ideas: Be quick and entertaining!

A common mistake that pet parents who are using our innovative natural pet grooming products do is that they take longer with their dog grooming sessions. On the contrary, dog grooming (brushing, combing, cleaning of the paws ears, and nails) must last only for a few minutes. You can add some extra weekly grooming sessions and by keeping them frequent and shorter you avoid your pet getting irritated.
Some pet treats can also be beneficial to create a successful pet grooming routine. By rewarding your pet with small treats and with a gentle pet you show your dog they are on the right path and make your grooming duties that much easier.
The same rule applies when bathing our dog, meaning it should be as short as possible but not hasty. Incomplete bathing or hasty rinsing and drying could bring the opposite results and cause skin irritation and itchiness for our dogs due to soap and moisture residues left on the skin and hair.

Common mistakes in dog grooming

Be mindful in your choice of pet shampoo:

- One of the common mistakes made is using human shampoo for our dog's bath. It is imperative to use specially designed dog shampoos since dog skin pH is different from that of humans and human shampoo can cause skin irritations to our dogs.

Shampoo quantity:

- Another common mistake is using more dog shampoo than necessary, which besides wasting product since all Top Dog shampoos work diluted, it does not allow the proper disperse of the shampoo to the whole body and we have spots that remain half-washed.
- Additionally, the eyes, ears, and head of our pet are special care zones and require much attention to avoid irritations.  Although all our products and shampoos are 100% safe for our pets’ skin and hair, getting shampoo into their eyes can upset our pets and stress them out. It is very important NOT to get water in our pets' ears since this can cause serious ear irritation.
- Next time you are grooming your dog pay extra attention in the head area which we advise you to wash by wetting your palms with a little shampoo and water and running them through their head and then rinse the same way with clean water wet palms.

Don’t be impatient 

Grooming your dog and pet is a rewarding process. Feeling its clean smooth and shiny coat you might feel like enjoying it by taking them out for a walk. We suggest that you refrain from doing so, especially in the first hours after grooming. It is of paramount importance that you let your pet’s coat dry thoroughly and get rid of all the moisture in order not to attract any dust or dirt from playing outside. Not only will you preserve your pet’s flashy appearance, but you will also save time by avoiding doing the grooming all over again in case they get dirt on their coat while playing outside. But even if this happens you can always take care of it with Dry Cleaning foaming shampoo used for cleaning dirty spots and the paws of our pet. We suggest that you wait at least 4-5 hours prior to taking your pet outside.

Pet Care: Don’t forget the nails!

Many pet parents make the mistake of neglecting to clip their dogs' nails. Rocky, hard soil terrains work as natural trimmers but since most pets live indoors and don’t go for walks in such locations natural nail trimming does not occur. So, it is a good idea to clip your dog’s nails every 3 to 4 weeks to provide extra comfort to your pet and eliminate the risk of minor injuries to you and your pet. PAY ATTENTION: the nail clipping procedure is very delicate and usually causes restlessness to dogs, so if you are not absolutely certain that you can handle it without injuring the soft part of the nail, refer to a professional groomer of your vet to do it. Injuries caused by nail clipping are very painful and there is the risk of injuring the nerves and vessels.

Start your dog grooming routine with our natural pet products.

Top Dog has created an extensive range of natural pet products and dermaceuticals for dogs, cats, rabbits, and horses that can make grooming at home a fast, reliable, safe, and entertaining experience both for the pet parent and primarily for your pet. Explore our pet products range, as well as our products retailer network. Find useful tips and advice for pet grooming and animal care information in our blog and give your pet the quality care they deserve!