Winter Grooming Tips with Courtney Sawyers of Pawfect Grooming
Winter is a lovely season, but it can be a nightmare trying to keep your dog’s coat clean and tidy. Your grooming techniques and level of care required will depend on the type of coat and breed of your dog. Here are some tips to help you keep your dog’s coat healthy over winter.
Autumn and spring are the most common times dogs shed because in autumn they lose their thinner coat and begin to grow a thicker one for winter, and in spring they lose their thicker coat ready to regulate heat in the summer. Therefore, you will find you need to brush them more around these times; however, you should aim to brush your dog regularly.
The main 2 ways to ensure your dog’s coat stays clean is regular washing and brushing. When a dog’s coat begins to collect dirt, it can cause matting which is very uncomfortable for dogs and in severe cases, can lead to the dog needing to be shaved at a groomer.
Brushing Tips
Longer coated
Will require regular (daily if possible) brushing to ensure their coats stays un-mattered and clean. To be effective you will need a slicker brush and a comb. Start with the legs - brush the hair up against the growth direction (you should see a line of skin) begin to brush from just under the line in a downward direction going with the hair ensuring not to catch the exposed skin to avoid skin irritation. If you come across any matts use the slicker brush to lightly tease out the matts. Once matt free, use the comb to go over the brushed area once the comb goes through the coat without snagging this section is complete, repeat this process over the entire dog.
Short Coated
Dogs with short hair have a topcoat and an under coat that requires two types of brushes, although they require less brushing, it is still recommended once a week. For the topcoat use a rubber brush such as a ‘zoom groom’ - brush with the direction of the hair continuously with the rubber brush until the hair is no longer falling out. The second brush I use is a ‘Ferminator’ a small, razored brush that removes the under coat. Again, work with the direction of coat avoiding applying too much pressure. Brush down the legs and along the back to remove the under coat. Avoid over brushing/hard brushing to prevent pain/injury. Again, continuing until the hair lessens or stops coming out.
Bathing Tips
Bathing can be done at the groomers or at home. Although your groomer will be trained to notice any skin condition and can aid in the upkeep of the dog’s health and coat hygiene during the appointments.
Firstly, ensure you use a specific dog safe shampoo as this is designed with your dog’s needs in mind. Before bathing use a comb or your hands to go over the coat and remove any foreign objects or matts lodged in the coat, this will ensure the skin underneath is cleaned properly and also aid drying. It is ideal to shampoo twice, once to remove the dirt and second to remove oils released from humans released when petting.
Paw protection
Our dog’s paws are subject to lots of wear and tear over winter. To provide protection from cold/snow you can buy some walking boots however not every dog will tolerate these. An alternative is to apply a specific paw protecting product or a thin layer of Vaseline onto your dog’s paws before walking in cold weather- this will act as a barrier to prevent snow and grit salt (which is toxic if licked) from getting stuck in between the toes and within the paw pads. Upon returning from your walks, ensure you wash paws to remove any grit salt and check between the paw pads to remove any build up of snow. During winter consider your dogs age as the cold weather may impact their joints and they are more likely to have a lower tolerance to the cold.