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Health Matters
September 1, 2011
For those of you who think that grooming is stictly for show dogs and whose dogs see a hair brush only used on people, rethink your stance and practices. Grooming is an owners best opportunity to spend time with their dogs and learn more about how their dogs are doing health-wise. This month we go step-by-step through standard grooming routines and point out what to look for that might have important health consequences for your dog.
*Standard disclaimer: while we will offer our opinions about how to best achieve optimum health for our animals, we do NOT profess to know what is better for your pet than you or your vet do! Always consult with your vet, then consult with another vet and get a second opinion (because we also believe in having options!).
Grooming for Good Health
A gleaming coat brushed to a sheen and pearly white teeth are signs of a well-cared for dog who has an attentive owner. Grooming is an important aspect of dog ownership. It helps to cement the bond between pet and human as the dog enjoys a gentle brushing and the fawning attention lavished on him. However, grooming isn’t just about making our dogs look good. Grooming is really about your dog’s health. Grooming your dog is just as vital to his well-being as good hygiene is for us; additionally, a grooming session is the optimal time to discover or track any issues that might crop up.
Let’s start with the basics of grooming a dog’s coat – and before we can do that, we have to look at the various types of coats your dog might have. There are five major types of coat and a sixth lesser group in which each breed has its own grooming requirements. The five are as follows: non-shedding (poodles, Bedlington terrier), smooth (Labs, pugs), silky (Maltese, Irish Setter), wiry (almost all terriers fall into this group) and long with undercoat (Golden Retriever, Siberian Husky). While each of these coat types has some specialized needs, the basics of brushing are pretty much the same across the board. The goal of coat grooming is to remove the dead hair and knots, stimulate the skin while removing foreign objects (burrs, foxtails, etc.) and redistribute oil from the skin down the length of the hair shaft.
Brushing should generally be done in the same direction as the hair growth (from nose to tail). Almost all dogs require a good brushing out to remove dead hair on a regular basis – especially when the dog is going through his shedding season (if you’ve ever heard the expression “blowing coat” this is that period), which usually occurs during spring and fall and is directly related to changes in temperature. As you can imagine, spring shedding is when the dog will “blow” his heavy winter coat in preparation of summer’s warmer weather and the reverse happens in fall. Smooth coated dogs, like Labs, seem to shed their guard hair all year round, but will also experience a “fluffing up” of undercoat during the fall that will later need to be removed with daily spring grooming. While the non-shedding breeds don’t blow coat, they do still have dead hair that needs to be brushed out or it will mat.
Mats are usually found in armpits, groins, around the tail and back of thighs, and under floppy ears. Mats need to be removed as soon as you find them – if left, they can grow and tangle more hair, pulling and irritating the skin and, in extreme cases, causing sores. Depending on the severity of the mat and the type of hair involved, removing a mat can be done with a comb by gently taking a very small outer section of the hair clump and picking at it with the comb’s tines. Doing this repeatedly can untangle a knot. If the hair is very fine or the mat is very dense it is sometimes easier (on you and the dog) to simply cut the mat away. If you attempt this you will want to use blunt-nose scissors and, if possible, have someone hold the dog still while you snip away. Additionally, you will want to protect the skin by sliding a comb between the scissors and skin – that way you won’t cause more damage in the attempt to remove the mat. In the most extreme cases where the dog is covered in mats, it is usually best to use electric clippers and shave away the matted hair. This will allow much needed air to circulate over the skin; also, you can see what condition the skin is and treat any wounds as necessary. Shaving a dog needs to be done with a tremendous amount of care. Electric razors can easily irritate the skin (razor burn) as well do damage through pulling the hair out or nicking the skin.
I will touch on a controversial subject – shaving the long haired dog as a regular grooming practice. I know many people who give their dogs a “lion” or “puppy” cut at the beginning of summer. These people truly believe that their dogs are more comfortable with out all that extra hair. It can also be argued that the dog’s double coat is designed to keep the dog cool because cool air is kept next to the dog’s skin under the top coat, and the top coat helps protect the dog’s skin from being burnt by the sun. I have not shaved my dogs – almost all have been Goldens with super coats. I regularly brushed them out and that helped to make sure that when they blew out their winter coat it really all came out. If you go the route of shaving your long haired dog make sure that he has sunscreen on or some way to protect him from sunburn.
Following combing, brushing and mat removal, you may need to strip your dog’s coat – this is most important for wiry coats (the terriers). Stripping is the process of pulling the dog’s coat out, and it is best done by hand although there are stripping combs and knives that will grab the hair and pull it out. These tools can seem more time efficient than using index and thumb, but if not used gently enough you can irritate the dog’s skin (and the dog won’t enjoy it either!). So for the novice hair stripper, take your thumb and forefinger and gently pluck away dead hair using a slight twisting motion. There are two ways to approach coat stripping – all at once, which is called “taking the coat down” and is usually done for show dogs as it extremely time consuming; bit by bit, called “rolling the coat”, which is the normal route pet owners take. Coat stripping takes a little while but it is really essential to keeping your wire coated dogs comfortable in the summer, their skin healthy and coat is good condition.
Once the dog’s coat has been brushed out and is free from mats and burrs, you can proceed to bath time if the dog actually needs it. Some breeds don’t need to be bathed all that often, maybe as little as 3 or 4 times a year, as it removes the oil that protects the dog coat – this is particularly important for the water dogs (Labs, Newfie, Goldens and Spaniels). If you are considering bathing because the dog has gotten muddy, you might want to wait until the mud dries and then just brush the dried mud (dirt) out. However, if the dog stinks or is deep-to-the-skin dirty, break out the shampoo! There are actually two types of shampoo – dry and wet. Dry shampoo is a powder that helps deal with odor and excess oil out of the coat. You shake it on and brush it out. It isn’t as effective as a real soap and water bath at cleaning up a dirty dog, but it is great during the winter when it is too cold to comfortably sink your hands into a tub of water. Wet shampoo should be specifically designed for dogs/puppies. Animal shampoo is gentler than human shampoo. I’ve heard of people using baby shampoo and know that lemon-based dish soap is effective at killing fleas although it is rather harsh and will strip the dog’s oil right out of his coat. Bath time is considered by many dogs to be a form of torture and abuse on our parts. You can ease this by washing your dog inside, using warm (never hot!) water and putting a rubber matt down so they don’t slip around on the tub floor. This is the best time to give your dog a thorough going-over for lumps, bumps, skin problems (rashes, cuts, injuries, hot spots) by running your hands over every part of the dog and looking directly at the skin normally hidden by hair.
You will want to make sure that you thoroughly rinse out all shampoo residue as it can irritate the skin. After that, you can apply a conditioning rinse; however, if you use a shampoo like our emu oil shampoo that has a natural flea and tick repellent agent, skip using the conditioner. But if your dog has very long, fine hair a conditioner might be necessary to reduce the amount of knots and tangles. Furthermore, if you find that your dog comes out of the tub with a tangle or two, take your time and gently work them apart – yanking at them will make the tangle worse and injure the skin. The gentlest way to dry your dog is with a towel. I’ve never known a dog that didn’t love to be towel-dried. They must think it’s the best game and a full body massage all in one. If you are very careful, you can use a hair dryer, but the heat will dry out the skin as well as the hair – additionally, many dogs don’t like the sound of the dryers, and it makes the entire bath time experience more traumatic so if you can skip the blowout treatment, do so.
Let’s move to grooming the dog’s head. There are so many health issues that can be prevented with regular grooming just of the head. Start with the ears – if your dog has floppy ears, you know that they tend to collect gunk, dirt and oil. This is because air can’t properly circulate and why dogs with pointed ears don’t have the same problem. When too much gunk accumulates, the ear can become infected. The usual culprit is yeast because the environment is so friendly for its growth. If your dog is prone to dirty ears the easiest way to help stop infections is trimming the excess hair away from the underside of the ear flap and regular cleanings with a vet-approved/supplied solution (and remember to never stick a cotton swab into the ear canal!!!) Moving forward, some dogs have weepy eyes. Daily (or more often) gentle wiping of the tears or “sleepies” from the tear ducts will help keep the dog’s eyes from potentially getting infected/irritated. If your dog has skin folds on his face you will want to wipe/dry between the folds to make sure that, like the yeast-prone ears, he doesn’t develop a skin infection. The nose can become dry, cracked and even bleed; if you notice that your dog’s nose is getting dry you can put a little A&D ointment on it (just a dab!). Arguably, the most important and vulnerable part of your dog’s head is his mouth, specifically his teeth. Regular brushings are great for helping to hold tartar at bay. You should also take a moment to inspect your dog’s mouth, check on the tartar and plaque buildup and see if he’s got any cavities, broken teeth, inflamed gums or sores – any and all of these will require a vet’s attention. You do not want to put off your dog’s dental health. Just like humans, dogs have a direct line from mouth to heart (blood-wise) and a dental infection can become a serious cardiac problem.
Going along the body to the feet. Trimming your dog’s nails needs to be done regularly. If you let the nails get too long, they become painful to walk on. They can also easily tear or rip, resulting in bleeding and pain. If your dog’s nails are long, the best way to get them back in shape is gradually. Every three days take about an eighth of an inch off at a time. This will allow the quick (the vein that runs inside the nail) time to recede up the nail so you don’t end up clipping too much at once and causing bleeding and pain. You want your dog’s nails just short enough that they don’t make a clicking sound when walking on a non-carpeted surface. Using the guillotine style clippers are recommended as they don’t crush the nail, but do a good job of snipping. Don’t forget the dewclaws if your dog has them – they are the most vulnerable to being torn off when the dog is running or playing, so keeping them low profile is very important. Also, if your dog has furry paws you will want to trim the hair between the pads (the underside). This has a two-fold reason – one, by removing the excess hair you are allowing air to get in between the pads (remember that ear/yeast situation? Same thing with pads), and, two, the dog will have better traction if slippery hair is removed and this is really important for older dogs who live on tile or hardwood floors.
Finally let’s deal with the dog’s backend. There is no gentle or polite way to talk about this topic. It is certainly not dinner conversation – unless you are a real dog person and then it is totally normal! Nature designed the dog with anal glands. As you would expect from the name, these are two glands located around the anus. The purpose of these glands is to release a rather strong scent contained in an oily substance when the dog defecates. This marks the dog’s territory and is a form of communication, letting other dogs know who’s who and who’s been where. The anal glands, also called scent glands and anal sacs, should function normally as long as the dog has hard enough feces to stimulate their release upon defecation. However, sometimes the sacs can become impacted either due to soft stools that don’t create enough pressure to cause regular emptying or a blockage of the duct. When this happens it’s very painful for the dog. If you see that your dog is scooting his bottom or bothering with his anus (biting, licking, etc.) it could be an impacted anal gland. The best way to deal with this issue is visit your vet because the gland needs to be manually emptied ("expressed"), and while I think there are few aspects of grooming an owner can’t or shouldn’t be able to handle, this is one where if it isn’t done correctly you could make a bad situation worse. Also, it’s gross. If your dog does end up with an impacted anal gland, take him to the vet and watch how they remedy the problem so at the very least you will know how to express the glands yourself if you ever need to. Do not let an impacted anal gland go untreated. The gland can become infected, which is usually treated by first attempting to express the sac, if that isn’t possible then lancing the gland to remove the contents, a topical antibiotic rinse and a course of oral antibiotics. The flipside of an impacted anal gland is when the dog’s sacs express themselves spontaneously. This usually happens when the dog is scared or surprised. Again, one of nature’s great designs – the oily substance that is released smells so foul that it can be a deterrent to whatever is threatening the dog. If you dog suddenly smells like something rotten, nasty and disgusting, chances are he just spontaneously expressed his anal glands. The only way I know of to get rid of the smell is a bath with warm water and shampoo - lather, rinse, repeat and repeat and repeat until the smell is gone.
Grooming your dog is the only way you can stay on top of the changes that happen to his body. You shouldn’t let a week go by and not examine every aspect of your dog’s body. Because of diligent attention I have found lumps and bumps on my dogs, caught broken teeth before they became a bigger problem, and – maybe most importantly – enjoyed a trusting, loving relationship with a dog I knew from tip to tail. Regular and thorough grooming isn’t just for vanity’s sake – it is paramount to keeping your dog healthy and happy.
