Hey Woofa’s,

I can’t believe we’re in lockdown, again?

Just when we thought we had this virus under control, as much as we can, it comes back with a vengeance!!!

We can’t do much about it other than stay at home!

As a Dog Groomer I’m no longer able to open my salon.   Even though I can operate as a Covid safe business, I’m not classed as essential!

So this has got me thinking about all the doggies out there that are going to need some grooming while we’re all in lockdown.

I’m calling out to all dog owners to step up and take notice if your dog needs extra grooming TLC!

What can you do while in lockdown to keep your dog groomed?

I’m glad you asked, here’s some tips!

HOW TO KEEP YOUR DOG GROOMED WHILE IN LOCKDOWN?

1/ Brush Your Dog Every Day

Every long haired dog owner out there, listen up!

Your dog’s hair is going to get knotty so it needs to be brushed.

Most people are home during lockdown so there’s really no excuse now.

Your dog needs to be brushed ALL OVER – head, ears, neck, chest, underarms, down the legs, along the back, under the belly, inside of the back legs as well as outside, around the behind and tail…………..

If you can’t get it done all in one day, that’s okay try again the next day and the next.

Short haired dogs don’t mind a good brush either as it does remove their excess hair and gives a good massage.

2/ Washing Your Dog

Now, I know some people out there wash their dog every so many days, that’s way too often.

Ideally, you want to wash them every 4 weeks.  It takes roughly 21 days for the natural oils and minerals to come back through the coat.

So if you feel you need to wash your dog while in lockdown, at the most do it once every 2-4 weeks.

Also, use a good shampoo and a conditioner.

Be kind, if it’s cold don’t wash your dog outside in cold water, wash them inside either a laundry sink, bathtub, shower, somewhere where you can use warm water.

You’ll need to dry them thoroughly or have somewhere where they can be either in the sun or somewhere warm so they can dry properly.

Again if you have a long haired dog, brush them before their bath and once they are dry, to keep the knots away.

3/ Cleaning Your Dog’s Ears

In the Salon I use baby wipes to do this, they are moist enough to remove dirt but not wet enough to leave the ear damp.

I wrap the wipe around my thumb and (inside the ear) I push the dirt from the inside of the ear towards the top of the ear.

You don’t have to do this every day.

4/ Cleaning Your Dog’s Eyes

Again, I use baby wipes and wrap it around my pointer finger.

I hold the dog’s head and lightly run my finger from the corner of the dog’s eye underneath.

If there is gunk and it’s stuck, it’s best to try to get it off while your dog is in a warm bath.

In the bath the gunk goes moist and is easier to pick off.

If your dog has hair covering their eyes, only try to trim it if you’re confident you’re not going to cut your dog.

I generally put my left hand over the dogs eyes like a visor, brush the hair over my hand and cut the hair while it’s over my hand, so the scissors aren’t near their eyes.

Please get someone to help if you’re going to try this.  If not, just put their fringe in a pony tail if it’s bothering them and you don’t want to cut it yourself.

We want to keep our dog’s safe as well here.

5/ Keeping Your Dog’s Butt Clean

It’s easier for the short haired dogs, because if there’s anything stuck you can wipe it off with either a moist flannel/face washer or baby wipe.

For the longer haired dogs with long hair around there it’s a bit messier.

You either have to bathe them or just their butt or (dare I say) try and trim it out yourself.

Try washing it off first, but if you find you need to cut it out, do this.

Get a comb and put the comb in the hair between the dog’s skin and the poo, so when you cut your cutting the hair on top of the comb.

This way the comb is protecting you from cutting your dog’s skin.

Only trim the hair as a last resort.

6/ Keeping Your Dog’s Nails Trimmed

I think to save a lot of pain and potential cutting the nails too short, the best way to keep your dog’s nails short is to walk them on the cement.

We can still go out and walk our dogs, so while you’re out walking try to keep to the cement as much as you can.

This will gently file the nails down for you.

Hopefully this will help until we’re all out of lockdown and can go back to the groomer.

I’m hanging to get back to my hairdresser………..

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

Within reason we want to keep our dogs as neat and clean as possible while in lockdown.

These are just some basic tips on how to do this.

Stay safe and take care of each other.

IN THE COMMENTS BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW – WHAT GROOMING YOU’VE DONE TO YOUR DOG?