Grooming Advice from the Groomer!
There are times when you may have questions or may be unaware of your pet's grooming needs. The grooming tips here are presented to you based upon my experience as a groomer and are not intended to replace veterinary care when needed, but I do hope you find it helpful with some of the minor issues that I frequently see while grooming.
Overgrown Nails Cause Pain.
The most commonly overlooked grooming need your pet has is nail trimming. Most pet owners do not like to trim their pet's nails but if you don't have your groomer do it, you must. It is much more important than most people realize. Nails have a significant health impact and if they grow too long, they will lift and twist the toes, not allowing the pads to bear the proper load, causing stress on the foot and leg and deforming theirstructure. If you have ever tried walking only on your heels for a while you will have some idea of the discomfort! If ignored, the hip and spine also become involved and can cause serious longterm or even permanent pain and lameness.
If your pet's nails don't wear quickly they will become overgrown and the tell-tale click on a hard surface is a good indication that they need to be trimmed. They may even grow so long that they curl around and embed themselves into the pad. Overgrown nails
can also catch in carpeting or other objects and your pet may rip out or break a nail in their struggle to free themselves, causing injury, bleeding, and pain.
A well trained groomer will always consider safety the first priority when dealing with un-cooperative pets and nail trimming. Some dogs will even require vet care to trim nails if they become too dangerous to proceed. The majority are not that difficult, however, and this article HOW TO CLIP DOG NAILS will help you successfully trim your pets nails. I find in most cases you need to build trust with your dog, and one way to accomplish this is if you gently hold the foot without forcing it, allowing the dog to withdraw the foot if he feels panicky, then gently grab it up again. You can build trust with your pet this way and by praising him each time he lets you hold his foot. Usually after a few times he will let you handle the foot. If he is a small dog you may even wrap his body in a towel with a foot sticking out and set him in your lap to trim them.
The diagram shows you where the nail should be cut. In light colored nails you can see the pink quick and you should avoid cutting into it. It's a little trickier on black nails, but frequently on a black nail you will notice a sudden thickening on the underside of the nail as it gets closer to the toe. You want to cut in front of that point to avoid the quick. If you are unsure of where to cut or have extremely long quicks, you can cut the nail longer and dremel or file the nail back to a more appropriate length. It may take a process of days and weeks to bring overly long nails back into shape, and to give the quick time to recede in between trimmings. If you accidentally cut the quick, you can use "quick stop" or cornstarch applied with pressure to pack the cut and it will usually stop the bleeding after a short while. Remember to reward your pup with lots of praise for every cooperative behavior they exhibit!
In Nature… Dogs Don’t Eat Wheat.
Amazingly, wheat is one of the top ingredients in most dog foods. Many dogs can tolerate it just fine, but quite a few do not! Wheat Gluten is a known allergen and when you stop to think about it, canines in nature rarely eat grass or grain unless they are feeling sick. So why is wheat a top ingredient in so many dog food products? It is mainly used as filler, along with other grains, to bulk up the product and stretch the meat flavoring and, wheat is a cheaper source of protein than animal products.
I often see dogs with chronic problems such as foot licking, chewing, scratching, sores, red inflamed skin or ear infections. If a vet is treating them without results, I ask the pet owner about the wheat content in their dog's diet. Frequently, many pet owners are not aware of the content of their dog's food at all, or that wheat is a major ingredient.
Let me tell you a story from my own experience that made me a believer in a canine wheat-free diet. I have a German Shepherd that, at a relatively young age, began to develop chronic ear infections. I consulted my vet (as you should always do); after several trips, the ear infections kept recurring. I began to suspect a dietary problem when my vet told me it was probably a yeast infection caused by allergies. In her case, I knew it was more likely the content of her food than an evironmental source and I suspected wheat could be the culprit since it is a well known allergen. As an experiment, I took her off wheat based food and within 3 months, her ears had healed and the infections stopped. That was 9 years ago and we’ve never had a recurrence!
Does this look like food to a dog?
I've also recently adopted a 10-year-old Maltese rescue who really needed to gain some weight, so I put her on high quality food for small dogs. I noticed after a few months on the new food that she began to obsessively lick her paws and was staining them. Once again I guessed that wheat in the food was acting like an allergen in her system. I switched to a wheat free food and within a month the obsessive licking had stopped.
If you have a pet that has chronic issues like the ones mentioned, you should first consult your veterinarian since there could be any number of causes and treat-ments. However, in my opinion, wheat allergy is too often overlooked, and if you have a pet that is not responding to your vet’s treatment, you may want to consider the possibility of a dietary issue and get them off wheat. It is a simple, inexpensive solution that can do no harm to your pet.
In my experience you will need to allow at least a month to three months trial on a new food to see a difference and allow some time for healing. I have also found that the product labels can be confusing and you must read the ingredients on the package of any brand to make sure it is wheat free. I have found that the other grains like corn, sorghum, barley, and rice, do not seem to bother my dogs, but I have heard that some dogs are sensitive to corn. I sincerely hope that some of you will find this information useful and beneficial in bringing your pet to better health. After all, they depend on you!
The following articles are a resource you may find helpful too:
More to come.... ear infections...mats cause sores...
