How often should you groom your dog?

Grooming. It’s a pain, especially during different times of the year with seasonal changes. How do you get by? Well, again: grooming. 

Because without grooming, the problem becomes bigger, fluffier, and mattier.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though.

In this blog post, we share with you what you should know about grooming, shedding, and how often you should groom your dog.

Why do dogs shed?

Let’s understand why dogs shed so much. This is a natural process that occurs to remove your dog of old or damaged hair/fur, and the process of shedding and the frequency is dependent on the breed of dog you have and their health. Some breeds, for example, shed all year long at equal amounts. The same case is for dogs who spend most of their time indoors. 

There are various factors that play into why your dog sheds though.

• Heat
• Light
• Stress

According to Great Pet Healthcare, “Dogs will shed either seasonally or year-round. Outdoor dogs—who may be living as strays— tend to shed seasonally in the spring and fall. In the spring, these dogs will shed to have a lighter outer coat for the summer. In the fall, shedding allows for a thicker and warmer undercoat to grow in to prepare for the winter.”

Great Pet Healthcare continues on explaining that indoor dogs typically shed all year-round “because the artificial heat and light inside a home don’t provide the seasonal ‘signals’ to control when the shedding occurs.”

What should you be doing?

For starters, brush your dog daily. It’s important to care for your dog’s coat for multiple reasons including general appearance, making it easier to identify any issues in relation to health, keeping the house clean, and of course...time to bond with your dog! Brushing your dog daily will help make sure that your dog avoids matted fur. When your dog’s fur gets matted, it prevents oxygen and moisture from reaching their skin on top of adding pressure and increasing the risk of parasites taking up shelter in your dog’s fur. 

When your dog’s fur is too long, you can schedule an appointment with the groomer and make sure they take care of your dog’s paws and nails, too!

Yeah, but how often?

The frequency of dog grooming needed for your fur baby depends on their breed. Short-haired breeds may not require as much grooming while long-haired breeds will be more strenuous upkeep.

For example, there are dogs with wiry coats. Schnauzers and Terriers are examples of breeds that have wiry coats. While these breeds only need to be bathed once every several months, you’ll need to brush and comb them 2-3 times a week. 

But is this frequency the same for all breeds?

Not at all. 

So we recommend as the dog parent, do research on how to properly groom your dog’s breed and how often. 

Try Google Searching: _______ (dog breed) + grooming frequency

What about the Delta Variant? Will groomers close again?

Those are, unfortunately, questions we can’t answer. Access to dog groomers may not be simple during pandemic impacted time frames. Dog groomers, in some cases, might have close up shop altogether when your fur baby is due for some grooming. This is the time we have to take matters into our own hands. 

Good news is pet suppliers are considered essential (as they sell “essential items”) taking in account the welfare of animals and pets during this pandemic.  How can you groom your dog at home during this pandemic? 

Check out our blog post: How to Groom Your Dog During the Coronavirus Pandemic

This is just a sampling of tips and informational posts we offer at Joyride Harness. You can find more content including tips and tricks and how-tos for caring for your dog on our blog at this section. Feel free to leave a comment with tips you’re looking for!