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time with our dog in a relaxed and undisturbed attempting to touch or groom them. My views
environment while grooming and touching him on this situation are, I think, well known. The
in a way that he likes is time well spent. Do not situation should never have been allowed to
overlook the fact that in the wild, a high ranking develop! Correct puppy management would
dog in the pack would bestow favours on other ensure that the dog is happy to be touched
lower ranking dogs by grooming them. If we by his owners. However, if it is an older dog
take on this role surely it will confirm to our dogs with this problem, especially a rescue dog,
that we are the boss. We are hopefully a kind, then the answer may well be that a behaviour
benevolent boss, but we are definitely the boss. modification program may need to be
established to get to the root cause of WHY the
I am sometimes asked what sort of equipment dog doesn’t want his owners to touch him.
should be used for grooming dogs. The amount
of equipment that is now available is wide Touching the various parts of the dog and
ranging, and I will not attempt to go through the presenting them for examination is an integral
types of brushes, combs etc. that can be used. part of the Kennel Club Good Citizen scheme. A
scheme that I believe should be undertaken by
What I will say though is that in my opinion, all dog owners.
the importance of one thing should not be
overlooked. That is the use of our hands. By How often should we groom our dogs? The
getting our fingers deep into the dogs coat we answer to that ideally is daily. With some short
are massaging the skin and stimulating the coated dogs this will be very easily and quickly
supply of sebum. We are dislodging any loose achieved. Even if the actual grooming takes very
hair that could clog up his coat. Our hands will little time we must remember the inspection and
detect any abnormalities or injuries that may relationship part of grooming which of course is
not be visible. Also of course, we are touching not dependant on the length of the dog’s coat.
him in an almost intimate manner which helps to
bond us with our dog. Should we bathe our dogs? My answer to that
is, no more than is necessary. Perhaps if they
What if the dog does not like to be groomed? need it after rolling in something noxious! The
Some dogs will react adversely to owners problem of excessive bathing is that it removes
sebum from the dog’s coat which can result in
the coat being dry and not waterproof. With
some dogs that have a very dense, fast growing
coat, then the services of professional dog
groomers can be very useful. My advice would
always be to choose the groomer carefully. Just
as dog trainers should be chosen carefully.
Seek recommendations from other dog owners.
Do not be afraid to ask questions. A good
professional will not be offended. It simply
shows that you have your dog’s best interest
uppermost in your mind.
To summarise, dog grooming, like dog training,
should be a pleasure for all concerned.
Sometimes to achieve that, professional
guidance may be needed in order to get the best
from our dogs.
Bob Haynes
(Delta One Canines)
10
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / JULY 2020
