Being your own dog groomer can be a rewarding and fun activity for both you and your pooch. Not to mention it could save you a great deal of money by eliminating the costly grooming bill.

However, there are some things you should know before taking a shot a grooming your pet.

You know your dog best.

You know what they tolerate and don’t tolerate. If you know your dog is not going to like being washed you should take caution and buy a muzzle ahead of time so you can create a safe environment for both of you. For difficult over sized dogs you may want to consider tying them up outside to be washed.

The best type of shampoos to wash your pet with

The most common shampoos are hypo allergenic , tea tree and aloe, oatmeal, silky show, and shed less shampoo.

Hypo allergenic shampoo is a very mild shampoo used for pets with skin allergies or dry flaky skin. Oatmeal based shampoo is used for pets with a stinky coat and also for dry skin. Tea tree and aloe is for the pets who have hot spots, sores, and dry flaky skin. It’s a medicated shampoo designed specially for that type of skin.

Silky show is used exactly for what it sounds like, to make the coat look and feel silky and shiny.

Shed less shampoo is used for the dogs in which are shedding. For this particular shampoo, when you are washing the dog you want to use a zoom groom (a rubber brush) to help get the loose fur up. Move it gently in circular motion over the dogs entire body, except the head. Also, there’s a re-moisturizing conditioner that’s really good for dry, flaky not so great skin.

When washing your pet, you want to make sure you are as gentle as you would be with washing yourself.Don’t be afraid to put a little muscle into the bigger dogs to clean them, they need it.

You only want to wash you pet once every 4-6 weeks because over washing them can lead to dry skin also.

Always be patient when grooming your pet. A lot of pets don’t stay still when being washed. A good majority in my experience don’t like it. Another thing you should do is purchase aloe opti eyewash to put in the dog’s eyes while bathing them.

Never get water or soap in your pets ears.

Another thing that can lead to dry skin and even ear infections is the type of food you feed your dog.

You should always feed your animal the best there is. Stay away from foods with a lot of fillers,preservatives, and artificial coloring and flavor in which are not good for your dog.

Some good foods are Wellness, Innova, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Natural Choice etc.. They all have natural ingredients.

Human food is also not good for your pet.

Tooth brushing and ear cleaning

You brush a dogs teeth like you do your own. With your pets toothbrush and toothpaste, move in a circular motion over every tooth.

A pet with teeth that can’t be fixed by brushing should be taken to the vet and put to sleep to be cleaned.

If your pet does not like it done, don’t do it. Chances are, they will try and bite.

Ear cleaning is pretty simple. You use dog ear cleaner on dogs. Its important you only use pet ear cleaner and not human products. Some human products can be harmful and also cause an allergic reaction.

Grooming Brushes

There are many types of brushes out there, but you only need certain brushes for certain dogs.

For a short flat coat i.e: Mastiffs, Great Danes, Labs, Beagles etc., the best grooming brushes to use would be the zoom groom.  A zoom groom is a rubbery brush with rubbery bristles.

A furminator is a type of brush you want to be careful with. This particular brush is for the dogs that shed more.It has razor sharp teeth and could cause harm if used the wrong way.

When using this tool, do not go over the same spot multiple times in a row. You could cause brush burn and irritation in that spot.

For the pets with a longer coat, i.e: Shih Tzus, Poodles, Pekingese, Pomeranian, Bernese Mountain Dogs and any other long haired dogs the best brush is the slicker brush.

You should also be careful when using this brush because it can also cause brush burn and irritation. The best way to tell when your long haired dog is fully brushed out is if you can run a metal tooth comb through the coat without it getting caught on any tangles.

For removing tough undercoat on a dog, you can buy an undercoat rake. Once again, in order to tell you have taken it out properly is by running a metal tooth comb through it without it getting caught on any tangles.

For matting your in dogs coat, depending on how bad the matting is you can try using a dematting tool. If the mat is to the skin, you will have to either cut or shave it out, or take them to the nearest groomer to be professionally taken care of as soon as possible. Matting on any animal is very uncomfortable, having it shaved out is uncomfortable also. Be very careful when cutting/shaving out a mat on your pet, you don’t want to injure them in anyway.

Nail trimming

A dog that has clear nails is easier to tell where the “quik” (The blood vessel In the nail) is rather then a dog with black nails. For the clear nails, do not get to close to the pink in the nail.

If you do, they will bleed. To stop the blood, use quik stop. Put pressure on it as you would one of your own cuts. For animals with black nails, keep taking a very little off until you see a dark black circle in the center of the nail.