Keeping your dog looking nice is an essential part of caring for him. But many dog owners wrongly assume that dog grooming is an option, not a necessity.

It's more than just a dog wash, experts will tell you. While brushing your dog is important, and counts for some grooming, the reality is that your dog needs professional dog grooming.

Why is Dog Grooming Important?

Professional dog groomers can bring an expertise to the job that no matter how hard you try you just can't. They have access to dog grooming equipment that you might not, and they have experience and perhaps even training that gives them essential skills in keeping your dog's fur healthy and attractive.

In addition, they often can provide your dog with a true grooming experience that goes beyond what most of us can do in our backyards or bathrooms.

Good dog groomers can ensure that your dog is clean, and that his fur is in good condition. But because a dog groomer will likely spend more time caring for your dog's fur than you might, he or she might also see skin conditions that need care, or other conditions that need attention.

Beyond that, dog groomers have equipment you don't have at home, including special dog wash treatments and the know-how to use them. They might also use dog clippers that are of higher quality than those you are able to buy for home use.

How to Find a Dog Grooming Service

Dog groomers can be found in a variety of places. Here are some ideas:

* Ask at the vet's office for a recommendation; sometimes a good quality dog grooming service is available on site at the vet's. * Purchase an ebook, DVD or CD and learn do do at least part of the grooming yourself (will save you some money and helps build your relationship with your dog) * Head to the local pet store and ask about their offerings; dog groomers can often rent a space at a pet store and provide a grooming service while the dog's owners shop. * Look for independent dog wash facilities; sometimes these are located in suburban neighborhoods. You might help with the wash, or the dog groomer might do all the work.

You can just drop your dog off at any groomer's facility, but you might want to ask a few questions of the groomer first. These can include:

* Has the groomer taken any dog grooming courses? This can assure you of a high quality dog wash and grooming session. * If the dog groomer took dog grooming courses, did they include a discussion of how to look for skin conditions and what to do about them? * Does the groomer provide puppy grooming? If you have a young dog this can be a relevant question since a puppy's grooming needs can be different than an adult dog's.

Grooming Your Dog at Home

If you need to save money or you just don't want to take your dog to a dog grooming service, you might think that you can replicate a professional grooming session at home.

It's a little hard to do in the beginning, but you can give your dog a good grooming session at home. Here are some ideas:

* Purchase an ebook, DVD or CD and learn do do at least part of the grooming yourself (will save you some money and helps build your relationship with your dog)

* First, make sure you have the proper equipment. This goes beyond a good dog brush, though that is important. Also have on hand high-quality dog shampoo (not the shampoo out of your own shower) and flea dip medication if that's needed. Also have fresh clean towels and dog clippers.

* Be patient with your dog. Many don't enjoy baths or being brushed and groomed. One advantage of taking your dog to a dog grooming facility is the dog can be leashed to the table, which makes the job much easier.

* Groom your dog on a regular basis. How often he needs grooming is dictated by his breed, but read up on the breed's grooming needs and try to keep within that schedule. Otherwise, his fur could get out of hand and you'll have no choice but to take him to a dog grooming service.

Your dog's grooming needs generally aren't excessive unless they are a high-maintenance breed. Be willing to do what's necessary to keep him groomed, whether that is using a professional dog grooming service, or giving him a groom at home.

• Why Bathe Your Dog? by Cliff Stone Most of us think about bathing dogs in one of two ways. Either we believe that dogs nearly never need bathing, or we fall in with the people who feel a dog should be bathed once a month or even more often. The truth is somewhere between......
• How to Keep Your Dog Healthy During His Lifetime If you love your dog as much as I do then you care about his health. Your dog is your friend, protector and companion, but they have health concerns too. All pet owners at some point have a sick dog. You want the best health care for your pet.......
• Treating Dog Fleas by Moses Wright Dog fleas are perhaps the most common dog health condition. Treating dog fleas can be difficult especially if the treatment of the flea infestation has been delayed. Dog fleas are parasites that bite the dog in order to feed. Fleas can be picked up by the dog......
• Essentials Of Dog Grooming Dog Grooming if you are a responsible dog owner, then you need to pay satisfactory attention to grooming your dog. Right dog grooming guarantees that your dog looks his best and feels good too. While dog grooming embodies a hill of things, there are certain essentials of dog grooming.......

• The Myths about Long-Term Care Long-term care issues have been everywhere in the news lately – from stories of people needing these services to how the government is responding. But there is also a lot of conflicting, and even mistaken, information. Misconceptions may have prevented you from including long-term care planning into your retirement portfolio.......
• Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways If you're looking for handy gadgets, tools and various items that can save you time, money or space (or all three!) this list of more than 80 top products is just what you need. Everyone's got saving money on their minds these days. Some of us are always looking to......
• Things to Consider When Purchasing Home Office Furniture by Patricia Baldyga How you react to your home office, be it positive or negative, depends on the furniture you choose when designing and setting it up. Always purchase home office furniture of the highest quality you can afford. There are plenty of pieces of office furniture to pick from......
• The Birth of a Professional Web Site: Part Six Search Engine Preparation An important part of developing a successful web site is attracting a steady stream of targeted traffic.A significant amount of web site traffic originates from the major Search Engines. A Search Engine is a web site that indexes web pages. These sites run software programs called "Spiders" or "Robots"......

	Good Night, Wonder Pets! List Price: $6.99 Sale Price: $3.15 Used From: $3.07
Join Ming-Ming, Linny, and Tuck as they help get baby animals ready for bed and tuck them in for the night! With a sweet, rhyming story, this board book is the perfect bedtime companion for little ones.

	Drinkwell Original Pet Fountain List Price: $49.99 Sale Price: Too low to display
Drinkwell® The Original Pet Fountain is perfect for single-pet households! It features the Drinkwell®-patented free-falling stream of water and a large charcoal filter to remove bad tastes and odors, giving your pet the best possible and most appealing way to stay hydrated...

Written by William Ronalds using tags: Pets