All dogs need some form of grooming, there is no question about that. Even hairless chihuahuas should be wiped with a damp chamois leather to get rid of loose skin and dust. However, one of the main purposes for grooming your dog regularly is so that you can check him for skin problems such as allergic reactions to flea or tick bites. Another reason is bonding. In a pack situation, dogs groom other dogs and are themselves groomed every day and dogs like it.

Therefore, you should groom or brush your dog at least once a week and take him to a dog parlour every three, four or six months depending on how fast his hair or fur grows and whether you can manage it or not. Having said that, you will find grooming simpler if your dog’s hair is the right length, because it will not tangle so readily.

You should wash your dog every month or so and groom him at at a minimum of once week. This will ensure that your dog gets accustomed to being bathed and handled. If this is done from the puppy age, most dogs will not only accept it, but they will come to enjoy it, although there will always be those dogs that bolt for it as soon as they see a hose and a bowl. They get to know what to look out for. If you talk to him constantly, comforting him and sometimes giving a doggie treat, he should soon come to accept the unavoidable – that he is going to be bathed and groomed.

Actually, most dogs enjoy the grooming, although many only tolerate the bathing. Anyway, bathing and grooming regularly will keep the job as simple as it can be. Once your dog is no longer a puppy, say after six months or so, you might take him to a professional groomer in a so-called ‘Poodle Parlour’. By that time, he should be becoming accustomed to the routine and he will accept the treatment from strangers more readily too.

You should look for professional groomers in adverts in the pet store or the vet’s or just ask your friends and neighbours for suggestions. Locating a groomer should not be problem, but you may have to try a couple before you find one whose style of cutting you like or who is adaptable enough to fit in with your lifestyle.

When you drop your dog off at the Poodle Parlour, ask when it will be ready to be picked up. Turn up fifteen minutes beforehand and you could be lucky enough to witness first hand how your dog is being treated and how your dog is getting on with the groomer. This is priceless information, because it will help you make up your mind whether the groomer is getting on with your dog or not.

If the groomer is doing a good job, but your dog is anxious, you can help put him at ease. If the groomer is being a bit too rough, then you will know whether to change Poodle Parlours or just have that groomer banned from taking care of your dog.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on many topics, but is currently concerned with indoor mosquito repellent. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Mosquito Repellent For Dogs.

We all dislike to think that we have bugs feeding and living off us. Mosquitoes are awful enough, but fleas, ticks and lice are even worse. They do not simply come over for dinner, they actually move in. Dogs and cats are normally to blame for bringing fleas into our homes, but ticks and lice we can bring ourselves too.

If you suspect an infestation or an immanent infestation of fleas or other bugs in your home, you ought to do something about it right away. The first thing to do is tie the dog up in the yard and clean up the house. Put your bedding and any loose covers, like cushion or chair covers, on a boil wash. Then get out the vacuum cleaner, put a large shake of flea powder into the bag and vacuum the whole house – even the chairs and the curtains.

Then take a large can of insecticide containing 0.5% permethrin and spray every fabric that you can see. This will kill all bugs and will keep your house bug free for about six months. Think twice if you have fish or cats as permethrin will kill them too, although it is completely safe for humans and dogs.

So, now you can turn your attention to Fido. Fleas are by far the most common problem, but some areas where there are deer, may have a lot of ticks as well. If you dog has ticks, make sure that you cut your grass short. Ticks prefer long grass.

Fleas and ticks often produce an allergic reaction in dogs which drives them mad. They bite and scratch themselves until their hair falls out and their skin bleeds.

If you dog has a condition like this, you should wash him with a medicated shampoo, dust him with flea powder, put a flea collar on him and put a little oil on his sore skin. If he still will not leave it alone, you may have to get him a ruff for a few days until his skin heals over. For maintenance, a regular bath and a dusting should be sufficient.

Worms are another horrible thought. Imagine having worms living inside you. I know that we do all have parasites within us, but they are supposed to be there. I am talking about the ones that are not supposed to be in there like: tape worms, round worms, hook worms and whip worms. A bad hook infection can even make your dog anaemic.

Hook worm larvae can pass through the skin, so when you are bathing or brushing him, be on the look out for what looks like small cuts. Often the dogs stools will be runny and tinged with blood. These are dangerous pests and have to be treated immediately.

The other worms are less dangerous and all puppies have round worms. Round worms and bits of dead tape worm in the stools are a sign of infection. A pot belly in a puppy is also a call to action. Worms are not difficult to treat and you should worm your dog every six months with a tablet. Not all of these worming tablets are suitable for puppies though.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on quite a few subjects, but is currently concerned with natural tick repellent. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at tick Repellent For Dogs.

We all love our dogs, don’t we? We love to give them a little delicacy sometimes as well. Some dogs are so cute when they beg for a bit of what you are eating, but the fact is that some foods that are alright for us to eat are not so good for dogs. This should not come as much of a surprise as you would almost certainly be quite ill too if you ate a half-rotten bird that you found in the hedgerow.

The most common human food that will kill your dog is chocolate or more accurately the theobromine in the chocolate. Some chocolate has more theobromine in it than others. For instance, white chocolate has only 1 mg of theobromine per 28 g (1 oz) whereas baking chocolate has 450 mg per 28 g.

So how much theobromine does it take to kill a dog? Well, the response to that depends on several considerations like age and health but most importantly the weight of the dog. Let us say that an average, knee-high, collie-type dog weighs 20 kilos (about 45 lbs.), then it would take about 250 kg (560 lbs) of white chocolate to harm him, but he probably would have exploded by then anyway having eaten 12.5 times his body weight in food.

However, the scenario changes quickly when we examine other types of chocolate. It would take about 1.5 kg (3 lbs) of milk chocolate to have the same outcome and about a third of that in sweet cacao or half-a-kilo (1 lb). The most hazardous substance is baking chocolate. It only takes just over 100g or four and a half ounces of baking chocolate to give a medium sized dog life threatening problems.

Therefore, the biggest danger would be of a dog eating a chocolate cake with chocolate icing or topping. Children are the worst, albeit innocent, culprits: they frequently give dogs cake at parties and it is one to look out for.

So, what should you do if your dog eats chocolate? It depends on the quantity and the quality and your dog. The safest thing would be to take him to the vet as soon as possible, but if you are confident you could wait for symptoms like vomitting, diarrhea, twitching, seizure, palpitations or undue wetting.

Theobromine attacks a dog’s central nervous system so not all dogs will react in the same way, but you will definitely discern that your dog is perplexed, befuddled and distraught.

If you make your mind up to treat your dog yourself, the first thing you should do is stimulate vomitting all the while comforting your dog. A 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide should do the trick. Give your dog a teaspoon full if it is under 10 kg and a tablespoon if it is over 10 kg. Give every 15 minutes until it takes effect. After this, try to get some activated carbon into him to soak up any residual poison. Follow the recommendations on the box.

If you live miles from anywhere or you think that your dog is at high risk (the school vacation season is the worst), you could get a pet’s first aid box from your vet. They are not expensive and have a long shelf life and you will not be caught out if someone gives your dog chocolate.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with researching What to do if your dog eats chocolate. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at http://whattodoifyourdogeatschocolate.com.