January 6, 2009

Labrador Health And Grooming

by Brooke Sunderland

Just because they have short hair doesn’t mean that Labrador Retrievers don’t have to be groomed on a regular basis, because they do. Daily grooming sessions should include removing the dead hair from the dog’s coat with a short haired rake, an inspection of the dog’s ears to make sure they aren’t infected, a quick glance at the dog’s feet to make sure that the pads aren’t cut and a brush with a firm bristle brush.

Daily Labrador grooming will lessen the amount of hair the dog sheds in the house, strengthen the bond between dog and owner and help detect and prevent many skin conditions. While daily grooming is an important part of your Labrador’s life, there are times when more aggressive grooming measures will need to be taken. There are times when the Labrador will need its ears cleaned, its nail trimmed and it will need to be given a bath.

Unless you are planning on competing in a dog show, grooming your Labrador doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out process. The first step in a daily grooming regime is to take you short hair rake, and use it on your dog’s body. Do not, under any circumstances, use it on a part of your dog’s body, such as the face and legs, where there is very little muscle between the skin and bone.

The trick to successfully bathing your Labrador is to make it as stress free as possible. Start by brushing your dog. This is an activity that they are familiar with from the daily grooming sessions and it should help reassure your dog that you won’t let anything bad happen. It is tempting, especially after the dog has been rolling in a smelly carcass it found in the woods, to use the most powerful shampoo you can find.

In most instances when you groom your Labrador you’ll find that the only items you’ll use are the bristle brush and the shorthaired rake. The rake will remove the dead hairs from the dog’s body and the bristle brush will use the natural oils found in the dog’s skin to give the coat a healthy shine.

When they are grooming Labrador’s many dog owner forget about their dog’s ears and nails. Whenever the dog’s nails start to get long the owner will have to trim them. It is important to make sure that you don’t trim the nails to short. If your Labrador has white nails you can easily see the bloodline, the place where the nail turns pink. If the dog has dark nails you may want to take just a tiny bit of the nail off at a time. If you have never trimmed the nails before you’ll want to have a professional dog groomer or veterinarian help you the first time.

The trick to training your dog to stay obedient during the grooming sessions is to stay patient, the only thing losing your temper will accomplish is to scare your dog. Firmly but gently remove your puppy’s mouth from the brushes, and constantly enforce the sit command. Keep your voice soft but firm. Reward your Labrador’s good behavior during Labrador grooming.

One trick to teaching your young Labrador Retriever puppy to behave itself during the grooming sessions is to keep them short. Puppies, like human children, have short attention spans and can only concentrate for a limited amount of time.

About the Author:

About the author: Brooke Sunderland is an avid lover of the Labrador and has a popular website that can show you how to have a happy, healthy and well behaved Labrador. Among other topics there, you can also learn all about Labrador Grooming Tips plus a whole lot more.