Grooming
Most dogs and cats love the attention of a good groom! Before attempting to bath or groom your dog, make sure they have had a good walk to burn off any excess energy!
It is also important to have all of your grooming products ready, including brushes, combs, shampoos and finishing sprays.
- This is a good time to gently feel your pet all over and check for anything unusual, particularly any lumps or sores .
- Next, check their ears, teeth and paws whilst your pet is still keen to behave!
- Brush the coat thoroughly. The action of brushing and combing helps remove any fleas, dirt and remove any loose or shredding hair. The brushing action also helps to spread the natural oils throughout the skin and in turn help to make the coat more glossy.
- Keep talking to your pet throughout the grooming process, using treats if necessary to emphasise that this is a fun and pleasant experience.
- Some long-haired and Persian type of cats, and dogs with fine coats, can become severely matted . These require gentle teasing or grooming out, and where severely matted, gently cutting out with sharp scissors. Removing these knots and tangles, if you are not experienced, can cause unnecessary stress and pain, so please contact the surgery in this instance as it is possible for the vet to carry out a dematting procedure under sedation if necessary. This is particularly wise in cats!
If you would prefer for your dog to be bathed by someone else, there are a number of professional groomers in the Rocester area.
Neutering
Neutering a female animal is also called spaying and neutering a male animal is also castrating.
Reasons to spay
Spaying within the first two years of life massively reduces the risk of your dog getting mammary cancers. If you want to breed from your dog then wait until later but spaying also prevents a potentially fatal uterine infection called pyometra and also ovarian and uterine cancers. Another advantage of spaying a dog is no messy seasons with the risk of misalliance or Bitches running off in search of mates.
Generally we spay bitches in-between seasons after they are 6 months old but we will be happy to spay a bitch before their first season as long as they are mature enough and are not about to come into season. The first season in a Bitch is variable and can happen anytime between 5 and 18months of age!
Click here to see what happens when your dog comes in for a routine operation
Castration is another routine procedure and there are medical and behavioural reasons to castrate a dog. Probably most owners get dogs castrated for behavioural reasons, it does tend to calm them down and if performed within the first three years will tend to stop spraying behaviour.
Medical reasons to castrate a dog are to prevent prostatic problems which are common in dogs over 7 years of age. It will also prevent testicular cancers, these are particularly common if your dogs testicle(s) haven't yet descended- If your dog doesn't appear to have any testicles or there is just one present then it is likely the other one is either still within the abdomen or within what we call the inguinal sac (middle thigh area). I would always recommend castrating dogs with retained testicles as they are much more likely to turn cancerous and you can't examine them to check!
We never push you in to having your animal neutered if you are unsure and would like to discuss the matter further just give us a call on 01889 590449.
