Groomers are often the first line of defense in the health care for dogs, since we are usually the first to spot a skin problem, ear, eye and oral infections, parasites such as fleas and ticks, physical sensitivities in certain areas, lumps and even changes in temperament that may indicate a health issue needing veterinary care.

Most dogs need to be groomed every 4-8 weeks. Labs and short coated dogs can go 8 weeks. Doodles, Bichon's, Maltese, Wheaton Terriers etc should be groomed every 4 and no more than every 6 weeks, if you desire a long coat on them every 4 is best. You can have you dog bathed up to once a week without drying out their skin.

You should also keep their regular grooming schedule even in the winter, especially if the have a coat that requires haircuts. Letting them grow to long leaves the door open for severe matting and the last thing you want is to have him shaved down in the dead of winter. And leaving him matted instead is not good mats can create all kinds of problems, fleas, ticks, skin infections etc.

Not having regular grooming can result in severe matting which can harbor and hide extreme problems, such as fleas, ticks, skin infections cuts abrasions, etc. I have seen after removing what appeared to be a very large mat under the belly of a Pomeranian that it was in fact a huge infection that had left the dog with a very large hole in his belly. He was fine after a trip to the vet but what if they had waited another month he may not have had the same outcome.

I understand that grooming can be expensive and time consuming, but we take the responsibility to take in our 4 legged friends into our homes. And with that responsibility comes taking care of all needs and one of the most important is grooming.

The most important advice I can give for this is to know the breed you choose and all aspects of it grooming, behavior, exercise needs and how that exercise needs fit into your routine and family. Too many time I see people pick a dog for how its coat looks for example the wheaton terrier is a great family dog but it requires weekly combing and every 4 weeks a trip to the groomer as well as a lot of exercise and discipline. When doing the research look at multiple resources some are bias and really only want to sell you on the breed and not give you all the information. If you buy from a breeder ask them all the questions about grooming, behavior etc if you get the salesman speech maybe look at another breeder. A good breeder will want to sell you the pup that fits your needs not just sell you the pup. Going through a rescue do your homework not all rescues are honest about the dogs past or make things up because they don't know. Just be as informed about your choice as possible.

Get your Pet's Grooming De-Shedding Tool here - 50% Less Than The Leading Brand ...