Dogs need regular grooming to be able to keep their skin and fur clean and free of ticks and fleas. Fortunately, a dog owner these days doesn't have to be any sort of grooming expert ? there are doggie salons where a pampered pooch can go, have his nails clipped, his fur trimmed, shampooed and blow dried, and all in an afternoon's work.



Even with the advantages of a dog salon, you'll want to make sure you have the ability to undertake some parts of your dog's basic grooming. Salons can be expensive, and the money you save on a salon visit can easily be spent on the other things that impact a dog's health like an elevated dog feeder if it's a big dog or an orthopedic dog bed if it's an old dog. Or just splurge on a stylish leopard print dog bed for your pooch to lounge in style.

it doesn't take long to do some basic maintenances routines for your dog on a regular basis. Save the salon treatment for a special treat or a special occasion!

Some dogs require daily grooming of their fur while other dogs can do with a grooming every few days or weeks. Some breeds must have their fur trimmed at a professional salon at regular intervals. Poodles for instance, need more grooming than other low maintenance breeds. The regal looking Afghan hound is a striking picture with its full mane of hair, but such breeds require more maintenance than other breeds.

Clip your dog's claws on a regular basis. This doesn't requite a lot of finesse, and can be done easily at home. Make sure to keep the ?quick? in mind. The quick is the blood supply to the nail of the dog, and has to be conditioned to move further away every time you cut the nail. To do this, begin clipping your dog's nails every two days at a certain distance away from the paw. Don't cut off a big chunk right away. Begin by snipping the nail a little at a time. Whenever you clip, the ?quick? begins retreating with the shortening of the nail. Use special dog nail clippers available at pet stores. Once you get the nails to a desired length, keep clipping them regularly, and maintain them at the same length.

Bathing your dog again is dependent on your breed of dog. Some dogs are naturally very clean and detest water, and may not need to bathe often. A bath once in a few months is sufficient for such dogs.

With this list of things you can do to keep your pooch clean and fresh, there are no excuses letting your dog run around filthy. Although most of them love rolling around in dirt and mud and rubbing their faces in the ground, you have to wash them off once in a while. If your pooch is an indoor/outdoor dog, the last thing you want are fleas and mud all over your house. So get that shampoo and conditioner out and wash that filthy dog!