Grooming for Dogs
While each pet's needs will vary, basic grooming for dogs typically includes bathing, brushing, dental care and nail trimming. Your pooch may also need haircuts depending on his or her breed.
Bathing
To help remove dirt, debris, and other things from your dog's coat to ensure their skin stays healthy, bathing is key. Bathing your dog, however, too often can damage hair follicles, irritate skin, and increase the risk of fungal or bacterial infections.
Most dogs will require a bath between once a month and once every three months. Use a shampoo specially formulated for dogs and warm water. The water shouldn't be warmer than the dog's skin.
Brushing
Brushing helps remove dead hair from your dog's coat. This can prevent matting and skin irritation. Brushing can also help reduce shedding, which means you'll find less random tufts of dog hair around your house—a battle that most dog parents know a lot about!
The longer your dog's hair, the more frequently you'll need to brush it. While some dogs need daily brushing, others can do with a monthly brushing.
Nail Trimming
Use a nail clipper designed specifically for dogs to trim their nails. While a rotary trimmer can be a safe alternative, it might take more time to get the job done. If you're not comfortable doing the job yourself (or if your dog isn't able to tolerate it), consider having a qualified professional trim your dog’s nail. They should have the tools and experience needed.
Dental care
Brushing is a great way to keep on top of your pooch’s dental hygiene. Make sure you only use animal toothpaste as there are some harmful products in human toothpaste to animals.
Grooming for Cats
Grooming for cats usually involves brushing, bathing, nail and paw care, ear care, dental care, and eye care.
Brushing
Brushing your cat removes dirt, grease, skin flakes and dead hair from the coat, and it helps to stimulates blood circulation and improve overall skin condition as well.
Brush your cat once or twice a week with a metal comb (thick or thin teeth are both fine, whatever works best for your cat's fur). You might find that these regular brushing sessions are particularly beneficial as your cat ages and can't groom themselves as meticulously anymore.
Bathing
It's no secret that most cats hate water, and so you'll be pleased to learn that most cats don't need a bath regularly. Cats can more or less take care of their own bathing, and will only need help if they get extra filthy, or get into something sticky.
Bathe your cat using special cat shampoo and warm, but not hot water. Keep in mind that there's a good chance your cat will not want to cooperate, so be sure to shut the bathroom door before you begin, and consider wearing gloves and long sleeves.
Nail & Paw Care
It’s important to regularly examine and clean your cat’s paws and make sure they’re wound-free and free of debris.
Trimming a cat's nails can reduce scratching to cut-down the destruction of your furniture. For cats that dislike you nail trimming, spending some time getting them used to their paws being touched (without trimming) can help.
If your cats are mainly outdoors consider that they may need their nails to defend themselves or get around outside.
Dental care
Brushing is a great way to keep on top of your cat’s dental hygiene. Make sure you only use animal toothpaste as there are some harmful products in human toothpaste to animals.
In case grooming your pet at home becomes too time-consuming, or difficult, or you would rather a professional do the job, we are here for you. One of our nurses can clip those nails, dematt/brush and also advice on dental hygiene and express anal glands if one of our vets as authorise for a nurse to do them.
Grooming for Rabbits
How often to groom
We can help our pets by grooming them regularly, and this is especially important when they are moulting. When rabbits groom themselves they swallow a lot of fur and if they swallow too much it can cause their gut to slow down, which can be dangerous. Unlike cats, rabbits cannot vomit, so it’s important to remove as much loose fur as possible.
Rabbits’ skin is very delicate and easily damaged, so it’s important that any grooming equipment is comfortable for them and used carefully
Ideally you should groom your rabbit every day. It’ll help you and your rabbit become better acquainted and at the same time give you the chance to check your rabbit for any problems – more on that later.
Grooming offers the chance to check the body for any problems
Grooming kit
There are several tools on the market, made for cats and dogs, that are specifically for removing fur build-up during moulting. These are not suitable for rabbits. Their skin is much more delicate than that of a cat or a dog and is very easily torn.
When rabbits are moulting the amount of fur they lose is significant. You can often see lines in their coat where dead fur has come out and the new coat is showing. The lines seem to travel along the rabbit’s body, generally from head to tail.
Rubber pimple brush or mitt
Rubber brushes or pimple mitts are very useful during moulting. They are fairly gentle but will remove the build-up of loose fur quite effectively. The rubber is quite soft but it still needs to be used carefully.
Soft brush
Soft brushes are great for general grooming, and many rabbits will enjoy sessions where they are used. However, during a moult they need to be backed up with the use of something else.
Comb
Combs are especially useful for longer-haired rabbits or when short coated rabbits are moulting. They must be used carefully to avoid injury.
Nail clippers
There is a page on this site devoted to nail clipping. Nail clippers may be a scissor design or guillotine. The scissor type will have a notched section for the nail to fit into. Please don’t use ordinary scissors or human nail clippers as these can split the nails and really hurt your rabbit.
Matted fur
If your rabbit has any matted fur and you cannot gently brush the matt out, try untangling with your fingers, but be very careful not to tug on the fur as that can be uncomfortable for your rabbit and may even cause injury to his skin. If this doesn’t work, you may need to cut the matt out. Be careful, especially if it’s very close to the skin. If you are worried that it’s so close to the skin that cutting it might cause injury, ask your vet to clip the fur instead, using a clipper head that is appropriate for a rabbit’s fine fur.
A note about “hypnotising” or “trancing” rabbits
Some people when grooming will hold their rabbit on its back so it goes perfectly still as if in a trance. This is in fact extremely cruel as the rabbit is, terrified and playing dead as part of its prey animal response to being caught by a predator. Never do this to your rabbits.
You can either hold your rabbit with it’s backside supported as if it is sitting up to cut the nails or place it on a towel on a worktop and very gently pull the foot to the side to get to the nails.
Fur’s not the limit
Grooming isn’t only about getting out loose fur, it’s also the opportunity to examine:
eyes to ensure they are clean and bright,
ears to ensure they are clean with no discharge and no unpleasant odour,
feet to ensure there are no injuries or abrasions,
bottoms to ensure they are clean and there is no sign of flystrike
your rabbit’s body condition – not too fat nor too thin and with no lumps or bumps.
If you do find lumps or bumps, any suggestion of flystrike, injuries, discharge from nose, ears or eyes, book a visit to see a rabbit-savvy vet.
Getting your rabbits wet
As a prey species, rabbits do not like to feel vulnerable, and a rabbit in water isn’t a natural position for them to be in. Even just getting them wet is problematic. When wet rabbit hair clumps together, getting them completely dry is a very difficult task, and rabbits who are left damp are potentially prone to respiratory infections and hypothermia.