Understanding Your Dog

In This Chapter Investigating problems that can dull your dog’s coat Combating external and internal allergies Dealing with external and internal parasites Discovering hot spots and how to fix them Recognizing diseases and knowing when to ask your vet for help Not all problems with your dog’s skin and coat can be fixed with a…

In This Chapter Making foxtails and burrs a less prickly problem Handling really messy problems Removing sticky stuff from your dog’s coat Stopping the stink — the definitive answer to skunk spray Dogs get into some of the darnedest things. Stickers, burrs, foxtails, tar, and other substances are fairly typical of the stuff that gets…

In This Chapter Discovering the clipped breeds Brushing the varied coats of the clipped breeds Handling the coat clippers Readying your clipper breed for a show In this chapter, I discuss the clipped breeds, with the exception of Poodles (I devote Chapter Getting the Sticky and Stinky Stuff Out to that special breed). Certain dogs need clipping…

In This Chapter Discovering the corded breeds Developing those doggie dreadlocks Bathing (and drying) the corded canine coiffure Preparing your corded dog for show If you’ve never seen a corded dog, the first time you run into one you’re likely to think that you’ve met up with a mop with four feet, a wet nose,…

In This Chapter Understanding what makes a longer-haired double-coated breed Handling the big hair Grooming and grooming your double-coated dog Sprucing up your long hair’s coat for show It’s time to talk big hair. If the short-coated breeds are the wash-and-wear dogs of the canine world (see Chapter Warming Up to Double-Coated Breeds), the double-coated breeds…

In This Chapter Understanding why you need to brush your Poodle every day Getting the basics of Poodle styling and grooming Deciding between a pet cut or show clip for your Poodle Discovering the grooming specifics of showing a Poodle If you own a Poodle, you’re probably familiar with the many ways you can clip…

In This Chapter Exploring the long-coated breeds Grooming your long-coated dog Preparing your long-haired dog for show Long-coated dogs are among the most beautiful dogs, but they’re also some of the most grooming-intensive dogs to care for. Think big hair — like the double coats in Chapter Clarifying the Corded Breed’s Coif — only with long and…

In This Chapter Discovering the stripped breeds Finding out how to brush stripped breeds’ coats Stripping a dog’s coat Taking the time to prepare for a stripped-breed show As it pertains to dogs, stripping in a nutshell involves removing the dead undercoat from the rest of a dog’s coat. Most stripped breeds are terriers and…