Grooming and handling your pet is essential for maintaining their physical health and wellbeing – becoming accustomed to this as early as possible will make this part of their routines stress free and enjoyable. This is essential for longer-haired pets which will need to be groomed regularly to stay matt-free. Waiting until they are older, may make it almost impossible to complete grooming routines, especially nail clipping and ear cleaning.

Begin at home

Grooming your puppy or kitten should start as soon as you bring them home with regular gentle brushing. You can also get them familiar with being touched everywhere – pick up their feet and gently play with their toes, hold their tails and tickle their ears. This will help them become accepting to being handled and touched on all areas of their body – not just their heads and backs, where they are most commonly petted and stroked. The more your pet is familiar with being touched the easier their first proper groom will be.

Ready for the salon

Once your pet has had it’s final injections and is free to go outside, it’s time to introduce them to the grooming salon – especially if it is to be part of a regular, life-long routine. At this stage in their development they’re still trusting and willing to let strangers handle them. They will also quickly acclimatise to strange noises and sensations made by equipment like clippers and dryers.

Longer-haired breeds are especially in need of early exposure to grooming as their long hair requires more frequent and meticulous grooming sessions than their short-haired peers. Their fur will need to be brushed daily and they need to learn to stand still from a young age for extended periods of time.

Little and often

Daily brushing is essential for all breeds throughout their life. Brushing their coat will help remove dead hair, dirt and dandruff, and distribute the natural oils in the fur which will give the coat a healthy, glossy sheen. Taking the time to do this regularly will also allow you to be really familiar with your pet’s body. Knowing what is normal makes noticing something that is unusual very easy to spot. The earlier you notice any changes to your pet’s health, the sooner they can be assessed and more likely to be treated successfully.