Grooming Your German Shepherd at Home

If you are planning to groom your German Shepherd Dog by yourself at home, ther’s nothing like that. Assuming that he is conditioned to grooming that includes bathing, nail clipping, brushing, ear cleaning, it is important to plan a routine work for maintain your German shepherd’s hygiene at home itself. It is better for your GSD and you both to carry on a weekly grooming session for your GSD at home, which may save a good amount of money. You cannot find a professional dog grooming parlor that can offer a satisfactory service at less than $30 per grooming session. Do-It-Yourself Dog grooming for Rover will save you at least $1000 annually. In the down trodden economy, it is worthy enough to think of saving a few dollars.

German Shepherd sheds heavily and throughout the year. Regular (twice a week, if not daily) brushing is highly recommended. Brushing your German Shepherd’s coat will; keep him fresh and free from dead follicles, tangles and mattes.

Problem is if you are not an experienced owner, you might end up with the worst experience in your life if Rover has not been conditioned to grooming, bathing, or nail clipping. Fact remains, no professional groomer will be eager to groom a full grown GSD that has not been socialized and seasoned with experiences like grooming. If he is not well trained and conditioned to such situations, good chance is there that he is going to attack the stranger who’s going to approach him with tools and apparatus. Grooming starts at home and in the early stage. Behavioral grooming is teaching him how to behave in the way desired. Obedience training at the early phase of his life finds the most vital role to play here. Behavioral grooming is the start of all kind of grooming in a dog and especially for large and giant breeds like GSD, Labrador, Doberman, Great Dane, Irish Wolf Hound etc. behavioral training has an immense significance. Check out a few economic tips for German Shepherd grooming

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Tips For Grooming German Shepherd Dogs - Bathing German Shepherd Dogs

One most frequent question that I usually come across is: “How often should I bath my German Shepherd?” Most of the dog sites state that dog doesn't need so frequent bath. True indeed! They do not need frequent bath. But I am sure you don't find this answer quite satisfactory. Well, a lot of things are to be considered to decide how often if you should bath your German Shepherd. Frequent bathing washes off the natural oil of their skin, making it dry and produces dandruffs, which can be one of the major reasons of seborrheic scurf and other dermal infection. Over-bathing your German Shepherd Dog should be avoided to avoid drying out of his skin.

The first thing to be considered is how well you maintain him.
Secondly, the country you live and it's climatic condition are of the next prime imporant points to be considered.
Thirdly, season
Fourthly, regular brushing keeps your dog clean.
Fifthly, the place you keep your dog is the last point... but not the least!

A well maintained dog usually doesn't require frequent bath. Maintenance includes everything, starting from feeding right kind of foods to regular cleaning. In fact, to avoid over-bathing proper maintenance is of prime importance. It keeps the most beloved member(s) of your family live a happy and healthy life.

Next most important point is the country you live in. Most people, I have seen, overlook the point. If you are living in tropical country, most likely you may need to bathe your dog more frequently than if you live in colder region. Summers in topical region are really the most dangerous time of the year for breeds like Alsatian dogs. Frequently bathing – sometimes as often as once a week may be required during summer in tropical countries. Summer is the killer season for breeds like German Shepherds in tropical countries. During the flea season, you may need to bathe your German Shepherd Dog more often as a part of a the flea control program.

Routine and regular brushing keeps your shepherd's coat free from mats and tangles, which naturally keeps him clean. Not so frequent washing is required.

Lastly you must keep your kennel clean. It's part of your daily routine.

Make sure you use the soap and shampoo specially made for dogs. Why? Because, the body "pH" of a dog is much different from that of human beings. Also remember GSDs' skin "pH" are comparatively higher than most of the other breeds. Picking the right kind of soap and shampoo finds its importance here, when it comes to bathing your shepherd. Make sure water should enter the ears... if this happens, it may end up with serious ear infection in future.

Make sure you rinse him well. Left over shampoo and residual of soap leather will cause skin irritation and infection in future.

Wet coat gets easily tangled. Make sure to dry him well after the bath.

Here's another important tips, you might not have heard before! Between two consecutive baths you can easily manage the odor that can come during this long span of time! All you need to do is to massage some baking soda into the shepherd's coat properly and brush it off well. This will remove the odor. You can repeat this at an interval of 10 – 15 days. This is a temporary deodorizing technique for your dog.

How to use baking soda?
Interestingly, it's quite easy! And you don't need to call a professional groomer for that.

• Just make him lie of the floor.
• Sprinkle small amount of baking soda powder on his body part that can be massaged.
• Massage him properly.
• Make him roll the other side and repeat the process.... it's as simple as this!

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Tips For Grooming German Shepherd Dogs - Coat

People easily fall in love with German Shepherds without knowing or considering the some of the negetive things about the breed that might turn out to be the owner's nightmare in future. Grooming is something that should be taken into consideration very seriously. And for breeds like German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers and Collies etc. the habbit of not grooming the dog properly can be your major reason worries in future. Well, candidly speaking I'm a bit biased about German Shepherds and find nothing negetive in the breed. It's the owner's irresponsible nature that brings him worries... not the dog. My friends.. take it quite seriously; pick your grooming kit right this moment and be at it! Grooming German Shepherds can be fun, if you love him. And it's not all that a big deal.

German Shepherds... rather call him German Shedders! Yes, this is amongst those breed that shed a lot... and shed all though the year. Why grooming is more essential for a GSD as compared to most of the other breeds? Well, German Sheherd Dogs is a double coated breed, like most of the other dog breeds we know. His coat consists of a wooly type “Under Coat” and longer, straight type, all-season “Guard Coat”. The Guard Coat is the one that guards the “Under Coat”. The Guard Coat in GSDs shed through out the year (normal shedding), while the Under Coat only twice a year (seasonal molting – shedding of dead follicles during winter or summer). If not brushed regularly, your most loved GSD may run a risk of developing mat, which are usually not apperant until they creat clumps of fur, causing dermal infections like rashes, bald spots, hot spots and become stinky. I would suggest to brush your GSD daily at the end of the day, or at least once every alternative day. Let his skin breath properly.

Here's few tips for grooming German Shepherds that I have learned from some of my fellow German Shepherd Dog breeders and have been practicing myself since years:

• German Shepherds shed a lot... so gentle brushing is required almost everyday – I repeat. At least one every alternative day is essential. This checks heavy shedding.
• I prefer brushing my dogs at night. Why? A technically designed metal brushing comb (should be pure stainless steel) that has round heads (not sharp) should be used for brushing. Proper brushing with such a comb ensures proper blood circulation though out the body, which makes them feel more comfortable and ensures proper digestion and good sleep.
• Don't make haste. All you need to invest is only 15 minutes a day for one dog under normal condition. Believe me... 15 minutes is enough for grooming a shepherd's coat properly.
Grooming his coat may become tough, if not well trained. Obedience training is necessary. Start grooming your dog as early as you can. This teaches your German Shepherd to stand quietly while grooming at the very early age.
• Shedding blade proves to be one of the most helpful grooming tool during the shadding season. But you should know how to use it. Shadding blade should be used in a gentle manner and with enough care.
• Groom your dog, starting from his head. Brush the entire coat from the head to the tail tip with a slicker brush first. Then use a rubber grooming gloves to rub through his coat through out his entire body. Then comb through the coat with the special metal comb. This will remove all the dead hair.
• Pay extra attention while combing the throat, neck and loin region, because coat is dense in these area and requires extra time combing.
• GSDs have bushy tails. You may need to invest some extra couple of minutes to comb the tail properly.
• Once you are done. Try out combing through the coat with the metal comb once or twice more.

Rub the coat with the rubber grooming gloves in the direction of the coat once more at the end of the process. You can get an extra shine in his coat. Check out these precious clips brought to you by YouTube to get to know a bit about the Grooming technique and training.

Know How.. Grooming German Shepherds

Teach Your Dog to be Obedient First

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