Essential Grooming for Service Dogs: What You Need to Know

Whether you own a pet or service dog, grooming is one of the most important aspects of care. Understanding the steps involved in proper grooming can help both you and your dog live a happier, healthier life. Service dog grooming can occur at home, with quality dog grooming services, or a combination of the two. 

Putnam Service Dogs is passionate about ensuring that all our pups receive the love, care, and support they need, whether they are with our volunteer puppy raisers or their eventual recipients. When we are raising our pups, we send them to a professional groomer every 3 months. If you prefer, you can groom them yourself. From regular brushing to choosing a shampoo, and even to determining the frequency of nail trims, the following essential grooming tips can serve as a guide. 

What Does Essential Grooming for Service Dogs Entail?

Before diving into the importance of grooming a dog, it helps to understand more about what grooming entails. Below is a guide if you choose to groom your dog yourself, rather than taking it to a professional groomer. Not every essential grooming session will look the same, but a complete session is critical to proper service dog care, and it will usually include 11 steps as follows:

• Gather Supplies: Grooming requires several supplies such as a sprayer, hose, or shower; towels, a quality shampoo and optional conditioner; a nail clipper; a brush and deshedding tool; toothbrush and toothpaste or dog dental pads with organic tartar removing spray (which we use); clean cotton pads or balls; and an optional dog-safe dryer. 

• Choose a Location: Dogs can be groomed indoors or out, in their own tub or in your tub or shower. A dog grooming table is not required, but with proper use, it can make certain tasks like teeth and ear cleaning simpler. 

• Create an Atmosphere: Before grooming, dogs should feel comfortable and at ease. Treats, rewards, pets, and praise should be given freely, especially for puppies who may not be used to grooming sessions. 

• Brushing: Brushing prior to a bath is important for removing tangles and mats from the fur. For dogs prone to excess shedding, a deshedding tool can remove a large amount of hair, allowing shampoo to penetrate more deeply into the coat. While brushing, check for ticks, cuts, sores, or other problem areas. 

• Trimming: Excessive hair around the anus, ears, and eyes can lead to hygiene issues. These areas should be trimmed prior to bathing if required. 

• Paw Care: Prior to bathing, look for cuts or sores on the dog’s paws, and gently remove seeds or debris that often finds its way between the toes or pads of the paws. 

• Washing: Using low pressure, warm water, soak the dog’s coat from the neck down. We mix shampoo first in a bucket of water so concentrated shampoo isn’t trapped in the dog’s fur, and difficult to rinse out. We then pour our bucket of shampoo/water over the dog. Massage all over the coat, saving the intimate areas for last. Rinse off the shampoo, then apply and rinse away the conditioner, if you are using it. Reward with ample praise, treats, and play. 

• Drying: Towel drying removes excess water from your dog’s skin and coat, and a blow dryer on its coldest setting can help dry especially thick coats more quickly. Depending on your dog’s breed and the environment in which you live, paw moisturizer can be applied only after the dog is completely dry. 

• Ear Cleaning: Wipe down the insides of the ears with a damp cotton ball. Flushing the ears with medicated solution is typically not necessary, but when it is, it is best left for a professional (Veterinarian or vet tech)l unless you are well experienced. 

• Teeth Cleaning: Apply the directed amount of dog toothpaste to a special pet toothbrush and work from the back of the mouth toward the front. Move the brush in circles, and be extra gentle around the gums. If you use instead medicated dental pads (which we do), spray the organic tartar remover on the pad, 3 sprays one side, wipe one side of the teeth (outer side, top & bottom), turn the pad over, spray 3 sprays on new side, and wipe the other side of the teeth (outer side, top & bottom). Tartar starts to form/build up within 48 hours, so ideally, you’re cleaning the teeth of a dog older than 3 every other day.

• Nail Trimming: Nail trimming should be handled by experienced individuals or professional groomers, and many veterinarians offer the service with each well-visit, so be sure to ask. 

The Importance of Essential Grooming for Service Dogs

Grooming is vital for the overall health and wellbeing of a service dog, and it can also help puppy raisers and recipients maintain a cleaner, healthier home. There are four primary reasons to groom a service dog regularly, as he or she needs it and on a schedule. 

• Grooming helps dogs look their best and reduces excess shedding. Dogs who are groomed and brushed regularly drop far fewer hairs over the course of the day, keeping your home and the public spaces you visit cleaner. 

• It provides an opportunity for an up-close health check. Essential grooming – whether at home or with dog grooming services – is an excellent chance to glance over the dog’s health. Look for bumps and lumps, scratches, or tender and painful areas, and call your vet if you find any. 

• Grooming is an incredible time to bond with a dog. When it comes to service dogs, bonding is one of the most important aspects of your relationship as a puppy raiser or recipient. The more time you and the dog spend together, the better the bond between you will be. 

• Regular grooming keeps dogs’ skin, coat, nails, and teeth and gums healthy. Dogs’ skin, like the human head, secretes natural oils that keep the skin protected and the coat soft. Daily brushing helps to distribute those oils, reducing itchiness and preventing dry skin. 

General Essential Grooming Tips for Service Dogs

Whether you are a puppy raiser or a service dog recipient, there are a few tips that can help you make the most of grooming time while keeping yourself and the dog safe. 

Do Not Get Water in the Dog’s Ears, or Soap in the Dog’s Eyes

Thorough bathing is important, but you should only use a shower or hose from the neck down to avoid getting water inside the dog’s delicate ears. This can lead to dizziness or infection, particularly in dogs whose ear canals are not fully exposed to air. Wash the dog’s head and ears with a damp cloth and avoid using excessive soap, which can be difficult to rinse. 

Use Vet-Approved Products 

The products you use to groom your dog should be of high quality and approved by the recommended veterinarian. This is especially true for products like ear cleansers, nail trimmers, toothpaste and toothbrushes, or dental pads and organic spray. Using poor quality products can result in poor hygiene, and in some cases, it may even result in injury to the dog. 

Use Caution during Ear Cleaning, Toothbrushing or Teeth Cleaning, and Nail Trimming

Brushing your dog’s teeth is important, but you should use gentle care – particularly around the sensitive gum line. Ear cleaning and nail trimming can also lead to injury if you are inexperienced, and if you are nervous, the service dog will likely be nervous, too. In these cases, dog grooming services can be an incredible help. They do come at an extra expense, but they are well worth the cost. 

Don’t Neglect Eyes and Paws

Gently wiping your dog’s eyes with a clean, damp soft cloth or tissue or cotton ball removes debris and discharge that can enter the eye and cause irritation or infection. In most cases, a cleaning solution is not necessary. Similarly, use a clean cloth to wipe your dog’s paws, paying special attention to the spaces between the toes. These tasks should be carried out as needed, or at least every two or three days – not just at bathtime. 

Brush Your Dog Daily

No matter the breed, whether service dogs have short hair or long hair, they should be brushed daily. This essential grooming provides you with an opportunity to bond with the dog and distributes oils that can keep the skin and coat protected and moisturized. 

What to Look For in Dog Grooming Services 

Choosing a dog grooming service can be tricky, but there are a few things to look for before hiring. First, meet with the groomer who will be working with your dog, making sure they display plenty of patience. If you do not feel comfortable leaving your service dog alone with someone, trust your intuition and keep looking. These lines of communication should always remain open, so make sure your groomer is open about what will happen during and after the session. 

Putnam Service Dogs can recommend local dog grooming services for our volunteer puppy raisers and recipients, but ultimately, it is your choice. The dog will show you after their first visit whether it was stressful for them or not. When they return to that groomer, are they glad to be there? You can help us transform the lives of pups, veterans, and people with disabilities other than blindness by opening your heart and home to an amazing cause. Learn more about Putnam Service Dogs and how to get involved today.