Debbie's Pet Grooming

Certified Pet Groomer
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Grooming Tips for Your Pet
 
Staining
 
Here's a few grooming tips for your pet to eliminate staining.  Many light coated dogs get that unsighltly staining under their eyes and around the mouth, beard, and undercarriage.  Before trying any remedy, it's always wise to check with your vet to be sure it's suitable for your particlar pet.  I would also try these remedies one at a time to know whether it's working or not. 

For eyes:  a).  Eliminate any food that contains red dye.  b).  Use a cotton ball to wipe the affected areas daily with Chamonile tea. c).  Sprinkle a half teaspoon of parsley flakes on your dogs food everyday.  d).  Give a half to a whole Tums tablet once a day (depends on the size of your dog) to change the PH balance over time.  If your dog is prone to bladder stones, the Tums tablet isn't recommended.  e).  Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to your dogs fresh water everyday.  f).  Try the new Angel Eyes product.  Though it's a bit on the pricey side, I've seen great reviews on it.  You simply sprinkle it on your pet's food everyday.  I believe you can find it on Ebay at substantial savings.

For staining around the mouth and beard:   Ginger ale or chalk can remove or cover for a period of time. Paint ginger ale on with a toothbrush and leave on as long as possible.  This works best on saliva stains only. 

Undercarriage:  (can be caused by acid in urine, flea or food allergies).  a).  Permanent removal of fleas will rid the dog of the one problem.  b).  A commerical doggie whitener, sprayed on areas affected will help eliminate discoloration over time.  c).  A change of diet to eliminate the allergen can work, but will take time to notice any difference.
Teeth and Bad Breath
 
You love those puppy kisses your dog gives you but brother, his bad breath can knock a full grown elephant to its knees.  Tartar build-up on teeth or gum infections commonly cause bad breath.  Here's a few tips to eliminate doggie haltosis:
a).  Have you dogs teeth scaled by your veterinarian.  b).  Brush your dogs teeth.  There are many dental products available to make the process easier for you both, such as disposable tooth brushes that come with chicken or beef flavored tooth paste already in the bristles.  c).  I found a great product that really works in removing plaque & tartar; it's called PetzLife Oral Care.  You just spray it on your pets teeth several times a day and over time it removes the discoloration.  d).  Dental  biscutts / cookies; they work by scraping the teeth of tartar during chewing. 
 
Odors
 
If your pet is unfortuante enough to get him/herself skunked, you'll know it.    The smell is unquestionable, it smell's like, well, skunk.  Here's a few tips to minimize the odor.  a).  Tomato juice will remove skunk odor as will vanilla on a small area.  Sponge in and leave on the coat as long as possible.  Let dry then wash out with shampoo.  b). There are several commerical products available to remove skunk odor such as Skunk Out, Doggicleen Skunk Spray and Nature's Miracle Skunk Odor Remover, all of which are good products.  If you choose to go with a commerical remover I suggest you have it readily available and to apply generously.  c).  Here's a homemade mixture that works very well:  (1 quart (3%) hydrogen peroxide; 3/4 cup baking soda; 1 tsp Dawn dishwashing liquid).
Mix all 3 ingredients together in a  container just before putting your pet into the tub.  Soak pet completely with water.  Apply mixture to coat and work in thoroughly.  Allow lather to sit on the coat for 5 minutes.  Rinse thoroughly, then following the directions on the bottle, use a scented conditioner.   
 
Note:  I don't believe there's anything that will totally get the skunk smell out, except time. Nearly a year after my cocker spaniel was sprayed,  I could still slightly smell skunk on him when his coat was wet.  

 Foreign Substances in Coat

 

Motor Oil, Pitch & Tar - Work margarine or mineral oil through coat then shampoo thoroughly.  If occurrence has just happened, baby powder or cornstarch will help soak up much of the stain with a liquid oil based product, such as motor oil. 

 

Gum - Peanut butter or ice cubes will remove gum from coat. 

 

Burrs - Baby or mineral oil combed through coat will usually remove burrs. 

 

Fleas - The most effective products on the market are those which are applied externally and work internally such as Advantage or Frontline.  Oil in coat or oil

misted into coat will help prevent fleas.  Bathe with flea shampoo.  Flea spray should be applied with a ring around neck and ring around tail first, then the entire body sprayed.  Flea combs will remove fleas from pet's body, but doesn't prevent them from returning.  Along with treating your pet for fleas, you'll need to treat the pets bedding and your home as well.  There are numerous commerical products available for this. 

 

Removing Eye Boogies

 

I use a flea comb to remove the hardened tearing in the corners of the eyes.  If it's a hard sticky mess, I'll apply a drop of Eye Safe eye protectant in each eye then apply a drop or two of conditioner in the corner of each eye and let it set for a minute.  Then use the flea comb to remove the boogies.  Make sure you sanitize the comb between each use, as you can pass on eye infection if you don't. 

 

  

Ear Cleaning

 

Here's a homemade solution for cleaning your pets ears.  (1/3 part rubbing alcohol, 1/3 part peroxide, 1/3 part cider vinegar).  Mix ingredients together, soak a cotton ball and swab out your pets ears.  This reduces bacteria and keeps the acid balance of the ear correct.  The alcohol content dries the ear.