We brush our hair daily, clean our face, ears and body for purpose of good hygiene and good health. Like us, our canine friends love to keep themselves clean and smelling fresh everyday too.
Without having to go to the professional groomers, dog grooming can be made quick, easy and affordable at home too. Not only can these simple dog grooming at home keeps our dogs clean, more importantly, they can contribute to a good overall health to our best friend.
Today, we will show you how you can care for your dog’s eyes, teeth and ears…
Cleaning Your Dog’s Eyes
Similar to us, dogs do get eye mucus. By making sure the corners of our dog’s eyes are mucus-free, you may be able to prevent infections. Bacteria often feed on mucus which can migrate into the eye.
For regular eye cleaning, you do not have to spend too much on purchasing expensive eye cleaning solutions. Moreover, it’s a quick and easy routine which everyone can do too!
Recipe For Homemade Eye Cleaning Solution
- Water
- 2 pieces of cotton pads/ tissue
1. Start by gently wiping the edge of the eye with a damp cotton pad or tissue. Remember to wipe around the eye, never directly on the eye’s surface.
2. Repeat for the other eye.
Eye cleaning is one of the simplest dog grooming processes and there is no fix schedule when it should be done. For me, I do clean my dog’s eyes daily. It is a short bonding session for the both of us and it allows me to observe any tell-tale signs of him feeling unwell. If he does, his eyes will look dull and dry.
For dogs that are experiencing excessive tear stains, you may like to try adding apple cider vinegar to his bowl of water to adjust his body pH levels. By altering his pH levels, we are making it a hostile environment for the yeast to grow as it doesn’t grow well in acidic condition.
Start with adding ½ teaspoon of apple cider vinegar for every 500ml of water and gradually work up to 1 teaspoon.
Excessive eye mucus and tear staining can be linked back to ear infections, so it is essential to make sure our dogs’ ears are clean and dry as possible. If you notice that your dog is getting an ear infection which also coincides with excessive tearing, the two are probably related. Here’s we see the importance of basic dog grooming again.
Cleaning Your Dog’s Ears
How many times have you tried using the ear cleaning solution bought from the local pet stores on your dog but it doesn’t seem to work very well?
I have had my fair share of experience with a few different brands of ear cleaning solution and none helped to solve the problem much.My dog’s ears still smell bad and he was still scratching them and shaking his head then.
It was then I decided to try using olive oil to clean my dog’s ears. The effects were almost instant and his condition improved by the days and it was not longer a problem by the end of 2 weeks. Since then on, I swear by using olive oil to be part of our basic dog grooming session at home.
Olive oil is cheap and easily available in pharmacies and from the beauty section in the groceries store. I got mine from a local pharmacy for less than $8 a bottle.
Can’t we leave ear grooming to the dog grooming sessions at the dog groomers? The answer is a strict no.
Do you clean your ears only when you go to the salon or do you clean your ears regularly with a cotton bud after your shower? Regular ear cleaning is essential for keeping your dog healthy and smelling good.
Moisture and excessive wax can accumulate in the ear, creating ideal conditions for the striving growth of bacterial which can lead to severe infection of the ear, especially if there is also a prevalence of dog ear mites.
You will see your dog scratching his head very often, foul stench coming out of the infected ear and no, it is not going to be pleasant for both your dog and you. Visiting the vet or a professional groomer for a dog grooming session to get rid of the nasty infection would then cost a bomb.
You can avoid such a problem by following these five simple steps below to keep your dog’s ears clean and healthy. Again, you do not need to buy expensive ear cleaning solution for your dog and with regular ear cleaning, your dog can grow to love this process.
Basic dog grooming can be made fun and a good bonding session for both your dog and you.
Recipe For Homemade Ear Cleaning Solution
- Olive oil
- 4 pieces of cotton pads/ balls
1. Dampen a piece of cotton pad with the olive oil, roll it up into a ball or just simply fold it twice to make it smaller and place it in your dog’s ear.
2. With the cotton pad in his ear, gently give your dog a good 30 seconds ear massage.
3. Remove the cotton pad and let him shake out any excess debris from his ear.
4. Take another piece of cotton pad and wipe his ear clean gently, making sure not to probe into his ear canal.
5. Repeat the same process with the other ear.
Ear cleaning like the above will take no more than another 5 minutes. In addition, do check if the fur inside the ears is getting too long, if it is, you may trim it down using a pair of good scissors before cleaning his ears.
For dogs with long droopy ears, it is also advisable to clip up his ears for good air circulation when he’s indoors.
Brushing Your Dog’s Teeth
We brush our teeth at least once a day to keep our teeth and gums healthy. How about our canine friends?
Like us, they do need regular teeth brushing to prevent tartar build up, tooth decay, bad breathe and gum infection too but at a less frequent basis. This is an essential part of basic dog grooming for our canine friends.
Brushing their teeth regularly helps to avoid expensive dental treatment which could run up to a couple of hundred bucks. We can buy canine toothpaste at our local pet store.
However, we can also make our own dog toothpaste which is easy and much less inexpensive.
Regardless, NEVER use human toothpaste. Toothpaste made for humans contains fluoride. Ingestion of excessive fluoride (your dog can’t spit, so he’ll swallow it) can cause poisoning.
The following recipe calls for a few basic ingredients that are easily found at home for your very own homemade dog toothpaste. 🙂
Recipe For Homemade Dog Toothpaste
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of water
- ½ teaspoon of olive oil or other glycerin
In a container, mix 2 teaspoons of baking soda, ¼ teaspoon of water and ½ teaspoon of olive oil. If you like, you may also add ½ to 1 teaspoon of chicken or beef broth to give the toothpaste a flavor your dog likes. If ¼ teaspoon of water is not enough, add more water slowly to get to the desired toothpaste thickness.
Combine until all ingredients are well mixed and the mixture is the consistency of toothpaste. Usually, I would quadrangle this recipe to store the homemade dog toothpaste for up to 3 weeks in an air tight container.
Brush your dog’s teeth every day. If you have a tight schedule, it is advisable to do it at least once a week. I try to brush my dog’s teeth twice a week.
Dog toothbrushes come in many different shapes and sizes.Some look very much like the toothbrush you use; others fit over your finger to give you a bit more control. For a start, if your dog is not used to a toothbrush, try rubbing his teeth with your finger or handkerchief first, or try a pet finger toothbrush.
You may put the toothpaste on the brush or your finger, or smear it on a few teeth at a time and then brush; whatever works best. Allow your dog to lick a bit of it off your finger before starting. Your dog may resist a bit at first, which is why the chicken or beef broth will help, as most dogs like the flavor. Or you might want to try using bacon oil and I am sure no dog would be able to resist the temptation!
The key to getting your dog used to teeth brushing is really brushing it regularly to get him familiarized with the process. Remember: the more often you brush his teeth, the less resistance you will meet in the future.
1. To brush your dog’s teeth, start at the molars in the back. In a circling motion carefully brush each tooth from the gum line down.
2. Move these small, gentle circles slowly to the front of the mouth. Make sure you don’t skip the backside of the teeth and that you give the upper and lower jaw the same amount of attention.
3. Praise your dog constantly during the process, encouraging him to cooperate with you.
4. After brushing, it may help to reward him his favorite treat.
So there you have it – our 3 little secret recipes for homemade dog cleaning solution. Dog grooming has just become an affordable and easy thing to do. Start these simple dog grooming steps for your best friend today!
Image Credit (Top): Photo: Lulu with a brush, by Brief Gasp, Flickr Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
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