Dental Hygiene - How can I keep my doggie's breath smelling sweet? How can I keep it from losing teeth later on?

This is one of the most important subjects all dog owners need to need to know about

Like us, it is very important for dogs to keep their teeth clean.  Unfortunately they won't brush their own teeth, but there are ways we can help them to achieve dental hygiene.

Their daily diet should include "specialty dog biscuits" as the main food and supplemented with mainly raw bones and raw chicken necks.

Contact us for the list of specialty biscuit products we know they will eat.

You'll find these foods is excellent for their teeth colour and it will keep their breath smelling sweet.
If you like to give them treats do so sparingly and the importance of the above foods becomes even more important.

Canned food should be given sparingly as it sticks to their teeth and the ingredients often contain sugar and artificial colouring (yes we know they look great).

Remember, every time your dog's teeth the vet has to brush or remove some of your dog's teeth, it must be anaesthetised.  Something that always carries risk for doggie.

Grooming - How can I keep my dog looking nice? How often should I wash it? What is dog grooming and why should I get it done? How can I avoid medical problems with its hair?

Doggies have hair, not fur (that's for cats).  It needs continual maintenance, particularly for long-haired breeds.  Similar to what we do for our own hair.

Dogs should be bathed between visits to the groomer.   How often you wash your doggie depends on what condition you want their hair to be in.  But one test is that if it smells like a dog, chances are its due for a wash.  Wash as regularly as required but only use gentle shampoos, meaning natural products.

A guide for how often you should have your dog groomed professionally for some breeds:

Poodles .............. every 6 - 8 weeks

Spaniels ............. every 8 - 12 weeks

Terriers ............... every 8 - 12 weeks

Long hair dogs should be groomed regularly and professionally.  This involves removing loose hair, clipping, washing and trimming.

Dog hair has a natural tendency to matt, in which the hairs becoming knotted and stuck together.  It can be quite painful.  The main benefit of grooming regularly is to avoid this condition.   Note that ,in extreme cases of matting, the dog must be taken along to a dog groomer or veterinarian to have the matted hair shorn off.

We say doggies should be groomed professionally because they can become anxious about grooming if its not done confidently and with the right equipment.  Also, you wouldn't want a lopsided haircut would you?

In order to keep them tidy, long haired breeds such as poodles should be groomed every 6 to 8 weeks.  The actual period will depend on the breed and season.

For medical reasons, larger and older short-haired breeds should be groomed during summer, primarily to reduce all that insulation so as to reduce heat stress.
 

Dog Obedience - My dog is misbehaving

The larger the dog the bigger the problem.  That is, unless you have a high energy &/or loud small dog.

The reality is that it is a joint owner-dog behavioral problem and not just the dogs.  So its important to see the experts before the problem gets out of hand.  In Canberra, you might like to investigate the following:

(i)  Bark Busters
(ii) Dog Obedience Club (Narrabundah and Mitchell)
 

Avoiding / Getting Rid of Fleas

Bear in mind that the eggs can hang around in the carpets for some time until after you've stopped administering treatment.  The trick is to break their breeding cycle.

We prefer concentrates administered to the skin over flea powders or washes.  Contact us for product recommendations.
 

De-barking

Our view is that it should be done for rare cases only, but that it is a matter for personal circumstances.

We feel Dog Obedience lessons (see above) should achieve the same outcome and is preferable.