Regular Summer Grooming

Keeps Pets Happy, Healthy

By Amanda Patout and Valerie Musso

Bark-n-Beauties

When the warm summer months start creeping up in Louisiana, keeping your pet happy in the heat can be a tremendous challenge. To keep your pets’ tails-ah-waggin,’ it is very important to keep your pet groomed. Regular visits to a professional groomer will contribute to your pets’ overall health and happiness during the sizzling summer temperatures.

Brushing and combing your furry friend to have tangle free hair in the summer is very important. By doing so you remove dead hair and skin, spread out natural oils in their coats and help keep them from developing odors. Also, keeping the sanitary area and paw pads clean of hair help your pet stay cool during the warmer months of the year.

Parasites, including fleas, ticks and mosquitoes, can become a major health concern during warm months of the year if not attended to properly. Parasites can cause skin irritation for your pet, and they can cause disease. Fleas will cause major discomfort and skin irritation and sometimes will even cause tapeworms. Ticks can cause anemia and certain kinds of ticks carry Lyme’s Disease. No pet owner wants their poor pup to end up with any o f these diseases.

 During the summer, double-coated breeds such as Chows and Great Pyrenees can become overheated easily if not groomed properly. It is essential that double-coated breeds be groomed periodically in order to remove the undercoat to maintain a comfortable body temperature throughout the summer.

A Toy Poodle named Lexi is all dolled up after her summer grooming.

Pets are like humans. They grow nails and many dogs such as Cocker Spaniels can even suffer from chronic ear infections. If your pets’ nails are left unchecked, the nail will start growing circular and begin digging into the pads of your pets’ feet. Also, your pets’ ears should be cleaned and looked at on a regular basis to avoid discomfort.

Many pet owners love getting sloppy wet kisses from their pretty little pooches, but if you don’t keep up with routine dental care you wont love those sloppy wet kisses anymore. Your pet's poor dental hygiene is much more serious than his embarrassingly bad breath. Infected gums and dirty teeth have been linked to kidney and secondary heart disease in pets.

Pets are “man’s best friend” so let’s treat them that way. With routine trips to a professional groomer, you are sure to see your precious pet’s tail-ah-waggin’ all summer long!