In this guide I will go through general dog care for a first time dog owner..

Grooming your dog

Dogs require regular grooming, how much grooming depends on the type of coat. Some breeds of dog only require grooming once every few weeks. Other breeds require daily grooming. Breeds such as poodles must have there coats cut as there fur never stops growing so this is a big issues when considering one of these breeds. When having your dogs coat cut its always best to go to a professional dog groomers as they usually dont charge all that much and make a good job, its not as easy as it seems.

Cutting your dogs claws.

Dog claws usually need cutting around every six months. To clip your own dogs claws you will need dog claw clippers. The biggest factor in deciding if to clip your own dogs claws or have a groomer do it is the color of the claws. If you dogs claws are white its easy to tell where the nerve is where as if there black its very hard to find the nerve. In white claws the nerve will appear pink making it easy to avoid when cutting the dogs claws. In white claws the nerve will be showed as pink as long as you do not cut with in 1mm of this pink the claws will be clipped fine. If you cut the claws closer than this they will hurt the dog and bleed.

Brushing your dogs teeth

The main reason to brush your dogs teeth is to keep them healthy in later life. Many older dogs have teeth and gums problems witch can be very painful. To brush your dogs teeth all you will need is a dog tooth brush and some dog tooth paste, Please note brushing with human tooth paste can be very dangerous to a dog.

Bathing your dog

Dogs should be bathed around every six months. Bathing your dog to much can cause problems and make the dog smell more than it would without being bathed. The reason for this is dogs coats contain naturally oils to help clean and protect there coats. Excessive bathing can cause these oils to be removed from the dogs coat. You must use dog shampoo or just water when bathing your dog. As human shampoo can damage the coat or if it gets into the dogs eyes be extremely painful. I hope this guide has covered some basic dog care tips and techniques that will help new or existing dog owners to care for there dog.