A Nice Clean Puppy

A Clean Puppy

As a dog I have a very different standard of clean than my human family.  It seems I finally find some lovely slime to roll in and they want to bathe the perfume away.

As humans will persist in this doggie bath thing there are a few pointers I have to share.

My puppies don't mind showers.  Some of them really rather enjoy them and splash around like they were at the beach.  Baths are a little more stressful but the worst is the blow drier.  The sound is very scary.  If you want the process to be fun rub them in a towel and then run around leaping and shaking all over the house to dry.  Save the fluffy blow dry do for the groomer.

Don't do what my mum did and think you are doing puppies a favour by using expensive human shampoo.  Many years ago before I was born she didn't have doggie shampoo in the house when Annabel the standard poodle was ready for her shower.  Mum used some of her very expensive people shampoo from the hair dresser.  Then she added some conditioner!  She thought it was so terrific she used it several times on Annabel's long coat.

One day Annabel's curls began to fall out one by one.  As you can imagine Annabel was very distressed.  The curls began to fall because the shampoo is too harsh.  Even special human shampoo is too harsh for we more delicate creatures.  Stick to a good doggie shampoo and all will be well.

Pretty Little Collars

Here we all are at home….fresh from the groomer.  You can hardly see Lexi, Savannah is on the left, old poodle Dundee in the middle, me with a very short hair do after puppies, and then there is little Sophie.  As you can see we are all wearing collars and scarves.  Very chic. 

      When your puppy is too young for the groomer but wears a stylish collar be very careful of her little neck that is growing every day.  It seems obvious but you would be amazed at how easy it is to overlook the pretty collar's size.  It seems to be shrinking as puppy grows.  One day poor puppy wakes up to find that he is in a very tight, miserable collar.  

      Every few days put a couple of fingers in between the puppy collar and the little neck. Fingers should slide in easily.

      A loose collar is a health hazard as well.  I can remember a puppy howling in circles because his little bottom jaw got caught in his collar.  Poor little fellow.  The collar should be just able to accommodate your two fingers but no bigger.

     A big collar seems comfortable but puppy could become frightened by something and back out of the collar faster than the speed of light. 

     I like to see my puppies in harnesses when they are on leash.  The harness is safe and if it fits nicely they can't escape when they are frightened by something like a passing truck.

    Dress your puppy well.  I like my collars sporty, some like diamonds.  To each her own.

Love Guini