Grooming Your Dog

In this chapter

• Brushing and bathing your German Shepherd
• Getting rid of fleas and ticks
• Trimming your dog’s nails
• Keeping your dog’s ears clean
• Brushing your dog’s teeth

Before you protest that if you had wanted a sissy dog to brush and coif, you wouldn’t have chosen a German Shepherd, take heed of this caution: Grooming is important not only for the sake of beauty, but also because it an prevent serious health problems. And it’s a necessity because Shepherds shed— a lot. Expect to brush your GSD at least once a week, or even daily.

Just as with people, good dog grooming involves more than an occasional brushing of the hair. Keeping nails, teeth, eyes, and ears well groomed is just as (if not more) important. The good news is that you don’t have to visit the Shampoodle Hut to keep your dog groomed to perfection. All you need is a little direction, and you can be your GSD’s personal beautician. Consider this chapter a take-home beauty school course.

Making the Fur Fly: Brushing

You don’t need a chest of fancy brushes to keep your Shepherd’s hair just so — luckily, Shepherds never have bad hair days. They just have profusion of hair days! Shepherd hair doesn’t tangle or mat, and dirt falls right out of it. You’ll do just fine with a few tools, shown in Figure 10-1:

• You use a pin brush to brush the thicker undercoat and get down to the skin. You can brush the hair backward to loosen dead hairs, but be careful not to irritate the skin.
• A bristle brush is better for extended brushing periods and for puppy coats; it helps remove dead hair, distributes the natural oils, and is easy on the skin.
• A slicker brush, which has many fine bent wires, can help remove shedding hair, but it can cut the outer coat.
• An undercoat shedding rake (the best are Teflon-coated) is the best tool for peak shedding periods, when it can help you create a pile of shed undercoat roughly equivalent in size to your dog.

Dogs usually regard being brushed as an act of bonding, so the experience should be pleasurable for both of you. (Of course, all dogs have different limits, and no dog appreciates a marathon grooming session. If your dog gets impatient, take a break and come back later.) To groom your dog, start with the shedding rake or slicker brush and remove as much of the loose undercoat as possible. Then use the pin brush, and finish up with the bristle brush. For extra sheen, go over the coat with a fine-tooth comb and finish with a couple of swipes with a chamois cloth.

FIGURE 10-1: These three tools are essential for grooming a German Shepherd.

Bathing Your Dog

You can lead a dog to water, but you can’t make him get in — especially if he is a 100-pound German Shepherd who’s never been taught the difference between a tub of water and a tub of battery acid. If you start early and handle the situation delicately, though, your dog can learn to tolerate, or even like, baths.

The frequency with which you bathe your Shepherd depends on how dirty he gets and how healthy his skin is. Most dogs who are not being shown do well being bathed two to three times a year — more often for dogs with skin problems, less often for indoor dogs with healthy skin.

Choosing a shampoo

The choice of shampoo is as personal as the choice of dog food (see Chapter Feeding Your German Shepherd). Dog skin has a pH of 7.5, while human skin has a pH of 5.5; bathing in a shampoo formulated for human skin can lead to scaling and irritation. You generally get better results with a shampoo made for dogs. If you’re on a budget and your dog’s skin and coat are healthy, a mild liquid dishwashing detergent actually gives good results and kills fleas.

Dummies Approved

No dog owner should be without a dog shampoo that requires neither water nor rinsing. These shampoos are wonderful for puppies, spot baths, emergencies, and quick clean-ups when time doesn’t permit a regular bath.

If your dog has skin problems, several therapeutic shampoos are available:

• Itchy skin: Oatmeal-based anti-pruritics
• Dry, scaly skin: Moisturizing shampoos
• Oily scaling: Anti-seborrheic shampoos
• Infected skin: Anti-microbials

FLEA SHAMPOOS

You may have heard that flea shampoos are the answer for killing fleas. Most shampoos (even people shampoos) kill fleas, but none — including flea shampoos — has any residual killing action on fleas. For that, see the section “Making Fleas and Ticks Flee,” later in this chapter.

Taking the plunge

You need to start bath training when your German Shepherd is still a young puppy. Done right, bath time can be fun. Done wrong, it can leave you with a lifelong battle on your hands.

Start bath training with semi-baths. Fill the tub with warm water only to your dog’s ankles. For the first bath, wash only his feet. The next bath, wash his feet and rear legs. Bring some treats into the bathroom with you as rewards for cooperation.

Remember

Remember to use water in which you would be comfortable showering. Keep one hand under the spray so that you can monitor the water temperature, and make sure that an unruly pup can’t accidentally hit a knob and turn up the hot water.

If you bathe your dog in your own tub, place a nonskid mat in the bottom and help him in and out of the tub so that he doesn’t slip. Also place a strainer over the drain so that you don’t have to spend the rest of your day trying to unclog it. A hand-held sprayer is essential for indoor bathing as well.

Follow these steps for a successful indoor bath:

1. Wet down the dog to the skin, leaving his head for last.

Avoid spraying water into the dog’s ears. You can plug his ears with cotton, but even then you should avoid spraying water into them, as the cotton gets soggy easily.

Tip

Your dog will want to make sure that you, too, enjoy the benefits of the bath by shaking water all over you. To keep your dog from shaking, keep one hand clenched around the base of one ear. When you let go, stand back!

2. Once the dog is wet, apply shampoo, again leaving his head for last.

Mixing the shampoo with water makes it go a lot further and makes it easier to work with.

3. After you work up a lather, start rinsing, working from the head back and down.

Rinsing is a crucial step, because shampoo remaining in the coat can cause dryness, itchiness, and even hair loss. Most GSDs don’t require cream rinse, but you can add a small amount if you like. Cream rinse tends to make the hair lie flatter.

4. Dry the dog.

After the bath, your dog will shake and splatter the entire area. Cover him with a towel as quickly as possible and rub vigorously.

Once a GSD’s thick undercoat gets soaked, it takes a very long time to dry, so a blow dryer is a great help. Some dogs enjoy being dried with a blow dryer, but as with all things, the secret is to get your dog used to it a little at a time. Make sure to use a low heat setting.

5. Use a wide-tooth comb or brush to get the dead hairs out.

Bathing dislodges loose hairs; a good time to get them out is when the coat is almost, but not entirely, dry.

6. Step back and admire your Adonis of dogs.

Take a picture, because as soon as your dog gets a chance, he’s going to dig a hole and give himself a mud bath to get rid of that horrible shampoo stench.

Warning!

Don’t let your dog outside on a chilly day when he’s still wet from a bath. You have removed the oils from the coat and saturated your dog down to the skin, so he’s far wetter than he would ever get by going swimming, and thus more likely to become chilled.

An alternative on hot summer days, but not on chilly days, is to use an outdoor hose to bathe the dog. In this case, find a nice spot on a clean surface that won’t get muddy, and where your dog can’t run away, and bathe as you would indoors.

Removing a Stink

Dogs smell like dogs, but when they smell like dead dogs, you have a problem. Doggy odor is not just offensive; it’s unnatural. Don’t exile the dog or hold your breath if he reeks of something awful. First try giving him a bath, and if that doesn’t produce results, use your nose to sniff out the source of the problem.

• Infection is a common cause of bad odor; check the mouth, ears, feet, anus, and genitals.
• Impacted anal sacs or perianal fistulas (see Chapter Working with Your Dog’s Other Best Friend: His Veterinarian) can contribute to bad odor.
• Generalized bad odor can indicate a skin problem, such as seborrhea.

Warning!

In every case, your dog needs to see a veterinarian to cure the problem at its source. Don’t ignore bad odor, and don’t make your dog take the blame for something you need to fix.

In case of skunk, act fast! Use a commercial skunk odor remover, or mix 1 pint of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, 2⁄3 cup of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap or citrus-based dog shampoo with 1 gallon of water. Wear gloves and sponge the mixture onto the dog. Leave it on for about five minutes, rinse, and repeat if needed. Caution: This solution may slightly bleach dark coats.

Vinegar douche also is reported to work well at removing skunk stink. Contrary to popular belief, tomato juice rinses don’t work that well, and they’ll leave your bathroom looking like the scene of a mass murder if your dog shakes (which he will).

Making Fleas and Ticks Flee

Your dog’s skin is a major interface between him and the environment, and as such is vulnerable to a plethora of problems, many caused by fleas and ticks.

Preventing fleas

Fleas can make your dog’s life miserable and also can cause secondary problems, such as tapeworms and skin maladies. Many German Shepherds develop flea allergies, so keeping these dogs absolutely flea-free is essential. Products that require a flea to bite the dog before killing or sterilizing the flea may not be optimal for these dogs, because even one flea bite can elicit an allergic reaction.

Recent advances in flea control have finally put dog owners on the winning side. In any but the mildest of infestations, the new products are well worth their higher purchase price. Putting an expensive product on your dog once every three months is a lot cheaper, not to mention more convenient, than reapplying a cheap one every day.

The following are common and effective flea-prevention treatments:

• Imidacloprid (for example, Advantage) is a liquid that you apply once a month to the dog’s back. It gradually distributes itself over the entire skin surface and kills at least 98 percent of the fleas on the dog within 24 hours, continuing to kill fleas for a month. It can withstand water but not repeated swimming or bathing.
• Fipronil (for example, Frontline) comes either as a spray that you apply all over the dog’s body or as a self-distributing liquid that you apply only to the dog’s back. Once applied, fipronil collects in the hair follicles and then wicks out over time. Thus it resists being washed off and can kill fleas on a dog for up to three months. It is also effective on ticks for a shorter period.
• Lufenuron (for example, Program) is given as a pill once a month. Fleas that bite the dog and ingest the lufenuron in the dog’s system are rendered sterile. This product is extremely safe. If you use it, however, you must treat all the animals in your household for the regime to be effective.
• Pyriproxyfen (for example, Nylar and Sumilar) is an insect growth regulator available as an animal or premise spray (for the house and yard). It’s marketed in different strengths and formulations and can protect in the home or yard for 6 to 12 months and on the animal for 100 days.

Warning!

Ultrasonic flea-repelling collars have been shown to be both ineffective on fleas and irritating to dogs. The rumor that feeding dogs brewer’s yeast or garlic gets rid of fleas is untrue as well; studies have shown that both are ineffective against fleas. However, many owners swear that they work, and they don’t seem to do any harm.

Removing ticks

Ticks can carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick paralysis, Lyme disease, babesiosis, and, most commonly, “tick fever” (ehrlichiosis) — all very serious diseases. They can be found anywhere on a dog but most often burrow around the ears, neck, and chest and between the toes. The ticks that can do the worst damage are often the smaller ones that are harder to see, so check your dog carefully.

To remove a tick, use a tissue or tweezers, because some diseases can be transmitted to humans. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull slowly and steadily, trying not to leave its head in the dog. Don’t squeeze the tick; doing so can cause it to inject its contents into the dog. Then clean the site with alcohol. Often, a bump will remain after you remove the tick even if you get the head. It will go away with time.

Warning!

Don’t try to burn out a tick. Not only is this method ineffective, but it’s also a good way to set your dog on fire.

Giving Your Dog a Pet-icure

As the old saying goes, a horse is no better than its feet. The same is true of a German Shepherd. And a GSD’s feet are no better than his nails.

When you can hear the pitter-patter of clicking nails, the nails are hitting the floor with every step. When this happens, the bones of the dog’s foot spread, causing discomfort and eventually splayed feet and lameness. And if you leave the dog’s dewclaws (the rudimentary “thumbs” on the wrists) untrimmed, they can get caught on things more easily and be ripped out, or actually loop around and grow into the Shepherd’s leg. You must prevent these problems by trimming your Shepherd’s nails every week or two.

Remember

Dogs don’t wear their nails down naturally by running around, as you might think. Canine nails evolved to withstand traveling 20 miles or so a day. Unless your dog is a marathon runner, you’re going to need to help out.

Nail clippers are absolute essentials. Two types are available: guillotine and scissor. Both are good. Be sure to get heavy-duty clippers for an adult German Shepherd.

As you may have figured out already, most dogs don’t relish the idea of getting their nails trimmed. To work your way up to the task, begin by handling your puppy’s feet and nails daily. Once he’s comfortable with that, start cutting the very tips of the nails every week, taking special care not to cut into the quick (the central core of blood vessels and nerve endings). After every cut, give your dog a tiny treat.

Tip

You may find it easiest to cut the nails by holding the foot backwards, much as a horse’s hoof is held when being shod. This way, your GSD can’t see what’s going on, and you can see the bottom of the nail. There you can see a solid core culminating in a hollowed nail, as shown in Figure 10-2. Cut the tip up to the core, but not beyond.

On occasion, you will slip up and cause a nail to bleed. Most Shepherds are stoic and will only give you a grievous look that says, “I told you this would happen,” but a few take the opportunity to tell the whole neighborhood that you’re amputating their toes. Give a distressed dog another treat and apply styptic powder (available at pet supply stores) to the nail to stop the bleeding. If you don’t have styptic powder handy, dip the nail in flour or hold it to a wet tea bag. And be more careful next time!

FIGURE 10-2: You don’t want to cut into the quick of a dog’s nail.

Cleaning Your Dog’s Ears

A German Shepherd relies on his wonderful large ears to detect and localize sounds that you can’t perceive and to look stunningly handsome and alert. A Shepherd has healthy ears, but even the healthiest ears may need occasional cleaning.

A dog’s ear canal is made up of an initial long, vertical segment that abruptly angles to run horizontally toward the skull. This configuration provides a moist environment in which various ear infections can flourish, although the erect carriage of a GSD ear does aid in ventilation and health. Keeping your dog’s ears healthy is fairly simple; check them regularly and do not allow moisture or debris to build up inside them.

So if you look in your dog’s ear and you see a bunch of gunk, what do you do? It depends. If your dog shows no signs of discomfort or itching, you can try cleaning the ear yourself. Many veterinarians and dog catalogs sell products that dissolve wax and debris. You can also make a mixture of one part alcohol to two parts white vinegar. Armed with this potion, take your dog outside and follow these steps:

1. Hold the ear near the base and quickly squeeze in the ear cleaner.

The more slowly you let it drip in, the more it will tickle.

2. Gently massage the liquid downward and squish it all around.

3. When your dog can’t stand it anymore (usually after about 15 seconds), jump back and let your dog shake it all out.

This is why you clean ears outside, because dissolved earwax is not a great thing to have on your walls. You may have to repeat this process a few times.

Warning!

If the ear is so black with gunk that repeated rinses don’t clean it right up, your dog has a problem that needs veterinary attention. If the ear is red, swollen, or painful, do not attempt to clean it yourself. Your dog may need to be sedated for cleaning and may have a serious problem. Again, see a vet.

Warning!

Don’t stick cotton swabs in the ear canal; they can irritate the skin and pack debris into the horizontal canal. And never use powders, which can cake in the ears, or hydrogen peroxide, which leaves the ear moist.

Dogs also can suffer from ear mites, which cleaning solutions do not kill. For information about this condition and how it’s treated, see Chapter Taking Care of a Sick Shepherd.

Keeping a Dog’s Teeth Squeaky Clean

Just how intimidating do you think your German Shepherd would be if he had only gums to show when he snarled? With a lifetime of neglected tooth care, your dog may develop gum disease and need to have several of his teeth removed.

Tooth plaque and tartar are not only unsightly, but they contribute to bad breath and health problems as well. If it’s not removed, plaque attracts bacte-ria and minerals, which hardens into tartar. Neglected plaque and tartar can cause infections to form along the gum line. The infection can gradually work its way down the sides of the tooth until the entire root is damaged. The tissues and bone around the tooth erode, and the tooth finally falls out. Meanwhile, the bacteria may enter the bloodstream and travel through the dog’s body, causing infection in the kidneys and heart valves. What starts out as a simple tooth problem can eventually kill the dog.

Dry dog food, hard dog biscuits, and certain bones are helpful, but not totally effective, at removing plaque. Brushing your German Shepherd’s teeth once or twice weekly — optimally daily — with a child’s toothbrush and doggy toothpaste is the best plaque remover. If you can’t brush, your veterinarian can supply cleansing solution that helps kill plaque-forming bacteria. Squirt-ing this solution into your dog’s mouth may help, but your dog may not tolerate it! If your dog won’t stand for any of these treatments, you may have to have your veterinarian clean your dog’s teeth under anesthesia as often as once a year — an expensive alternative.

ABOUT OCCLUSION

Correct occlusion — the way the teeth and jaws mesh when the mouth is closed — is important to good dental health. In a correct GSD bite, known as a scissors bite, the top incisors (the small front teeth) fit snugly in front of the bottom incisors. In an overshot bite, the top incisors are so far in front of the lower that a gap exists between them. In an undershot bite, the upper incisors are behind the lower incisors. Too large a gap between the upper and lower incisors can cause eating difficulties or result in the tongue lolling out of the mouth. In most cases, little can be done to correct occlusion (and in fact, the AKC and most other dog showing organizations disqualify dogs who have had orthodontic procedures). In some cases, however, removal of puppy teeth may help the bite to correct itself.

Get your dog used to having his teeth examined and brushed while he’s still a puppy. Even though people shouldn’t eat after brushing, you may have to reward your pup with a tidbit at first for letting you brush one or two teeth. While brushing, get to know your dog’s mouth so that you can spot any developing problems. (See Chapter Working with Your Dog’s Other Best Friend: His Veterinarian.) Pay special attention to the teeth in the rear; the upper molars and premolars tend to be the worst. Don’t worry about brushing the inside tooth surfaces; they tend to stay clean on their own.

Between 4 and 7 months of age, GSD puppies begin to shed their baby teeth and show off new permanent teeth. Often, deciduous (baby) teeth, especially the canines (fangs), are not shed, so the permanent tooth grows in beside the baby tooth. If this condition persists for over a week, consult your veterinarian; retained baby teeth can cause misalignment of adult teeth.

by D. Caroline Coile, PhD