Grooming your dog is a very important task for two reasons. Firstly, when their hair and coat get longer, many allergens can easily attach to it and cause skin infections and other problems. Secondly, during the summer their long hair can start to cause some problems like overheating the body. This is why grooming your Yorkie is very important, but also makes your pet look nice and shiny. Grooming a Yorkie should be done on a weekly basis. Some parts can be groomed more frequently because of hair that grows significantly faster compared to other parts that don’t.
Grooming should be done by professionals, but if for some reason you can’t visit them, here are some tips on how to groom your Yorkie at home. But before we start here are some of the tools that you will need for successful grooming at home:
– Clippers
– Grooming scissors
– Brush
– Nail clippers
– Toothbrush and toothpaste for dogs
1. Clippers should have a good quality blade. Oftentimes, when the clippers are not super noisy, dogs stay calmer and the grooming process goes very smoothly. When using clippers, frequent breaks prevent blades from overheating, and potentially burning your dog’s skin.
2. Grooming scissors come in 3 different versions: curved shears, thinning shears, and straight shears which are mostly used when grooming. For more detailed hair styling curved and thinning shears can also be very useful.
3. Brush usually comes with bristle and pin brush sides. It is used to remove knots that are formed, and then to smooth hair and remove excess hair that is stuck in the coat.
4. Nail clippers should always have a safety guard that prevents overcutting. It can be hard when you are doing this on your own, especially when it is your first time, so safety guard is dream come true.
5. Toothbrushes and toothpaste are very important parts of grooming tools. Yorkies are very susceptible to tooth decay, so this process should never be avoided or skipped.
6. Ear cleaner is a very handy tool when it comes to cleaning your Yorkies’ ears. Be careful when cleaning your dog’s ear canal, because if the instrument goes very deep, it can cause very serious damage to your Yorkies’ ear.
Brushing Hair Of Your Yorkie
The first step of grooming your dog is giving your Yorkie a gentle brushing of his hair. It should be done before bathing because it is much harder ( nearly impossible ) to brush your Yorkies hair when it is wet. Brush your dog’s hair until is smooth and straight. Brushing should be done all the way from head and neck, and gently moved towards the body, legs, chest, and in the end tail. As we mentioned earlier for this process you will need a brush (preferably with two sides).
Next Steps Are Cleaning Ears And Eyes
To make sure that all the bacteria is gone, your dog should be bathed. Before that, you should carefully remove any excess dirt or any accumulation around the tear ducts. Yorkies are very sensitive around their eyes. Oftentimes, hair grows very long and then starts to irritate eyes. You should trim just enough excess hair so that your Yorkie can see clearly. Be careful when trimming the hair around the eyes because Yorkies are naturally very sensitive around that spot.
When it comes to their ears, they can easily get infected so they need to be taken care of almost daily. To prevent bacteria or dirt from accidentally entering your Yorkies’ ear, you should start by washing the outer ear with warm ( not hot ) water. Next, you should clean the interior of the ear with a cotton swab, ear stick can also do the job but it can also easily damage the ear canal or accidentally break during the process which can cause infection. The main goal is to remove cerumen from the outer ear. In the end do not forget to dry the ears with a towel, because if water gets into the ear canal it can cause serious infections.
Bathing Can Be Hard
Many dogs are terrified of the shower, so sometimes tub or sink can be useful when bathing your Yorkie. For this process, you will need warm water and preferably tear-free shampoo that will not irritate your dog and his eyes. Pour shampoo into your hands and create foam, and then gently apply it to the hair, start from the neck, and then all the way to the tail. Shampoos specifically made for dogs have pH levels that will not dry dogs’ skin. Do not apply shampoo on their head because it can get into their eyes or even worse – ears. They will not like it and will get nervous, and also it can cause infections. Use warm water to rinse your dog’s hair. Rinse all the excess shampoo until the foam is gone. You can dry your pup with a towel, but also you can use a hairdryer which can sometimes be hard to do. Your dog will shine and glow.
Finally – Trimming Process to successfully groom Yorkie at home
After you cleaned your Yorkie, it is time for trimming. After the ears are cleaned, you can start by trimming them. Yorkies grow long hairs on the upper ears which are heavy. It weighs the ear down, which gives a floppy look. With clippers, you should gently trim the long hairs from the outside of the ears. For the best results, an 0.8 mm blade is often recommended. Next, you should trim long hairs on his paws. In the end, you should never skip long hairs around your dog’s rectum because they can sometimes have bacteria and also dirt.
Nail Clipping
Nail clipping should be done every month or two. It keeps your dog’s nails clean and prevents overgrowing. Stray dogs usually resolve this problem by trimming their nails by running on rough ground or scratching them on trees. If you are doing this for the first time, nail clippers with a safety guard can be your go-to. They prevent overcutting. Gently press the paw pad so nails can extend. Be careful to not cut off too high because of nerve and blood supply endings. When cutting the first time you should just cut the nail tip. As you do this process more often, you will get used to it and you will know how much you can cut off.
READ ALSO: Does the Yorkshire Terrier Breed Get Well With Other Yorkies?
In this article, we covered step by step how the grooming process should be done. For the best results, you can follow all the tips we gave. Your Yorkie will now look fresh, and he will love it, so will his dog friends.
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