Dog Grooming | Strong Dog

Dog Grooming: The Dreaded Anal Gland!

The Backside Boogie

How long do you think the line is to put your finger in your dog’s butt and squeeze their anal glands? Probably not very, but if you’re a responsible guardian of a dog, being aware of the canine anal gland is critical knowledge. Dog anal glands serves their purpose, but they can also cause discomfort in our furry friends if we aren’t aware of the signs and symptoms of irritated canine anal glands.

Have you ever seen your dog drag their butt across your carpet in some sort of back side boogie?… Hind legs in the air and the look of confusion on their face as if to say, “I don’t know why I’m doing this, but damn it feels good!” One must admit, it’s a funny sight, but be aware, this is a warning sign usually indicative of impacted canine anal glands.

Calling Cards

Unlike humans, dogs have anal “perfume” sacs located just inside their anus. Located at either 8 and 4 o’clock or 5 and 7 o’clock if viewing the dog from the back side, these bean sized dog anal glands contain a foul smelling, brown liquid unique to every dog. Their smell is their identity.

I’m pretty certain if humans had these same canine like anal glands we’d do away with the formality of hand shakes when meeting new people for the first time and go right for the then socially acceptable butt sniff. Fortunately for now, that’s not the case for us. As we know though, it is for dogs.

When you see dogs meeting each other for the first time, tails will be high in the air, this is the result of them squeezing their sphincter muscle to emit a slight bit of the anal sac content so as to identify themselves which is the main function of a dog’s anal gland. We humans get away with a calling card.

The canine anal gland has one primary function and that is to mark their territory. Otherwise not needed, the anal gland of the dog is a primitive means to mark their feces and establish a territory. Today, we would just build a fence and maybe put up a sign. Each time a dog eliminates, the anal glands omit a slight bit of their original scent to identify the owner of the deification and claim it as theirs because let’s face it, who doesn’t want to claim their poop?.

D I Y

Through the process of fecal elimination, a healthy anus will squeeze the dog’s anal gland and keep it so that the fluid doesn’t get back up. If it does, it’s at that point that that infections, also called dog anal gland disease, may occur which can lead to bigger problems if not addressed, not to mention a much more potent odor that would make even a skunk jealous. That’s why when you see your hound drag their south side on the floor, when you’re done giggling, have the anal glands addressed either by a groomer, a vet or you can do it yourself if you have a sturdy stomach or an urge to bond with your dog.

The below video is a good example of both external expressing (term used for manual manipulation of the canine anal gland) and if needed internal expressing where you would insert your finger into the dog’s anus.

Dog Nutrition Might be the Answer

Some canine anal glands are more prone to problems than others. Theories exists that over weight dogs are more apt to experience canine anal gland issues, but the real culprit is improper dog nutrition.

Healthy poops are solid and expand the dog’s anus when eliminating therefore allowing the sphincter to express the dog’s anal gland and keeping it healthy by releasing the internal fluid. Soft or runny stools, often caused by cheap dog food or a generally poor diet, won’t allow the gland to express. Therefore the dog’s nutrition and diet play a key role in keeping the canine anal glands in proper working order. Increasing fiber in your pooches diet say with vegetables, is a good way to firm up the stools because fiber rich foods will soak up water in the intestines.

As mentioned before, the dog’s anal glands are not needed and in some dogs with excessive problems, the canine anal gland will be removed surgically.

Keeping an eye on Fido will alert you to any possible issues with the canine anal gland. Some Bowsers never experience a problem, some are occasional, some are frequent, but all will lick, bite and drag their butt if there is a problem. Happy pooping!

Dog Grooming: How to Brush a Dog’s teeth – The Easy Way

August is Pet Dental Health Month

In Australia and some parts of Europe, August is Pet Dental Health Month. In honor of the occasion, we find it only fitting to examine how to brush a dog’s teeth, the easy way.

The essence of proper dog grooming is sprinkled with the obvious functions such as nail clipping and dog washing but often lost by the way side is how to brush a dog’s teeth. Cleaning Fido’s chompers may not seem needed or even appropriate, but don’t assume. Learning how to brush a dog’s teeth is simple and can be done in minutes.

Brushing a dog’s teeth is as necessary as brushing our own teeth, maybe even more so. After all we don’t often lick and bite our own private parts, or eat out of the garbage or chew on our “BFF”s poop for fun so it should seem obvious that we know the importance of brushing our dog’s teeth. This could be the reason that the American Veterinary Dental Society reported that 80% of all dogs has some form of gum disease by age 3.

More Than Just Fresh Breath

The reasons for brushing a dog’s teeth is more than just to smell their minty breath when in close quarters. As a matter of fact, although mint is one of the common flavors of dog toothpaste, beef and chicken flavors are more popular. Can you imagine brushing your teeth with a pork chop flavored paste?…Well, good thing they aren’t for us; and frankly speaking, human toothpaste isn’t for dog’s either. The first step in learning how to brush a dog’s teeth is to realize that one will require a toothpaste made especially for dogs. Dogs will swallow the toothpaste and if it isn’t made specifically for pets (dogs), don’t use it.

I’m Not Sharing my Tooth Brush!

Brushing your dog’s teeth is necessary, sharing brushes is optional. Tooth brushes for dogs come in many different sizes and step two of how to brush a dog’s teeth dictates that the appropriate sized brush is used. A Chihuahua and a Mastiff shouldn’t use the same sized brushes. Any pet store will have a choice so simply pick the size right for your 4 legged roommate. There are actual brushes, which look like their human counter part, or there are finger brushes which slip over your finger. Both are effective. In a pinch, one can even use some gauze rolled around your finger and wet with water.

It’s All in the Wrist

The Academy of veterinary Dentistry states that over 95% of tartar build up on the canine teeth are on the outside of the teeth. Reason being that the semi-rough surface of the dog’s tongue cleans the inside of their teeth fairly effectively. The take away from that is don’t do the hard work that you don’t have to. You see the real secret in how to brush a dog’s teeth effectively is knowing that simple fact. There are plenty of opinions out there that dictate that you need to open the dog’s mouth widely and get all the inside as well. That makes for a pain in the butt for you and quite frankly, it’s going to piss off your pooch. See below for a good demonstration.

The easy way to brush a dog’s teeth is to simply lift the lip and get the outside of all the teeth. The canine mouth structure makes it easy to access all the teeth, even the back ones, especially with longer “snouted” dogs. Don’t make it harder than it should be. It’s helpful to find a flavor of paste your dog likes, but beyond that, brushing with a back and forth or circular motions on the outside of the dogs teeth is the idea hygiene habit. If your dog is uneasy, start slow with just a few front teeth and work your way up to a couple minute sessions if possible. Daily is best, but shoot for no less than three times a week. Thats how to brush a dog’s teeth, the easy way.

Dog Grooming: Dog Groomers

Did You Pay the Dog Groomer to do That?

Most of us prefer to take our tail-waggers to the dog groomer because often times it’s just easing to pay someone to take on the task of grooming your dog, but have you ever considered going to dog grooming school and becoming a professional dog groomer yourself?

In my opinion, professional dog groomers are like the taxi drivers in our society. Similar to driving a taxi, dog grooming most likely isn’t something you had posters of on your childhood bed room wall, laying awake at night hoping one day you’ll be lucky enough to squeeze anal grands on Fee Fee and cut tar out of Fido’s fur any more than you may have aspired to drive people around all day in a beat up old retired police car with yellow spray paint over what used to be a star on the door.

However, with that in mind, dog groomers and taxi drivers have something in common in that individually, each of them can be the sole reason we have either a euphoric experience in an otherwise mundane routine of grooming your dog or getting from point A to point B or whether we hate mankind after the experience.

Case in point, the green “dragon dog” to to right. Look at him…he’s pissed and there’s not a damn thing he can do about his day at the dog groomer. He’s breathing fire alright!

You do What for a Living?

Before the economy took a stumble, tumble and fall, I’m quite positive that not many people were flocking to dog grooming schools to be the next pooch pampering prince or princess, but for many of us, that may have changed.

Once one loses a job or has their pay slashed it’s natural to consider what other career options may exist and I’m willing to bet that dog grooming schools have seen a huge increase in enrollment in the last couple of years and why not?

A dog groomers salary may not be at the top of the pay scale, but there are benefits. Less stress being one of them, flexible hours being another and plus your clients are typically appreciative, stinky, but appreciative.

Did you even know that there was a National Association of Dog Groomers? It was news for me too!

All things being equal, would you rather be jammed into a down sized cubicle forced to be around work mates that you maybe can’t stand, don’t trust, hate the sound of their voice or all the above, or would you prefer to stare into soft eyes with murky breath that really doesn’t care how you cut their hair? I’m just sayin…

What if you could become a celebrity dog groomer and be know as the dog groomer of the stars with a reality TV show? If Animal Planet is any indication, they had a show called “Groomer Has It” which pitted 12 dog groomers against each other for weekly elimination and a grand prize.

I can’t say that their viewership was overwhelming, but let’s be real, at some point there were thousands of people watching 12 dog groomers do their thing on national television and at least 4 or 5 of those people cared about the outcome so maybe there is something to it.

Just a Little Off the Top

You can learn to be a dog groomer from the comfort of your own home, or actually attend a specific dog groomer school. If you don’t want to work in a “big box” pet store you could even start your own dog grooming business.

Think there’s not a market for it? There’s even a website dedicated to finding dog groomers nationwide. If that’s not your thing, open a mobile dog grooming business and have the freedom to hang your head out the window at freeway speeds.

The point is most likely no one aspires to become a dog groomer, but if you’re maybe in between jobs and have a love for the furry four-legged, going to dog grooming school and becoming a professional dog groomer may be a temporary stick to chase that could afford doing something you take pride in and that there is certainly a market for.

Let’s be honest. Someone got paid, and maybe even handsomely for making these poor dogs look like walking bowls of Fruit Loops cereal. At least we know “Bozo” owns two dogs.