Seasons are Changing: Your Dogs Grooming Habits Should Too
Grooming habits change with the seasons for us doggos.
Down here in SOCAL we are FINALLY starting to feel a little bit of change in the weather, with cooler mornings and crisper nights! Hopefully you’re already experiencing this change as well.
Transitioning from summer to fall can be an exciting time! Fun fall foods, football season, Halloween movies, cooler weather (phew), but we can’t forget about the changes for our pups!
The summer weather can be harsh on dog’s coats, skin and paws and going into the new season there can also be allergies, so we need to make sure we keep up with their grooming and hygiene!
A few things happen to us pups over the summer regarding our coats, skin, and paws that need some attention going into the new season.
Coat
You may have noticed already that your pup has shed a lot this summer to keep cool in the warmer temps, and even still now they are getting rid of their summer coats in preparation for fall and winter. With the cooler temperatures coming in our coats will thicken back up for fall and winter.
To make sure we go into these cool temps with the healthiest coat we are going to want to do a really good grooming session to get all that dead hair out! I don't know about you, but I definitely spent a lot of time in the sun and just like human’s hairs can turn lighter in the sun, so can ours! If you have noticed some bleached looking hairs or white hairs, those have just been sun damaged. They will come out naturally OR you can speed along this process with a good brush or some grooming gloves.
We’ve talked about this in our previous grooming blog, but brushing daily will tremendously help your dog's coat stay healthy and shiny because it will help to distribute our natural coat oils.
Skin
Our skin may have endured some things this summer especially with a lighter coat! Fleas, ticks, hot spots, etc. However, with our thicker coats coming back, these things will be harder to catch and require regular checks after hikes or beach outings!
Also, going into fall it is best to make sure we are keeping our skin healthy before the cold and dry winter weather. This dry skin can also cause some dandruff for us pups. It’s not a good look and also makes us feel quite uncomfortable. We are adding a fish oil supplement to our diets to make sure our skin stays healthy during this time! Fish Oil reduces our itchy and flaky skin, along with promoting a silky coat, and heart health.
Paws
From the hot sidewalks, to running around the beaches, or climbing on rocks on your hikes, our paws have gone through a lot this summer!
Do your pup's paws seem dry or cracked? Not to worry, this is normal after a long summer of adventures. Get them their favorite chew toy or a treat and put some calming balm or healing moisturizer like these and let that soak in. If the cracks have become more serious, get some antibiotic ointment on them and wrap them until you can visit your vet!
The key to caring for and maintaining your pups paws-cleaning them with wipes or just a damp towel after every outing. This will help our pup’s stay healthy all year long if we practice this regularly. Cleaning them regularly not only helps with our paw health, but also our overall health because we can get sick with some of the things our paws pick up and then we lick off!
Allergies
Another situation your pup might experience when the seasons change…ALLERGIES! Plants are dying and new ones may be blooming and this can cause allergies not just with itchy eyes and sneezing for the humans, but also itchy skin and rashes on us dogs.
One way to minimize the seasonal change is weekly baths if you know your dog has some sensitivities to lessen the effects. Make sure to use a gentle, hypoallergenic shampoo and rinse well! Give them a good dry and brush away all the dead fur and any other tagalongs that didn't come out in the bath.
Other doggos have more severe seasonal allergies, so make sure to keep an eye on your pup. If regular baths and brushing don't seem to be helping and your pup is scratching more or biting at their skin and paws, it may be time to visit the vet. The more severe allergies can actually cause rashes, hot spots, and scabs that may require some medication.
Fall Grooming Must Haves
Our favorite retractable brush: to help expedite the shedding process
Grooming glove: for all of those hard to reach places
Our favorite probiotic shampoo/conditioner: for a fresh, clean coat
Fish oil capsules or oil to top my food: to keep my coat healthy and shining
Dog wipes: to save a trip to the bath for those small messes
Paw Balm: to repair and restore my precious paw pads
Whether you’re still experiencing a Summer heat wave or are firmly into Fall, the month of September is always a great time to make sure that your pup is happy, healthy, and fit for the months ahead. The heat of the summer can cause a lot of damage to our coats, skin, and paws, but with a little attention we can be ready for any adventure Fall throws our way!
I’ll be sure to make this a routine topic of ours as we transition from season to season, so we can stay on top of what the change in weather means for our changes in routine!
If you have any tips of your own, please send me a note. We’ll update the community in our next newsletter!
And with that, I’m off to play in the leaves. Talk to you next week and as always, stay friendly!
Graham