10 dog care tips every dog parent should know
- 4 years ago
1 – Teeth
One of the most important things for your dog’s health is his mouth.
More to the point, you need to take proper care of your dog’s teeth and gums.
Like humans, each time your dog eats he gets food stuck on his teeth and gum, which causes plaque that causes infection and tooth decay.
We’ve tried pretty much everything to keep our dogs’ teeth clean and the one thing we find that really makes a difference is using an enzymatic tooth paste.
Don’t worry, you don’t necessarily need to brush his teeth with it, although that would be ideal.
For less than cooperative dogs, just allow them to lick the paste, the enzymes will work their way into the saliva and eliminate all plaque and tartar buildup.
2 – Eyes
If your dog is anything like ours, he loves a good puddle of mud or to roll around in dirt.
Or maybe he just keeps his nose to the ground smelling everything he finds.
Either way, dog’s eyes are constantly exposed to dirt, plants nails, etc.
Not to mention common allergies.
More often than not, we’ll find our dogs with some sort of discharge or itch.
Luckily, for simple issues that don’t require vet treatment, a simple homemade cleaning solution will do the trick!
You can make it at home in just 5 simple steps:
1. Sterilize the jar and lid in boiling water for at least a minute. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes.
2. Pour the sterilized water, a product that can be bought at most pharmacies, into the jar. It should fill the jar up to about 2″ from the top.
3. And 1/2 teaspoon of non-iodized table salt to the water. The salt should be pure salt, with no other compounds added.
4. Fasten the lid and shake the mixture to dissolve the salt.
5. Use the eye dropper to administer four to six drops in each of your dogs eyes, two to three times a day and you’re good to go!
3 – Ears
Dog’s ears are very sensitive, particularly if they have folded ears, because dirt and parasites can easily lodge inside.
Keeping the ears clean is important and easy to do, if you use the right products. To clean our dog’s ears, we usually use wipes.
But if they’re showing a wax coating or dirt, we prefer to use a proper ear cleaning solution to make sure we don’t irritate the ears by rubbing too much
4 – Paws
It’s one of the most exposed parts of dog’s bodies.
Every time our dogs go out, their paws are touching the ground. In Summertime the ground is hot and in Winter too cold.
Not to mention stepping on thorns, glass, or anything sharp that can pierce his skin and hurt his paws.
We’ve realized that the best way to take care of our dog’s paws is to moisturize them with a paw balm.
But you’ll need to make sure not to over-moisturize the paws, otherwise you may make them too soft and injury-prone.
5 – Nails
Neglected nails lead to breakage, injuries and infections.
You need to make sure your dog’s nails are properly trimmed and clean, particularly if he has dewclaws .
Use this gentle shampoo as a way to remove any.
One of the most important things for your dog’s health is his mouth.
More to the point, you need to take proper care of your dog’s teeth and gums.
Like humans, each time your dog eats he gets food stuck on his teeth and gum, which causes plaque that causes infection and tooth decay.
We’ve tried pretty much everything to keep our dogs’ teeth clean and the one thing we find that really makes a difference is using an enzymatic tooth paste.
Don’t worry, you don’t necessarily need to brush his teeth with it, although that would be ideal.
For less than cooperative dogs, just allow them to lick the paste, the enzymes will work their way into the saliva and eliminate all plaque and tartar buildup.
2 – Eyes
If your dog is anything like ours, he loves a good puddle of mud or to roll around in dirt.
Or maybe he just keeps his nose to the ground smelling everything he finds.
Either way, dog’s eyes are constantly exposed to dirt, plants nails, etc.
Not to mention common allergies.
More often than not, we’ll find our dogs with some sort of discharge or itch.
Luckily, for simple issues that don’t require vet treatment, a simple homemade cleaning solution will do the trick!
You can make it at home in just 5 simple steps:
1. Sterilize the jar and lid in boiling water for at least a minute. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes.
2. Pour the sterilized water, a product that can be bought at most pharmacies, into the jar. It should fill the jar up to about 2″ from the top.
3. And 1/2 teaspoon of non-iodized table salt to the water. The salt should be pure salt, with no other compounds added.
4. Fasten the lid and shake the mixture to dissolve the salt.
5. Use the eye dropper to administer four to six drops in each of your dogs eyes, two to three times a day and you’re good to go!
3 – Ears
Dog’s ears are very sensitive, particularly if they have folded ears, because dirt and parasites can easily lodge inside.
Keeping the ears clean is important and easy to do, if you use the right products. To clean our dog’s ears, we usually use wipes.
But if they’re showing a wax coating or dirt, we prefer to use a proper ear cleaning solution to make sure we don’t irritate the ears by rubbing too much
4 – Paws
It’s one of the most exposed parts of dog’s bodies.
Every time our dogs go out, their paws are touching the ground. In Summertime the ground is hot and in Winter too cold.
Not to mention stepping on thorns, glass, or anything sharp that can pierce his skin and hurt his paws.
We’ve realized that the best way to take care of our dog’s paws is to moisturize them with a paw balm.
But you’ll need to make sure not to over-moisturize the paws, otherwise you may make them too soft and injury-prone.
5 – Nails
Neglected nails lead to breakage, injuries and infections.
You need to make sure your dog’s nails are properly trimmed and clean, particularly if he has dewclaws .
Use this gentle shampoo as a way to remove any.