German Shepherd Grooming Tips & Tricks

Some tools that one will need when getting ready to groom their german shepherd

Is: a shedding rake, and a metal brush.

When you are ready to start grooming make sure to begin at the head and brush the entire coat along with the tail .

The best tool for this is the slicker brush start by combing through the GSD's coat with a metal comb so as to remove any loose hair, in order to make the entire coat shiny use a rubber curry brush along with a shedding blade to capture excess hairs. Getting excess shedding hair works best by brushing from the rear of the GSD to the front.

Brushing should be done with much care and with gentle pressure. When the dog is wet right after a bath is the best time to groom and remove shedding.

The German Shepherd Dog has a double-coat which consists of a downy type undercoat next to the skin, with longer, coarse guard hairs as an outer shell. This requires normal regular brushing, and an occasional bath. The dogs guard hairs will be shed all year round. The undercoat is blown twice a year which means dogs shed their undercoat each spring and regrow it again as colder weather comes in

Ways to keep the undercoat from matting

Without regular grooming, however, there is a great potential risk that the wooly undercoat of the German Shepherd will mat.

This can also result in hot spots, bald spots, rashes and other coat and skin problems, so do not take grooming too lightly.

When its time to give your german shepherd a bath use lukewarm water, shampoo the dog all over by lightly massaging the shampoo into the dog's entire coat. Allow the necessary time for all the dirt and oils to dissolve (follow the directions on the shampoo bottle to determine the time).

Then, rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water. Repeat the process using the dog conditioner. Washing your dog outside or a place away from a tub so the hairs will not clog up the drains.

When taking care of German Shepherds one wants to make sure to provide a diet that will allow for a healthy shiny coat.

Nutrition will feed a high quality diet that has MEAT as the first ingredient that is natural no preservatives and is easy to digest. Some recommendations are

• Prairie by Nature's Variety,
• Nutro Natural,
• Flint River Ranch,
• Verus,
• Precise,
• Eagle Pack

These foods are high quality and do not have cheap fillers, pet owners can feed their dogs less and their pet will have better health.

Pet owners should gradually change to the new food over 1-2 weeks time by mixing a little new with some old, and then every day increase the amount of new food and decrease the amount of the old. Plus, spend a little more on food and have a healthier dog, which also means less visits to the vet.

I've been reading numerous German and Australian Shepherds articles and yours is one of my favorite.

The coat of a German or an Australian Shepherd is easy to groom and needs little attention. I suggest it should be brushed occasionally with a firm bristle brush and bathed only when necessary. These breeds are playful and energetic, so make it a point to monitor if your dog needs a bath.