How often should you groom your dog? Here are some guidelines.
Curly Coat Dogs have non-shedding, extremely waterproof coats. They need to be bathed and clipped every two months. (Kerry Blue Terriers, Portuguese Water Dogs, Poodles and Irish Water Spaniels.)	Short Coat Dogs have dense coats of profuse, downy, water resistant hair close to the skin, combined with thick, straight surface hair. This type of coat needs to be brushed at least twice a week. (Welsh Corgis and German Shepherds.)	Smooth Coat Dogs are the easiest to maintain, but shed and require weekly brushing and occasional washing. (Labs, Dobermans, Dachshunds). Petesthe Charcoal Shampoo helps relieve dermatitis and other related skin problems. It's also excellent for oily coat breeds as well.
Wiry Coat Dogs have stiff, dense hair, which needs daily grooming to prevent matting. Conditioner on this type of coat will soften it and are not recommended. Petesthe Charcoal Shampoo is specially formulated for this kind of coat.	Long Coat Dogs have a long, straight, coarse outer coat and a thick undercoat, which requires daily brushing and regular trimming. Petesthe Shampoo for long haired dogs and Petesthe Detangling Lotion are recomended will leave the coat healthy and shiny.	Silky Coat Dogs need a lot of care with daily grooming and regular trimming. (Afghan hounds, Yorkshire Terriers, Rough Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs.) Conditioner /Detangler will release matting and tangles.

Brushes come in a wide variety of sizes and styles. The bristle brush is an all-purpose brush that may be used on short-, medium-, double-coated and long-coated breeds. The bristles can be made of nylon, natural material or a combination of the two. The last is the most popular variety. It combines reasonable price with flexibility, as it can be used on many different coat types. All-nylon bristles are quite hard. They may break fragile hair or cause static electricity, so they are inappropriate for some types of coats. The softest type of brush is a natural bristle brush. It is also the most expensive.

Pin brushes are usually used to groom long-haired breeds such as Afghans, Lhasa Apsos, Shih Tzu and Yorkshire Terrier They are also good for double-coated breeds like the Old English Sheepdog. A variety of sizes are available for easy brushing of small, medium and large breeds. The pin palm brush, oval rubber pad with pins that have rounded tips to prevent coat damage, is a special brush used to groom the face and legs of hard-coated terriers.

A common type of brush is the slicker brush. The bent-wire teeth of the slicker brush are set close together to help remove mats and dead hair. Most come in three sizes: small, for Toy breeds; medium, for average-sized breeds; and large, for heavy coated or large breeds. Slicker brushes will take out large amounts of coat, which is good if you want to reduce the around-the-house accumulation from shedding. A slicker may not be the correct choice if you're trying to keep the maximum amount of coat on your dog for the show ring.

All-rubber brushes have flexible, short, soft bristles with rounded ends. They are fine for polishing the coat of smooth coated breeds or for removing dead hair without scratching the skin.

Helping you find the right grooming tools and supplies for your dog and showing you how to use them is the business of your puppy's breeder. Add another reason to the growing list of why it's smart to buy from a breeder.

Combs come in a wide variety of sizes and styles, with different tooth lengths and spacing. In general, fine-tooth combs are best used on soft, silky or sparse hair. Medium-tooth combs are used for average coat textures and coarse-tooth combs are good for dense or heavy coats. Some combs have close-set teeth on one end and wide-spaced teeth on the other end. The length of the teeth should depend on how far the comb needs to penetrate to reach the skin. Some combs have handles; others do not. The best combs are made of stainless steel or chrome-plated solid brass and have spring-tempered teeth with rounded tips to prevent skin irritation.

Stripping implements are used to groom show terriers and other harsh-coated breeds. In the broadest sense, stripping involves the removal of dead hair using a specialized grooming technique. Many purists insist on plucking with finger and thumb and use stripping tools only to fine tune their work. Clipping these breeds, which cuts off the ends of the hair without removing the dead undercoat, is undesirable because it tends to soften the texture of the coat and sometimes leads to faded coat color.

There are also stripping combs, knives, dressers and undercoat knives. Proper coat stripping is done over a period of weeks, depending on the coat texture, growth pattern, climate and humidity, among other things. For a better explanation on using stripping tools, consult your breed experts.

Dog Nail Trimming / Clipping
Nail trimmers come in a variety of types. The most common nail trimmer is the guillotine trimmer. The top of the dog's nail is inserted into the opening of this metal tool above the cutting blade. When the handle is squeezed together, the cutting mechanism is activated. Other nail trimmer types are the scissors type and the safety nail trimmer, which is equipped with a safety stop near the cutting blade to limit the amount of nail trimmed. Then there are nail files and electric nail trimmers.

Nails seem to grow at different rates in different dogs. In any case, one rule holds true: the nails must be kept short for the feet to remain healthy. Long nails interfere with the dog's gait, making walking awkward or painful. They can also break easily. This usually happens at the base of the nail, where blood vessels and nerves are located, and precipitates a trip to the veterinarian.

Another problem affects dogs whose overgrown nails curl toward the foot, eventually piercing the sensitive pads and causing deep pad infections. Dewclaws most frequently become overgrown, presumably because owners commonly overlook them. Many breeders routinely have dewclaws removed when puppies are a few days old. Check your puppy when you get it. If its dewclaws are intact, you must be sure to keep the nails short at all times. These problems can be easily prevented with regular nail care.

To begin with, regularly stroke the puppy's feet, gently touching each toe in turn. Allow it to become accustomed to having this delicate part of the body handled, so it won't be apt to panic when you get down to business later.

Unfortunately, some dogs never adjust to having their nails trimmed. They need only see the clippers and they're squalling, long before you're anywhere near a nail. In that case, trimming nails becomes a two-person job: one person to hold the dog, the other to do the work. It can still be a test of wills. That's why you should accustom your young puppy to nail care. It increases the likelihood of maintaining peace when the animal is fully grown.

Unpigmented nails are simple to trim. If your dog has at least one unpigmented nail, examine it closely. You should see a small pink triangle extending from the base of the nail narrowing toward the tip. This triangle houses the blood supply and nerves, which you want to avoid when trimming the nail. Position the nail trimmer so that it clearly bypasses the pink area, and proceed to clip. That's all there is to nail trimming.

Of course, trimming nails is infinitely more challenging in dogs with black or pigmented nails. Because you can't see the pink part, you must estimate how much nail to clip. To be on the safe side, trim only the part of each nail which hooks downward. The trimmed nail should just clear the floor.

If you're absolutely unnerved of the thought of nail trimming, find a veterinarian or groomer to do it for you. This service usually costs very little and goes a long way in keeping your dog comfortable.