This guide has been created by me and split for convenience to cover different phases of your dogs life. 0-8 weeks (the time with the breeder); 8 weeks to 5 months; 5 months to 14 months; 14 months and over. These areas have been chosen as they represent different phases of your dog’s life- growing puppy, maturing, adult.

While the breeder has the puppy the following is recommended as a minimum. A puppy should been bathed, dried and groomed regularly. I like to brush a puppy at this age with a slicker brush (picture below), I tend to do this with the puppy on my lap, on a grooming table or just one the floor. I tend to groom a puppy for short amounts of time, ensuring they are interested and do not get bored,

making a game out of brushing, making grooming part of a daily routine. Being gentle is key, just getting them used to a brush. I also like them to be used to opening their mouths, this is important for showing and for your dog to get used to you handling them fully. When bathing I ensure the temperature is comfortable, like you would for a child. Drying I start with a towel then use the dryer I also have (a dog dryer/ blaster), this is quicker than towels and when older this will save a vast amount of time.

8 weeks to 5 months- growing puppy.

I would recommend grooming daily to start with, this is more as a bonding exercise, you want your puppy to be completely familiar with you. As your dog grows grooming on your lap will start to become difficult. I prefer a grooming table, they are collapsible, and it helps to set the scene for grooming. A grooming table also allows you to look at the dog with ease, opening the mouth, checking ears, eyes and looking all over the dog (including paws and pads). Regular grooming at this phase of life will get your dog used to the grooming process later in life. Again the slicker brush would be best for this time. Personally I would bath once or twice during this time, so that your puppy knows what a bath is and what is to be expected.

5 months to 14 months- maturing puppy.

By now your dog should be used to opening its mouth, and your grooming routine over its whole body. During this time a bitch will have their first season and a dog will have cocked his leg- meaning both will be fully grown (in height). Their coat will start to change from a puppy coat to their adult coat. As it does so I prefer to use a comb opposed to a slicker brush, I find it goes through the coat more getting to the undercoat. A chow will normally drop its coat in a set way, legs, bum, back, bib then head. This coat will normally come away in one go- filling a bag, but once it is out your dog will be looking so much better, and the adult coat could be a different shade to the puppy colour.

During this phase, I enjoy using a grooming table as it makes the grooming process so much easier, I do however still groom a dog on the floor for ease and for a shorter grooming session (a quick flick). A dog should never be left on a grooming table unattended, they could jump/ fall off injuring themselves on the floor or not making it to the floor due to the grooming arm. This is when a puppy may start to be shown, as such I would bath before most shows ensuring my dog, looks and is as clean as possible. Again to dry I use a dog dryer (blaster). By now grooming is more relaxed with me, I will groom at least once a week but I will not necessary be grooming everyday.

14 months and over- adult.

From 14 months your dog should now have its adult coat (or be near to), as such

grooming will remain the same for the duration of its life. Checking, eyes, ears, mouth and all over its body for any changes/ abnormalities. Things to look for in this process include lumps/ bumps, and ticks as two main items. Chows will drop their coat once or twice a year, when coming into season and with the actual changing of seasons. This tends to happen in the same order as above (legs, bum, back, bib, then head). You will notice this dead coat coming out, at it will look different (colour and texture), again have the bags at the ready to collect and dispose. Bathing is a matter of preference; when showing my dogs will be bathed before most shows; if not being shown they will be bathed after a season and any time between as I feel fit; with dogs again this is just as and when in my opinion. Chow tend not to smell so bathing doesn’t need to be overly regular.

General grooming.

As mentioned earlier I like to use a slicker brush for puppies and combs for my adults. Below are a few pictures of grooming supplies that I commonly use. I prefer ‘Spratts’ combs as they work well in my hand- there are so may options out there to look at.

Spratts comb, I use wider teeth for general grooming, narrow for head and legs with very narrow for rears and muzzle.

Again with a slicker brush there are so many options I have only pictured an example here, they do range in price but there is little difference in performance.

As I have mentioned I prefer to use a grooming table. Things to consider when buying one yourself are; height (are you happy lifting your dog to that height); width and length (I would recommend the same dimensions as your crate); permanent or collapsible (if you have space a permanent fixture could be good and make grooming easier, if not collapsible will be a better option to save on space and it will take less than a minute to set up); finally grooming arms (I like them, it enables me to groom with both hands and not worry about a dog jumping off- if they do I have a moment to stop them).

These are my top three (four) for grooming your dog and can make things easier/ more enjoyable for you and your dog.

Grooming order

I like to start grooming with the head, looking at the eyes, ears, mouth. Then moving down the body and back to the head to finfish off.

Grooming the head- I start with a general look at the eyes, are they wet/ dry etc, if teething being slightly wet is common, a cream will tend to look worse at this age, but regular grooming will prevent things looking too bad. By slightly wet I mean the corner of the eyes (by the muzzle) and slightly on the muzzle *note*

a wet eye doesn’t always mean entropion. Ears looking inside that things are clean and tidy, grooming this hair and general maintenance. Open the mouth, look at the teeth- are they all there (look for gaps) are there any sores, lumps etc on the gums/ does everything look normal for your dog, cleaning the teeth is important, brushing can be awkward but your chow will get used to this. Also, Dentastix are useful for your chow to keep on top of things themselves.

Grooming the body- I like to start with a dry dog for grooming, this includes the bib. Some puppies/ adults can have a wet bib a lot of the time, use a towel/ dryer and dry it off before grooming. Once dry I am happy to groom, most of the time I will continue from the head and work my way along the body. The bib normally just a flick over, but try to look through the coat as you groom (grooming is like an inspection of your dog, look through and under the coat, feel over your dog ensuring everything is normal). Continue this process as you groom, looking through the coat to the skin.

As I groom I don’t need a dog to stand, I want them to be comfortable, if on there for a longer amount of time sitting and laying down will be more comfortable. The more comfortable your dog is the more they will enjoy being groomed and this is very important.

Grooming the legs- again look through the coat, check that things are normal for your dog, check the paws, pads and nails. If the nails are longer you can trim them yourself (slightly) or go to the vets to have this done. It may also be wise to trim the dogs paws (of fur) under the pads. Dewclaws need to be looked and possibly trimmed more often than other nails.

Bitches- check if they are coming in to season, keep a log of when they are due in season. Some dogs are regular others are not, your dog is different from others. You will get to know your dog’s ways.

Bathing- I tend to use a regular bath (the house bath), we do also have a hydrobath specifically for dogs and if I want to bath more than one dog I will use this as it keeps our house bath a bit nicer. Water temperature, comfortable room temperature, slightly warmer will assist a dog in dropping its coat, slightly cooler will assist a dog keeping its coat. If showing this temperature can make a dog look better for longer or help to get coat out a bit quicker. I like to have about a hands worth of water in the bath 4-8 inches, no more is needed. A plastic cup/ jug will be useful to pour some water on your dog. I like them to be completely wet through before adding any shampoo. Shampoo needs to be

worked through the coat, why just wash the top? Get through the coat to the skin, to get your dog nice and clean.

This is the important part of bathing in my opinion. I empty the bath of all water, then using a shower head start to work out the shampoo from your dog, if you leave the water in there is a huge possibility of leaving shampoo in your dog’s coat. Again use your hands to go through the coat, get to the skin, when all the water is sud-free your dog is nice and clean. *note, use a plug sieve to avoid hair going into your drains*

Drying- Straight out of the bath I will use a couple of towels to get some of this water off and to prevent the whole house getting wet and slippery. I will then use my blaster to blow off the majority of the water, once 70% dry I will leave my dog to dry fairly naturally. Through using the blaster I will know that there are no suds left in the coat and leaving the dog to dry slightly will give me time to tidy up after the bath. After a while I will finish off the drying process on the table once more using the blaster.

Common things when grooming.

Hot spots – This is like a sore, several things can cause this. Common reasons include not being dried correctly, or not removing all shampoo. It is important that things are clean to start with, then use a product such as Hibiscrub will help in maintaining this/ assisting with speeding up the healing process. Hibiscrub is one of those useful products to always have in the house.

Greasy patches -Occasionally as a dog looses coat they will develop a greasy patch on their back. Sometimes bathing can make this worse as it brings it more to the surface. Baby powder on this, rubbed in can make it much easier to comb out, user a wider toothed comb to start with and keep on going, it will come out and your dog will be back to normal very soon.

Ticks- Pending where you live your dog may get a tick, tick cards can help in removing the tick but ensure you get the whole tick out. If you are unsure, please head to the vets to ensure things are done once and correctly.

Nails- Nail scissors can be bought for trimming, if cut too close they will bleed try to avoid this but in the eventuality wound powder can assist the healing process. Again, if unsure please head to the vets to ensure things are done once and correctly. Dewclaws need to be looked and possibly trimmed more often than other nails.