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How do you groom your dog? Keep him clean!

To hope that washing and brushing alone will produce a fine coat, bright eyes and a general air of well-being when the poor animal has worms,ear mites, or other conditions due to neglect, is nonsense. Before you groom externally, get down to business internally; realize what worms and other pests do to your dog general condition. All parasites of concern can result in damage to an animal's health. Similarly, some can be transferred from the dog to other household animals including humans. No dog that is parasitized is considered healthy.

At least weekly you should brush your dog thoroughly. This is the perfect time to get down to the skin where you can see any puncture wounds, cuts, or parasites such as ticks or fleas and see any bumps or other abnormalities

If you live in a location where spring and summer bring burrs and foxtails, your dog should be checked daily and a brush run through its coat after every outing. Pay particular attention to checking the inside of your dog's ears, around the eyes, vulva and anus, as well as between the pads on the feet.

Brushing your furred friend removes dead hair and skin, spreads out natural oils in their coat, and helps keep them from developing an odor. It is one of the simplest things you can do for your dog, but it is also one of the most necessary.

Brushes, hound gloves or curry combs will all work on coats.

Dogs need a bath about once a month unless they roll in something stinky. Before bathing a dog, make sure the coat has been brushed out carefully. Any mats left in the coat prior to the bath will be impossible to detangle and will have to be cut out. Placing cotton balls in the dog's ears prior to the bath will reduce potential ear infections caused by water in the ear canal and care needs to be taken not to get soap in the dog's eyes during the bath.

Check your dog's eyes at least weekly. If the eye seems slightly red or irritated you can use artificial tears to clean the eye. However, if you suspect your dog has something in its eye that is not flushed out with the artificial tears, please take the dog to your veterinarian for treatment.

Ears should be cleaned as necessary, usually once a month, although they should be checked more frequently. If your dog swims frequently, special attention needs to be taken to ensure that water in the ear canal doesn't lead to ear infections.

The nose leather should be soft and pliable. It does not have to be 'wet' but a cracked nose or one covered with mucous or a dried crust can be an indication of problems.

At least once a week you should check your dog's mouth. Look for bumps or anything unusual in the mouth itself, and check the teeth for fractures or other potential problems. Cleaning teeth is not the chore it sounds if you take the time to introduce the dog to it.

Carefully check the pads of your dog's feet and between the toes. Use your fingers to feel between the pads and toes and don't simply rely upon sight to spot potential problems. If your dog has excess hair between the pads, you may need to trim this area. Excess hair will accumulate snow, ice and mud which will cause discomfort and may lead to lameness until the dog is able to remove the offending objects. If trimming the hair is necessary, use blunt scissors. Small manicure scissors that are blunted on the tips are ideal for this task.

Finally, a dog's nails need to be kept trimmed. Long nails will cause a dog to walk on the back of its feet and not on the balls of the feet as it should. Over time, this will cause the metacarpals of the foot to become malformed and can cause lameness and arthritis.