Components of Dog Hair Care. Caring for a dog's coat involves the following procedures:

- Brushing with brushes, removing loose hair and dirt. Brushing also involves a light massage of the skin.
- Combing with combs, which helps separate tangled hair into sections and detangle mats.
- Trimming mats that cannot be untangled.
- Hand stripping, the removal of coarse guard hairs by hand or with specialized tools.
- Hygienic trimming, shortening or trimming hair in specific areas where it causes discomfort (such as around the eyes, ears, genitals, and anus).
- Full haircuts using scissors or clippers, typically done according to the specific breed's standards or creatively.
- Bathing followed by blow-drying with a hairdryer or natural air drying.

Dog Hair Care Products. Dog shampoos may be regular or medicated, with additives such as proteins, oils, herbal extracts, coloring agents, or whitening agents. Dry shampoos are used to remove local dirt easily, and some types of powders are also used to even out uneven coloration.

Balms and conditioners are applied after shampooing and come in wash-off and leave-in types. They usually contain oil additives that restore the natural lubrication of the hair after bathing, facilitate combing, and prevent matting. Instead of ready-made conditioner, cosmetic oil (mink, castor, almond, etc.) can be added to shampoo or rinsing water. Some conditioners provide a beautiful styling effect for trimmed hair and have antistatic and other effects. Choose them according to the hair type and the tasks to be solved.

Between baths, the hair, prone to matting, can be treated with a special anti-tangle composition to facilitate detangling (so-called detanglers).


Long Hair Care. Long hair in dogs is classified into several categories: - Wavy with a weak undercoat (spaniels, setters, border collies, Yorkshire terriers, golden retrievers).
- Long with a dense undercoat (collies, Caucasian shepherd dogs, chow chows, Pekingese, spitz).
- Long and thin (Afghan hounds, Lhasa Apsos, Maltese, Yorkshire terriers).
- Shaggy, soft hair with abundant undercoat (Black Russian Terrier, Tibetan Terrier, Skye Terrier, Old English Sheepdog, Briard).

It is easiest to care for the first type of hair. The main component is regular brushing and removing dirt. This type of hair is not prone to matting, so it does not need to be brushed very often.

For long-haired dogs with dense undercoats, daily brushing is not necessary as it can worsen the quality of the hair and reduce undercoat density. It is better to take measures to reduce the intensity of soiling and tangling. In wet weather, when there are puddles, slush, and dirt on the streets, owners of such hair are advised to walk them in overalls to prevent it from getting dirty. Between shedding periods, such dogs only need to be brushed and combed twice a month. Initially, they are gently combed with a bristle brush against the direction of hair growth, then combed in the direction of growth. The hair should be combed along its entire length, carefully untangling mats without pulling out hair. A medium-frequency metal comb is used to comb the hair on the thighs, tail, and ears.

Long, dense, but thin and soft hair should only be combed after moistening. Show dogs with such hair are bathed weekly. If there are mats, the moistened hair is first combed and detangled, then washed. After bathing, oil must be applied to the hair because there is not enough natural sebum for the entire length. Very long hair needs to be blow-dried, and during drying, it should be carefully combed starting from the tips. Clean, slightly damp hair is divided into sections and wrapped in curlers (each section is wrapped in a hairpin, cigarette paper, folded four times, secured with a rubber band). Thanks to this wrapping, the hair does not tangle or get dirty. The curlers should be removed and replaced 2-3 times a week to prevent the hair from bending at the folds.

The same care applies to the coats of show shaggy dogs. Long hair of this type is prone to forming solid mats that cannot be untangled. Therefore, non-show dogs are recommended to be trimmed short, and representatives of some breeds undergo hygienic trimming of the abdomen, chest, and armpits. Shaggy dogs also require periodic combing.

Care for Harsh Coat. Trimming. The coarse hair of dogs is characterized by a unique structure: it is thin near the base, gradually thickens in the middle, and becomes thin again towards the end. During trimming, the hair is usually cut at the junction of the thin base and the thickened middle section. After trimming or shaving, this area does not regenerate, and the naturally structured hair becomes soft. To preserve the normal structure of harsh hair, it should not be cut short or shaved; only trimming of the hair that has grown on certain areas is permissible, mainly on the head, around the ears, throat, and abdomen.

Dead coarse hair remains in the follicle for a long time. Dead hair splits and sticks out in different directions, giving the animal an untidy appearance and hindering the growth of new hair. Since natural shedding in coarse-haired dogs is very weak, it is necessary to resort to a procedure that serves as its artificial replacement: plucking out dead coarse hair. This procedure is called trimming; manual trimming is also called plucking or hand-stripping, and mechanical trimming is called stripping. Hair can be plucked from the entire body in one procedure or specific areas can be treated with an interval of 10-14 days; the latter method of trimming is called rolling. There are three types of trimming:

1. Hygienic trimming, performed twice a year in spring and autumn, treats the entire body except for the beard.
2. Show trimming, usually conducted in two stages. 1.5-2 months before the show, a full hygienic trim is done, and before the event, the regrown hair is trimmed on specific areas according to the breed standard.
3. Cosmetic trimming, done in the offseason, consists of rolling and leveling the hair to maintain the desired shape.

It is very important to correctly determine the timing of hygienic trimming; it is best to pluck the hair when most of it has died off. When blood supply and nourishment to the hair cease, it appears dull, untidy, and split. Plucking such hair causes no discomfort to the dog. Plucking immature hair that has not yet lost its connection to the follicles is a painful procedure; the hair follicles are traumatized and can become inflamed.

Before starting trimming, the dog should be brushed, dirt should be removed, and tangled hairs should be separated. The treatment is carried out from the withers to the thighs, top-down. Hair is plucked in small bunches with sharp, confident movements in the direction of its growth. When gripping a bunch, it is necessary to press the skin slightly higher with the fingers of the free hand.