Pets' Best Friend by Lauren Middleton

Hello from PBF!

A start to a very unexpected spring has thrown a wobbler on everyones path! Pets Best Friend has been missing out on regular dog interactions which has been rather sad.

In order to keep myself busy I have focused on my art work, DreamMagik which is my other big interest. This has meant many hours of messy paints and graphite fingerprints all around the house!

I really hope these troublesome times give pet owners some happiness in being able to spend more time with their beloved pets.

Dog walks are still an important daily routine and providing it is safe to do so it is important to keep up with their walks whilst keeping a distance from other pedestrians, refraining from touching other dogs as well as keeping your own at a distance when and where possible.

With such small case numbers pets have shown no evidence of passing the virus to humans, although it has been advised that you wash your hands once you’ve handled your pets and avoid them kissing or licking you!

It could be easy to get carried away with over bathing your pet so it would be a good idea to use dog safe wipes in between baths to keep them clean, Petkin pet wipes from Doggie Solutions are widely used. Always make sure it is made for dogs and the same with shampoo, dogs have a different skin pH to humans!

I would say to be very careful in attempts to groom your own dog at home, it is very easy to do more damage than good.

In order to help your pets coat you can use a safe conditioner after shampooing this will help to loosen any forming matts and also a spray conditioner for in between baths to aid brushing.

It is very important to remember to only brush when the dog is dry, and if the coat is matted do not keep brushing as it is more likely that it will need to be clipped off professionally.

If the matts are coming out then do not brush for more than 15 minutes as it is extremely uncomfortable and traumatising for your dog, it can put them off being groomed for life and is also against animal welfare.

It is not a good idea to use scissors on your pet unless you are qualified, you cannot cut out matted hair which is very close to the skin as this will lead to harming your pet.

I hope this soon passes over for the sake of sanity and necessary grooming appointments!