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Grooming must be introduced from a very early age.  A few minutes should be set aside every day teaching the dog to stand on a table or work surface and accept grooming.  The Bolognese is a non shedding breed and therefore any dead hair stays within the coat.  So it is essential that the dog’s coat is combed through.  You can teach him to lie over on his side, for you will find it much easier to groom a fully-coated Bolognese and reach all the awkward places with the dog in this position.  How often you groom your dog is up to you.

    

The above photo shows grooming aids that ensure you have a well groomed dog.

I usually brush my Bolognese all over first, particularly on the tummy.  Then I comb from bottom to head usually first one side and then the other.  You should comb around the face very gently.  Around the ears knots can form, comb them carefully.

The eyes must be cleaned daily with a piece of cotton wool that has been put in cooled down boiling water.  Pat gently with a clean towel.  Any excess hair growing into the eye please cut to prevent irritation. 

Ears too should be checked frequently as the Bolognese is one of the breeds that have hair that grows in the ears.  It is essential and part of your grooming routine to keep your dog’s ears free from excess hair.  You must pluck it out of the dog’s ear.  This is painless for the dog if done correctly.  There are various methods of doing this.

    (1)   You can use your thumb and finger to pluck the excess hair

    (2)   You can use special plucking scissors for this job

    (3)  There is a product on the market by Re Qual (Professional Grooming Powder) it is excellent for   retrieving hairs and much quicker and is very good for dogs that have very thick hairs.

 

A dogs nails must always be kept trimmed.  Those living their lives primarily on carpets or on grass will need more frequent attention to their nails than those who regularly run or walk on hard surfaces.  Your Bolognese should be trained to accept nail clipping from an early age.  Take great care not to cut the quick, which is the blood vessel that runs through the nail, for this is painful.  You will need to carefully trim the foot pads so that hair balls do not form.  The trimmed pads prevent slipping on wood or tiled floors.

 

There are many products on the market for a dog’s teeth but the best option is to clean the teeth a couple of times a week gently with  canine toothpaste and a canine toothbrush (Do not use human toothpaste).  Your dog may not like this procedure much at first, but should get used to it if you clean regularly.  Your Bolognese will be very precious to you, so you want to keep him in the very best of health throughout his life, which should be a long one.  Your dog’s overall health and quality of life depends largely on the care he gets from you at home.

 

BATHING.

The coat should always be combed through before bathing.

Whenever I go out with my Bolognese I always get asked are they hard to keep clean.

I always reply they are no different to any other dog. The coat of the Bolognese doesn’t hold the dirt for long, so bathing isn’t always necessary.  A regular grooming helps to keep it clean. I usually bath my dogs every 3 to 4 weeks

The Pictures below are really the extreme.

When they are like this then they must have a bath!

It is wise to use a dog shampoo.  Select a shampoo suited for your dog’s coat.  After wetting the coat, stroke in the shampoo rather than rubbing for the latter will create knots.  Rinse, then shampoo again thoroughly before applying a volume protein conditioner.   Then make sure the conditioner is completely rinsed away.

When towel drying the coat, pat rather than rub, to avoid making knots. You can if you wish use a blow dryer on a cool setting rather than hot or if you wish you may leave the damp coat to dry naturally.

   

A few shakes and a good roll on my bed and then I am ready!



We must thank Amor, Anya & Kia for getting dirty for this page. Also a big thank you to Carolien Jongejans

(of Kennel van het Balgzand) and Bengi for their contribution too. 

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