If you're a lover of long-haired dog breeds, you may have recently invited an Irish Setter into your home and are making him or her a member of the family. However, while you will need to ensure that you give a dog like this a great deal of exercise as they are very playful, boisterous and joyful, you've also got to make sure that you look after their coat carefully. What do you need to know about dog grooming if you've never owned an animal like this before?

Extra Care Needed

Long-haired dogs can have a hard time in very hot and humid climates, so you've got to take even more care of them in Australia. As they exercise, their hair can easily get damp and may pick up dust, dirt, grass seeds or pollen on a daily basis. Consequently, you will need to keep an eye on this and make sure that you do not let it go for too long as otherwise, it'll be particularly difficult to keep their coat clean.

Getting Ready

Before you go much further, you should stock up with some grooming supplies and learn how to apply the best technique when caring for the animal. You need dog shampoo, a sturdy comb, a gentle brush and will also need scissors or clippers for periodic attention.

Washing Time

Don't forget that you will need to spend quite a lot of time to train this puppy so that they don't misbehave when you need them to jump in the bath. Given that, you should prepare for a fair amount of mess and get ready to catch the hairs before they go down your drain, or you may also need to call up the plumber!

Grooming Time

As the animal gets older, its hair will tend to grow more quickly, and it can quickly become unruly. This is when you need to think about grooming but need to be very careful when you do so, as poor technique can lead to additional issues.

Where to Start

It's best to start off with electric clippers to cut the hair when it gets too long, but make sure that they are always sharp and that they don't yank on the hair when you work. These clippers will usually come with protective guards that are designed to cut to different lengths, and you should start off with the biggest and work from there.

Great Care Needed

Don't be surprised if you come across areas that are very tangled or matted, and this is where you need to be especially careful. Some of this hair could be very close to the skin, and you can easily break the surface, hurt the animal and risk the development of an infection.

The Better Approach

This is why many people decide to take a dog like this to a veterinarian so that they can do the work instead. These experts are carefully trained and have a lot of experience when working with long-haired breeds, so they will avoid the issues that could materialise at home.