Grooming your Basset

 

There is little grooming required for Basset hounds. Bassets do moult ( some more than others) . During this time you can help remove loose hairs by brushing with a hound mitt, a type of rubber glove. You can also use a good bristle brush to help remove any dirt or other debris hiding in the coat.

 

A good time to check your hound over is after a walk, espcially during the summer months. You should check their footpads and between their toes incase any foreign bodies have embedded themselves there, grass seeds can be a real pain and if left can travel further into the dog's body ending up with a trip to the vet! Grass seeds can get in anywhere but armpits, feet and ears are the usual places to find them. Ticks can be a problem but are easy to remove if you keep a tick remover in your grooing kit. If you are not confident to do this your vet will sort the problem out in next to no time.

During snowy periods, after a walk, washing your hound's feet with luke warm water will prevent salt and grit frrom aggravating their foot pads.

 

Ears: Regular inspection will help to prevent any nasty problems from getting worst. Use a recognised canine ear cleaner such as 'CleanAural Dog Ear Cleaner. Approximately £3.99 from Vet Medic. Do not poke around too deeply into the ear canal but clean any debris away from the areas you can see near the surface.

 

Nails: Keep nails fairly short, use canine nail clippers, taking care not to cut into the pink vein, known as the 'quick'. This is a very sensitive area and will bleed if cut. You can keep some Styptic powder in your grooming kit to help clot any bleeding from the nail bed if you do accidently clip too far back. Remember to also clip the dew claws as these can curl and dig into the dog's skin or get caught on bedding or other objects and then rip off.

 

 

 

 .