Care & Grooming - Basic Guidelines

This page has useful tips on how to comb your Wheaten's coat thoroughly. Also included is a list of areas on the dog's body which should be carefully inspected during grooming. This examination can help you to spot changes which may affect your dog.

See 'Maintaining a healthy Wheaten Terrier' below.

With a puppy daily grooming is essential to make sure that he/she gets used to being handled. The coat is easy at this stage but grows very quickly. Daily grooming will avoid any build up of knots, uncomfortable for the puppy and stressful for you. It also helps with the discipline of grooming.

Go to our Puppy Care and Grooming page for tips on training your puppy, or an untrained adult dog

See also the Puppy Trim Video on the Grooming page.

With an adult combing two to three times a week should be sufficient. Information on grooming equipment and various methods of trimming are shown on the Grooming page.

These videos shows how to comb your Wheaten so that knots and matted hair are removed without causing distress. Combing then becomes an easier task and leaves you with a Wheaten to be proud of.

Better viewed in Full Screen

 

WHI give thanks to Churmy for the following informative video.

Watch the grooming videos and practice on your dog. Don't worry if you go wrong, the coat will grow again.

However there are sometimes exceptional circumstances which need extreme remedies.

The following slideshow is of a Wheaten Terrier who was not properly groomed and cared for and the owner had not sought help from a Groomer for more than six months.

The slideshow is nearly 7 minutes, the Groomer took over two hours.

Better viewed in Full Screen and in HD


Maintaining a healthy Wheaten Terrier

Your dog can't tell you when it's feeling poorly, know what is normal for your Wheaten and look for any changes of:

Behaviour

 

Loss of appetite
Lameness

 

Unusual weight loss or gain
Frequent urination

 

Difficulty when urinating or excreting

A weekly check of the following points will help to assess your dog's good health:

Eyes - should be sparkling. If there is a milky or hazy effect on the pupils it must be checked by your Vet. However, in older dogs, the eyes can be become slightly opaque.

Make sure to clear the eyes of any 'gunk' which can collect in the corners. Be sure to check inside the bottom eyelid as this should be pink and not red. Any discharge needs to be seen by your Vet.

Nose - should be wet and black. There should be no discharge.

Teeth - white teeth and pink gums are a sign of good health, however some Wheatens' gums can be black or shades of black. Clean teeth regularly to prevent a build up of plaque and tartar. Bad breath should be checked out by your Vet.

Ears - need to be checked weekly; is the inside clean and pink, do they smell? Pluck the hair out of the ears if it is growing too thick.

Body - run hands all over and check for mats and knots in the coat. Look for black specks which may indicate fleas. Also check for lumps, bumps or bare patches and mention to your Vet if found.

Rear end - check for any soreness around the anus. If the dog is trying to bite its bottom it may mean that the anal glands need to be emptied. Also any discharge from the vulva (females) or lumps on males testicles need referring quickly to your Vet. Greater frequency of, or difficulty with urination could be a sign of a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), this would need referring quickly to your Vet.

Paws - check to see that nothing is trapped between the toes or pads. Mats can form between pads but can be carefully removed with small round ended scissors.

Nails should be short and not split or scaly. Cut the nails carefully and also dew claws if still intact.

Bathing - bathe an adult dog every 4-6 weeks or sooner if it is dirty!

Always use good quality dog shampoo and conditioner, human shampoos have a different ph level and are not suitable for a dog's skin. Make sure you rinse out all the shampoo and conditioner, as trapped soap not only tightens knots making it difficult to comb, but it can cause skin problems too.

also see - Health Key Facts


Information and Video Tutorials on the techniques of trimming and grooming are on the Grooming page
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