Grooming your american bandog mastiff
The grooming for an American Bandog Mastiff is pretty since they are short-haired. Train your Mastiff while yet a puppy to stand still for brushing and grooming. This will make it much easier for you when your puppy has matured and then weighs over 100 pounds.
Your puppy probably won’t like grooming at first. Be patient, kind, and gentle while grooming. Don’t use force especially if your pup is afraid of grooming. If you are calm and consistent soon your Mastiff will enjoy spending this time with you.
Grooming activities include bathing, brushing, cleaning the eyes and ears, and clipping the toenails. You won’t do all of these everyday, however you should check the ears and brush your pet every day.
Bathe your American Bandog Mastiff regularly. By doing so it will reduce the shedding plus your dog will smell better. However, don’t bathe too often as too much bathing is bad for their skin. Generally, once a month is sufficient unless your dog begins to smell.
Be sure to use dog shampoo when bathing your dog. Many owners use people shampoo on their dogs and that may be alright for some breeds, but for Mastiffs it will ruin its coat as well as lead to rashes and eczema. Bathing in the bathtub actually will work or a large plastic or metal tub outside can be used.
Everyday your Mastiff should be brushed down to get rid of dandruff, dead hair, and dust. Otherwise these things remain in the coat until it is brushed. Also when your dog is brushed daily it reduces shedding, prevents skin infections, and even improves odor. Brush your puppy a few minutes the first week or two then gradually increase the time to help your Mastiff puppy get used to it.
You can use a firm bristle-brush, rubber brush, or dog glove to aid in brushing your puppy. Or you can brush with no tools at all. To do this, simply wet your hands and then brush with your hands from tail to head. Rinse your hands and do it again only from head to tail this time. After brushing, rub its coat with a cloth to make it shiny.
Along with brushing you should clean your dog’s ears everyday to prevent mites and infections. Because the insides of Mastiffs’ ears do not dry very the wax stays moist providing a breeding ground for mites and bacteria which can cause smelly painful ear infections.
Do not use a Q-tip or anything like it to clean the ears as this is more likely to push wax further into the ears. Instead use a soft dry cloth and wipe the parts of the ears you can see.
Mastiffs tend to have messy eyes, especially if they have a lot of loose skin around their eyes. This can lead to eye infections and must be cleaned as often as necessary. Use a soft wet cloth and gently wipe the eye from the inside out. Be sure not to wipe too hard as you could irritate the eyes.
Toenail clipping is probably the most intimidating task in grooming because if you do it wrong your dog can bleed quite a bit. Some owners pay for their dog to get their toenails clipped for this reason. However, it can get costly.
Your Mastiffs toenails should be clipped weekly because if they grow to long it is uncomfortable for your dog to walk and it is harder to clip them as well. You will need to use the largest size of dog clippers you can find. It’s important that you teach your dog to be still during this grooming activity.
Other grooming in which your American Bandog Mastiff could benefit from is to regularly brush its teeth and clip the hair between the pads of feet. This will keep your pet in tiptop shape.
