When you have a long haired dog you might as well plan some grooming time into your weekly schedule.
Depending on which breed of dog you have, you may need to spend time grooming them up to twice each week.
This is a great time to bond with your dog and spend some quality time together.
It will also control the amount of shedding your dog does.
If you find your dog has gotten into burs or something while outside, take time right away to get them out.
This will save tons of time in the long run if they don't get embedded in your dog's fur.
The first task when grooming your dog is to get a brush.
You want to choose a quality brush that will stand up to all the use you will be giving it.
Brush your dogs entire body thoroughly.
Once you've finished that you can switch to a comb to get any loose hair that's left.
You can also clean out their ears and trim nails at this point if you want.
When grooming your dog the next step is the bath.
Now you don't want to bathe your dog every time you brush them, but you do want to give them a bath once a month or so.
Make sure you give baths after you have brushed your dog thoroughly, this will make sure the tangles are out of your long haired dog's fur and make it easier.
Long haired dogs are susceptible to matting.
Good grooming habits will help to decrease the occurrence of mats.
Make sure to brush your dog daily to keep mats at bay.
If your dog does get a mat use your metal comb to brush it out.
Take it very slowly, and work from the edges.
Do not cut a mat out of your dogs fur.
This can be very dangerous and it is very easy to cut the dog while you are trying to cut out the mat.
Your dog's nails need to be cut regularly as well, and making this part of your regular grooming will be good for your dog.
Dog's nails will keep growing, this is why they need to be cut regularly.
If you don't cut them they will start to take the shape of the dog's foot and be very uncomfortable.
  You should trim your dog's nails every few weeks.
Doing this will keep them at a healthy length for your dog.
If you cut your dog's nails too short you will cut into the quick and your dog will bleed.
This bleeding will continue for a long time unless you do something to stop it.
You can stop the bleeding by applying styptic powder or using a styptic stick.
You need to make sure you add ear cleaning to your grooming routine.
Cleaning your dog's ears is important to keep them free from mites and ear infections.
You simply get a quality ear cleaning solution, put it on a cotton swab and then wipe out the ears of your dog.
It is not difficult, but it will be a preemptive strike against ear problems.
Long haired dogs require grooming.
It really should be taken into consideration before you get a long haired dog.
If you don't have the time to groom your dog regularly, you can take them to a professional dog groomer to have them done.
If you don't have the time or the money to groom a long haired dog you are going to be better off getting a dog that doesn't require as much maintenance.