Your dog's wellbeing depends on other things as well as food and exercise. You must also maintain its general condition so that it looks and feels healthy. It is also a good way of reasserting your authority over your dog. It can become a ritual that both you and your dog enjoy and respect.The sooner a routine is established the easier it is to maintain. Some light brushing should start as soon as a new puppy has had a chance to adjust to its new environment. 

If your dog has a long coat, you'll need to comb and brush it every day to keep it clean and free of tangles.   Use a slicker brush to remove any tangles. Take care not to pull on the hair or to cause the dog pain by brushing too vigorously. Brush the coat again with a pin brush. This time you should feel no tangles as you brush through the coat. Finally comb through with a wide-toothed comb. This will bring out the shine. You can trim any long hair around the eyes feet and ears.

Dogs with short or medium coats should be groomed once or twice a week. Without grooming a short, dense coat can become matted easily.  Use a slicker brush to remove any tangles.  Brush again with a Bristle brush which removes dead hair and debris. Finally run a fine comb through the feathers on the dog's legs and tail. Trim any untidy hairs with a scissors.

Most dogs moult their coats constantly or in two seasonal bursts. Some curly-coated dogs, such as Poodles do not. Their hair keeps on growing and is maintained through routine clipping.

Grooming your dog will help get rid of loose hairs, and most dogs enjoy being rubbed down too.

While your grooming check your dog's coat and ears for parasites including fleas, mites and ticks. If your dog is scratching more than usual, use a flea comb and look for small black specks. Black wax in the ears is a sign of mites, while ticks appear as small cream or grey lumps on the skin. All these bugs are easy to treat.

Pick up your dog's paws and check the area between its toes. Clean away any dirt and debris with moistened cotton wool. A dog's claws normally wear down naturally on the ground, especially if your dog lives mostly on a hard surface like concrete, but sometimes they may grow too long and become painful. Let a vet show you how to clip them correctly.

Healthy teeth

Dental care is important for dogs. Cleaning your dog's teeth once a week with dilute salt water or  a special canine toothpaste (Never use toothpaste intended for humans). This should prevent inflamed gums or a build-up of tartar on the teeth, which can lead to gingivitis and tenderness. Dog toys to chew on can also help to keep teeth and gums healthy.

Just as young dogs have to get accustomed to grooming, bathing has to be introduced in every dog's pattern of life. small dogs can usually be bathed in a sink or large washbasin. Larger ones have to be put into the bath or when the weather is good into a tub outside. Dogs should be  bathed about once every 6 weeks in the summer, a little less in winter. Take special care when bathing puppies under 6 months old, ensuring that they do not take a chill when wet: and in cold weather dogs of all sizes require this precaution. Use shampoos that are known to be suitable for dogs. Just remember that if you bathe a dog too often  or use a very strong smelling shampoo he won't be able to smell his own scent and sometimes if this happens after having a wash they might roll around in the mud getting dirty again. 

First brush down the dog to make sure any loose dirt comes off. Then put some cotton wool in the dogs ears. Stand the dog carefully in the bath on a rubber mat. Hold it tightly by the collar and pour warm water over its coat. Keep the head of the dog dry at this time for once the head becomes wet he will tend to shake. Using the dog shampoo soap the dog. Hold it firmly so it doesn't try to get out of the bath. Work up a good lather but be careful not to splash water into the dog's eyes. Next lather the dogs face, again be careful not to get soap or water into the dogs eyes or mouth. Rinse off the head and dry with a towel before rinsing off the body. This will prevent the dog shaking water everywhere. Rinse off the body taking care to remove all the shampoo. Dry the dog with a large towel and remove the ear plugs. A hair dryer set on warm can be used but try to keep it a good distance from the dog as dogs skin is very sensitive to heat. Brush the hair after drying. Be sure that the dog if well dry before letting him outside especially in winter.