Dog Health | Carol's Pampered Pooches dog grooming chester

Make sure you remember to lock away all of those chocolate Easter eggs in the next few weeks because as little as half a bar of chocolate has enough poison to kill a small dog! There are over 2000 cases of chocolate poisoning cases in dogs every year and is the most common poison to affect our pampered pooches.

A customer of mine that came into the Dog Salon told me great way of including your dog in the family Easter celebrations! She gave me a simple recipe to make a safe, dog friendly Easter egg!

All you will need are several packs of doggy choc drops, an Easter egg mould, a saucepan and a bowl.

Empty the chocolate drops into a heatproof bowl. Fill the pan with water and put the bowl on top. The chocolate will slowly melt so just keep stirring!
Next, grease the egg mould and spread the melted chocolate evenly around it. Put the mould in the fridge until set.
Once set, fill half of the egg with some of your dog’s favourite treats.
Next, glue the two halves together by spreading melted chocolate around the edge of one half of the egg and stick the second half in place. Leave to cool and you’re all done!

If you’re feeling fancy or are making an egg for a friend’s dog, you could wrap the egg in cellophane and tie with a decorative ribbon.

I have made these Easter eggs for my dogs for the last two years and I can’t recommend them enough! I’m planning to go a step further this year and arranging an Easter egg hunt for them in the garden, so stay tuned if you’d like to know how it goes!

REMEMBER! Dog-safe chocolate is a treat so only feed it to your dog in small amounts.

On average my customers’ will visit the dog salon every 6 weeks but it really depends on the condition and breed of your dog. My customers will often ask me what they can do to maintain their dog’s coat and keep it healthy and in top condition in-between visits. I recommend to put at least few minutes aside every day for grooming, you will not only promote a healthy coat but will also give you and your dog some extra one on one bonding… bonus!

So if you would like to keep your pooch pampered for longer read our top tips!

1. Start Young!

In addition to the obvious obedience and toilet training that you must give your young pup, often people forget about the importance of introducing them to the grooming brush. By the time the puppy is old enough to go for its first salon visit; their first experience of a brush can be quite a scary one, despite Aunty Carol’s reassurances! I cannot stress enough that you should really be grooming your Puppy as soon as his first week with you. If you do this and stress to your Puppy that the grooming is a positive experience it will be a much loved part of your dog’s day!

2. It’s all in the wrist…

How you groom your dog depends on the type of coat your dog has. If your dog has a long coarse coat I recommend you invest in a good quality slicker brush and a comb available from most pet stores including pets at home for no more than £5 each. The comb and the Slicker brush that has fine wire bristles are particularly useful for removing mats and tangles.When brushing your dog you should always be gentle and take your time gradually brushing the hair the same way as it grows. If your dog has a particularly difficult coat, your groomer will be able to give you specific details about the best way to brush the coat

3. You Are What You Eat 🙂

We are all familiar with the phrase you are what you eat, and the same goes for our dogs! To help give your dog a shiny coat, it’s not all about maintaining a coat on the outside; it’s just as important to look after what’s on the inside too! By adding fish that are packed with omega-3 fatty acids such as Tuna, Sardines, and Salmon you can really make a difference to the healthiness of your dog’s coat. It can also be an excuse to give your dog a delicious healthy treat that they are sure to love!