What does dog coat care have to do with dog behavior?
Well if you don’t have a very obedient dog, and it rolls in a lot of dead things that it shouldn’t then you are likely to have a dog with many burrs and dead things in its coat, that will need constant cleaning.
The level of discomfort a dog feels can be directly related to how disobedient it is – any living thing feeling poorly will not follow instructions well.
Having great recall on dogs is usually about dog safety, and if the thing a dog rolls in is full of toxic bacteria then yes, good recall and good dog training to have good dog behavior can save your dog an illness too.
A dogs coat basics
Dogs coats range from thick double coats for very cold climates to smooth thin coats closer to the equator. As dogs all evolved from the wolves who have a very thick double coat. wolfs coat has to be very adaptable as they inhabit environments well below freezing to above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
How a dogs does maintenance of coat
Unlike cats who don’t tend to like water and tend to clean themselves with their tongue, dogs love to roll in dead things and don’t usually do coat maintenance except to pull out annoying burs with their teeth.
The more your dog has anxiety or is a true hunter, the more likely it will roll in very smelly things. The original dog behavior purpose of this is to disguise its scent so it can sneak up on prey.
Grooming dogs coats
You will probably know that some dogs shed their coats, and other dogs continually grow hair that must be cut to length and maintained. Dogs with double coats always take the most maintenance as the top coat must be stripped regularly to look and feel its best.
If you have a dog that doesn’t shed, but the coat keeps growing, you can buy clippers to maintain the coat yourself. Though regular handling of your dog from puppy age is going to make clipping much easier for everyone.
If you have a short haired dog such as a jack russell you may find that to keep its coat short it continually sheds hair, so that will take a lot of work too.
Owner Dog coat cleaning
Humans / owners usually clean their dog’s coats by using dog shampoo. Unfortunately many of these have harsh detergents and strip the natural oils from the coat. This causes itchiness and can cause infection.
But if you don’t clean a dirty coat it can also lead to infection. that is why you need to consider a good frequency of cleaning your dog coat and using a gentle shampoo and maybe a conditioner afterwards.