Doing grooming yourself is a great way to bond with your German Shepherd Dog. Praise and reward your dog for being good while being groomed and many GSD's will even learn to enjoy the entire process with practice. Here are a few more basic grooming procedures to practice with your own German Shepherd dog or puppy.
Bath Time
Barring any encounters with foul smelling stuff, German Shepherds only need baths about twice a year. While this doesn't sound like much, you have to remember that your dogs hair is a barrier that is constantly keeping dirt out and keeping essential skin oils in.
Over bathing your dog will strip these natural oils and lead to dry skin and possibly skin issues and irritation. A dogs skin has a pH balance that is very different from humans, and as such requires a different type of shampoo to keep from disrupting that balance. When bathing your dog, remember to place cotton in th eir ears to prevent water from getting in the ear canal. (Water in the ear can lead to ear infections)
Nailing Those Nails
If your dog gets a lot of activity on hard surfaces their nails should wear down naturally, but if they're too long, or if they become chipped or broken, trimming will help keep your dogs feet healthy. The center of a dogs toenail is a very sensitive living tissue called the quick, and you want to avoid clipping into and/or too near the quick as this will cause your dog great discomfort, bleeding, and could lead to other more serious issues.
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