General Grooming

The Ear Inspection and General Grooming

Grooming your Labrador pup must be a necessary part of your routine in order to keep them healthy. There are different aspects to grooming your Labrador. These include:

• Brushing of the coat weekly.

• Bathing, only three times a year

• Teeth cleaning with a tooth brush weekly

• Nail clipping every three months

Checking your Lab’s ears twice each month

From a health perspective, most attention must be paid to a Labrador puppy's ear check. Labradors can be susceptible to ear infections because of their folded ears. Your Labs ears do not stick straight up, therefore, they do not receive the same air circulation. This can lead to a moisture build up, bacteria growing in the ear and causing ear infections. And this can be very painful. It can result in loss of hearing if left untreated or treated incorrectly. If your Lab’s ears are troubling him, then he will scratch his ears and shake his head. If you lift his ears, there will be an odour, redness in the skin and a buildup of wax.

Clean your Labs ears to keep them clean and healthy

Their skin should be a pale pink, not red, brown or black. If you notice a foul odor then take your dog to the Vet to check them out. To keep your Lab's ears are clean, use a cotton bud with warm water or mineral oil to clean the flaps of the ears, and the opening to the canal. Be very careful if you probe deep into the dog’s ear canal. It can result in pushing wax further into the ear, which may lead to infection. Labrador care is not particularly time consuming and it is easier than you might think when you do it regularly.