One of my dogs has short fur and actually rarely needs to be brushed at all, but he likes to be brushed so if we have the brush out for the other dog, we'll often brush him a bit too. The other dog however has long fur and gets brushed a couple of times per week since her fur gets tangled immediately. She hates being brushed, but she tolerates us doing it.
Daily, as much as possible. I have two shih tzus. One has short hair but I still have to clean his nuzzle so that the discharge from his eyes don't harden and dirt won't accumulate.
The other one, a puppy who's 6 months old, gets comb daily so that she gets accustomed to being brushed. So far, her attitude to grooming has improved and I'm currently trying to desensitize her from fearing the clippers.
09-24-2012, 05:51 PM, (This post was last modified: 09-24-2012, 05:53 PM by sandooch.)
My dog, Gigi, is a poodle and has to be brushed daily. I maybe can get away with every other day, but I prefer to do it daily because sometimes it seems that her hair can mat up within just hours, especially on her ears since that's where it's longest. It's a lot of work to keep a poodle's hair mat free, but it's worth it because there hair doesn't shed so the only fur I get on my clothes and furniture is from my 3 cats. Now the cats are a different story. They have to be brushed daily or there will be little tumble weeds of fur rolling across my wood floors within just days of not brushing them.
When I had my dog, I would brush her daily and if I missed a day, I would do it twice in a day. Shih Tzus are quite high maintenance and they need to be brushed all the time. If I didn't brush my dog for a week then she would have knots or even a mat. Now I know, if I do ever get a dog again, I will not get a Shih Tzu.
Now the cats are a different story. They have to be brushed daily or there will be little tumble weeds of fur rolling across my wood floors within just days of not brushing them.