Ladue High School's student news site

Ladue Publications

Ladue High School's student news site

Ladue Publications

Ladue High School's student news site

Ladue Publications

Brush Your Dog

Brush+Your+Dog

Imagine this- You’re a dog groomer. Your job is to clean up and trim dogs’ coats if necessary. It’s a simple job, and you get to work with cute dogs on the daily. The worst part of your job, however, is the unavoidable frustration that comes with seeing how often pet owners refuse to follow basic hygiene necessities for their own dogs.

Doodle owners in particular are some of the worst offenders for this particular crime against dogs. They don’t care about taking care of the dog, they care about it looking cute and being silly. Among the many crimes doodle owners are known for, we’ll only be touching on grooming, as this is what this particular topic is about. I’m sure everyone knows at least one doodle owner and their respective doodle. As such, it is unavoidable that everyone has seen the horrendous state the dog’s coat is most likely in. Completely matted, smells atrocious, and looks even worse. This is because the owners have never brushed much less washed their dog since their last grooming visit which was… let’s see… 2 months ago. Your dog, who has been running around outside and rolling in dirt, has not had a bath in two months, and you wonder why it smells bad. You wonder why you can’t sleep in a room with it because you can’t breathe the air plagued with that sickening scent.

And the worst of all? These dog owners complain when the groomer has to shave off their dog’s matted fur. At that point it is for the dog’s health. Without the necessary precautions, your dog could get sick, injured, or worse, all because you don’t know how, or worse, refuse to take care of your dog’s basic hygiene needs. Dogs get sick from their own filth, just like humans do, and by refusing to clean your dog, you are making it easier for them to get infections or diseases because the bacteria from their daily lives is never washed off and out of their fur. It festers and grows, until it is enough to cause genuine sickness in your dog. Some dogs can even die from thick mats where the bacteria grows enough to eat away at them. You are risking your dog’s life in some cases by refusing to clean them.

Every pet store has brushes and dog shampoo. It is accessible. If you are refusing to use your resources, you should not have a dog, plain and simple. It is neglect, just as refusing to feed your dog, or walk your dog is. You are actively harming their health by passively refusing to upkeep it. If you deserve to be able to shower more than twice a month then so does your dog, regardless of how ‘inconvenient’ it is for you.

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Caroline Edgar, Opinions Editor

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