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By Agnes Murphy, Scotgroom, Carluke Hair growth is Exness quicker in Winter than in Summer as this helps to keep the animal warm. After Winter, the dog gets rid of excess hair (casting or shedding) to keep it cooler in the Summer. Unfortunately, due to unnatural central heating in our homes, dogs which live in houses cast all year round, especially breeds like the German Shepherd, who are designed for outdoor living, unless of long haired or white varieties who, according to experts in the breed, have a coat texture which is too soft and not weather resistant. (Is this another example of the public demand for unhealthy dogs and some breeders supplying the demand? I know that the whites which come into be groomed are a nightmare to demat and, in my experience, far worse than normal coats I get in my salon. Many companies sell products which claim to stop shedding. I am rather sceptical as everyone’s hair goes through a growth cycle, resulting in dead hair falling out. So, where does this hair go when dead – does it just accumulate? (Does anyone have the answer?) If you look at the diagram of the skin, you can see how brushing benefits the coat and skin. First of all, dead skin scales are whisked away, allowing the functional cells to do their job better. This process is exactly the same as exfoliating your own skin. It gets rid of rough dull skin scales and leaves behind a glowing fresh complexion, having toned the remaining cells. The second advantage is the stimulation of blood vessels, which increases the flow of blood to the new cells, thus improving nutrition to these cells. Glands are Exness Indonesia stimulated by massage to produce sebum, which coats the hair shaft, making it waterproof and shiny. Sweat is also produced, which is thought to have a cleansing effect on the skin surface (antiseptic). When a brush stroke is applied the muscle fibres contract and tighten. This improves tone and is in effect a workout for the muscles to keep them in good order and ready for action. Nerve cells in the skin respond by sending messages to the brain, about the stimulus they have received. One of these is a sense of touch, which is a pleasant experience (unless done in too energetic a fashion). This is a sense which helps to bond animals. Monkeys and horses groom each other if they are friends. Lastly, we all know about lymphatic massage and cellulite, although other animals do not seem to get this as much as humans. Massaging and stimulating the lymph vessels help to rid the body of toxins to be disposed of through the lymphatic system. As you can see, grooming does not only separate hair strands and make the coat tangle free. It has a great many other benefits
There are two types of glands in the skin, both are situated on each side of the hair follicles. The sebaceous gland is responsible for coating the hair shaft with a substance called sebum, which has the ability to waterproof the hair and skin surface to help form a barrier against infection and to keep the skin supple. When the sebaceous glands start to work in excess, a problem of greasiness occurs. The second gland in the skin is called the sweat gland which, unlike in man, does not discharge sweat directly to the skin surface but into the hair follicle, where it flows onto the surface of the skin. This function probably has little to do with temperature control, as heat loss is mainly controlled by panting. But, it may be responsible for some type of skin disinfectant. The function of skin is to provide a barrier to infection by bacteria, fungi or viruses which may cause serious damage to underlying structures. Skin also keeps precious fluid reservoirs inside the body by forming a waterproof coating to repel contaminated substances and contain important ones. Melanin is a protein which is produced to protect delicate areas, such as the nose, against sunburn. Under the influence of sunlight, vitamin D in produced under the skin. This is produced in sufficient amounts to supply the dog at most times of the year, except possibly in late Winter when daylight hours are at a minimum. The skin is not subjected to sufficient length of sunlight to manufacture enough of the vitamin to adequately maintain the body function. At this time, there is a justified case for giving the animal cod liver oil, an excellent source of vitamin D to supplement the diet. In the dog there are two types of hair, the guard hair and the undercoat. The guard hair is a fairly rigid single hair surrounded by bundles of soft, downy, secondary hairs of the undercoat. In certain breeds of dog, the coat is predominantly undercoat as in the poodle, whereas in the beagle the main coat is composed of guard hair
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