The honest answer depends on your dog's coat. But in Lagos humidity there are a few things owners in cooler climates never have to think about, and they change the schedule.
By coat type
Short, smooth coats — a bath every four to six weeks, brushing weekly. Grooming here is mostly about skin, nails and ears rather than the coat itself.
Double coats — a full groom every six to eight weeks, brushing two or three times a week. These dogs shed heavily and the undercoat needs removing properly, not clipping off.
Long or curly coats — a full groom every four to six weeks, and brushing every single day. This is not optional. A curly coat left a fortnight without brushing will mat close to the skin.
Wire coats — every six to eight weeks, hand-stripped rather than clipped where the coat allows it.
What Lagos changes
Heat and humidity mean skin problems move faster here. A damp coat that stays damp is where fungal infection starts, and a dog that swims or gets caught in the rain needs drying properly, not left to air-dry in a warm room.
Ticks and fleas are a year-round problem rather than a seasonal one, so a routine check at every groom matters more than it would elsewhere.
Dogs kept mostly indoors under air conditioning shed less predictably than dogs living outside, which catches owners out — the coat comes out all at once rather than seasonally.
The matting conversation
This is the most common difficult conversation in any grooming salon, so it is worth being plain about it.
Once a coat is matted to the skin, it cannot be brushed out humanely. The mats pull constantly, trap moisture, hide sores, and brushing them out causes real pain over a long session. In that situation the kind thing is to clip short and start again.
Owners are often upset by how short the dog ends up. The alternative is hours of pulling on inflamed skin. If your dog comes to us matted we will tell you before we start and explain what we recommend.
The way to avoid it entirely is brushing between grooms — right down to the skin, not just over the top of the coat.
Between appointments
- Brush to the skin, in sections, not just across the surface
- Check behind the ears, under the collar, in the armpits and around the tail — mats start where things rub
- Dry thoroughly after any soaking
- Check nails monthly; if you can hear them on tile, they are long
- Look in the ears weekly for smell, discharge or redness
Booking with us
Grooming at Pawleashed Groomer is by appointment. A ₦5,000 booking fee holds your slot and comes off the price of the groom on the day, so a completed appointment costs nothing extra.
Tell us in advance about any skin condition, allergy, past injury or nervousness around handling. It changes how we work with your dog, and it makes the appointment better for everyone.
