Pekes have a high grooming demand. It is recommended that you groom your peke every day! You want to start grooming your puppy as early as possible to get them accustomed to what you are doing.
Pekingese dogs have two coats. The outer coat consists of long, straight hair while the inner coat consists of fluffy, thick hair which can easily become matted and tangled. The inner coat is shed twice a year.
To keep your Peke's coat healthy and neat, you must brush it a least once a day, especially the belly, and between the front and hind legs. In keeping with that, you would only need to visit a groomer once every 3 months or so.
A brush is essential for any grooming routine. Genuine bristle brushes are preferred over more stiff brushes. Another important instrument from grooming is the comb to work out tangles, but aggressive combing may end up pulling out hair
A lot of the time, owners choose to shave their Pekes which not only reduces the amount of grooming required, but may also help to keep them cool in the hot summer months. However, you must keep in mind that you should only shave until the hair is about 1 inch in length so your dog’s skin will still be protected from the sun. There have also been other people who feel strongly about not shaving their dogs. Their reasoning is that the coat serves as an insulator from the heat. So it’s up to you what you want to do. It may be a good idea to just shave the area between your dog’s hind legs to prevent the area from getting dirty with urine.
You do not want to bathe your Peke too often. This will strip the coat of its natural oils resulting in dry irritated skin and leave the coat flat and lifeless. To get around this, what you can do instead is put powder (i.e. baby powder) onto the coat, massage it in and then brush it out. This will clean the coat as well as protect the skin from dryness. When the coat feels dirty, it is time for a bath.
Another thing that may help the condition of your Peke's coat is supplementing their diet with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. There are supplements that you can buy and put into their food, just make sure it is specially formulated for dogs.
Pekingese dogs all have that signature flat face that include protruding eyes and nose folds. In order to protect and lubricate their eyes, they produce tears on a regular basis. Note that excessive tearing can be a sign of an infection. These tears contain acidic properties that can stain the fur around their eyes producing discolouration on their fur. You can clean the stained fur with a cotton ball or cotton swabs and some peroxide, but you have to be careful not to get it in their eyes. Safer alternatives include tearless shampoos and special formulas that you can get from your local pet store for removing tear stains.
Around the eyes and nose is one of the most important areas on your Peke to keep dry and clean. This area should be checked daily in order to prevent hot spots. Wipe the area under the eye and nose wrinkle daily with a cotton ball. Once in a while it is necessary to lightly wash this area with warm water or a sterile eye cleaning solution. Excess moisture builds up quickly in this area and if let go can easily cause unpleasant odours as well as infections.
It is important to keep your Peke’s toenails trimmed at all times or they may grow back into the paw pad causing extreme pain. They are also more likely to scratch and damage their eyes when their nails are not kept. Your Peke’s nails should just touch the ground when he/she walks. If her nails are clicking on the floor or getting snagged in the carpet, it's time for a trim. It is best to cut them once a week to keep the quicks (blood vessel in the nail) short.
To prepare you dog for nail trims you should start by regularly handling their paws and rewarding them when they behave. You want to make sure you are not cutting the nails too short to the point where you hit the quick which will cause pain and bleeding. However, if your dog does start bleeding, don’t panic, you can dab the end of the nail with styptic powder (i.e. Quick stop) or silver nitrate sticks which stop the bleeding.
Regular walks on pavement and textured floors help to wear down the nail as well and acts to file them.
It is also important to trim the hair between the pads of the feet of your Peke. Dirt and snow accumulated in this area may cause soreness and discomfort. It is also a good idea to trim this hair to help with the traction of the paw pads.
As with any other breed, Peke's need to have their teeth well maintained. If not, this may lead to cavities, tooth root abcesses, gum disease, plaque build up, bad breath and much more. There are small things that can be done between brushings such as feeding your dog dry food, there are specially formulated diets that help reduce plaque (i.e. Hill's Prescription Diet T/D). Another thing that can be done is giving your dog hard bones to chew on or special chews (i.e. C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Chews and Greenies), you want to be sure to choose the right size for your dog and watch them as they consume these producs to make sure they chew them so they don't choke. Oral Hygiene rinses (i.e. C.E.T. Oral Hygeine Rinse) may also help to control plaque in your dog. This acts much like mouth wash.
However, despite all these different products available, nothing replaces brushing. Do not use human toothpaste, this may be unsettling for your dog's stomach and cause ulcers!
Even after all this, your dog may need to have their teeth cleaned professionally by your vet.
Regular ear cleaning is important to prevent infection and smell. What you need in order to clean your dogs ears are a cleaning solution (i.e. Vet Solutions Ear Cleaning Solution, cotton balls and cotton swabs.
Just pour some solution into their ear and massage the base of the ear. Then, stick the cotton ball into your Peke's ear and wipe from the inside, out. Continue this with a new cotton ball until the ear is relatively clean. Be sure to allow your dog to shake out the remaining solution. Then, soak your cotton swabs in the ear cleaning solution and wipe between the grooves in the ear.