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Short, practical guides to grooming a dog at home, including the ones who have already made their feelings clear.

• Grooming a dog that hates being groomed

  The problem is almost always noise and duration, not temperament. Here is the approach that works on dogs who have already decided against it.

• Grooming a small dog at home

  Small dogs are groomed more often, panic more easily and cost more per year at the groomer than any other size. What changes when the dog is under ten kilos.

• Grooming an older dog at home

  Older dogs stop tolerating the grooming routine that worked for years, and it is almost never stubbornness. Here is how to adjust it so they can stand it again.

• How loud is too loud for a dog?

  Dogs hear roughly four times as far up the frequency range as we do, and grooming tools sit right in the worst part of it. What the decibel number on the box actually means.

• How often should you groom a dog at home?

  More often than most people do, and for much less time. The schedule depends on coat type more than breed.

• How to cut a dog's nails without hurting them

  The fear of hitting the quick is why most dogs never get their nails done at home. Here is how to find it, how to avoid it, and what to do if you get it wrong.