Breed care calendars

What a breed actually needs across a year — how often the coat is brushed, when it blows, when the ticks come back, and which health signs are worth raising at the annual exam rather than waiting out.

Dog breeds

11 breeds

Beagle

A care calendar for Beagles: weekly ear care for long drop ears, a hard line on food, and the ear, eye and back signs to raise at the annual exam.

Short, dense, weather-resistant double coat · sheds moderate

Bulldog

A care calendar for the English Bulldog: daily fold cleaning, strict heat management, and the joint and airway signs that need a vet rather than a wait.

Short, smooth, single coat · sheds moderate

Dachshund

A care calendar for Dachshunds across all three coats, built around the one thing that matters most: protecting a long back from disc disease.

Smooth, longhaired or wirehaired · sheds moderate

French Bulldog

A care calendar for French Bulldogs: skin folds cleaned weekly, breathing and heat watched daily in summer, and a spine that needs stairs and sofas managed.

Short, fine, single coat · sheds moderate

German Shepherd

A care calendar for German Shepherds: a double coat that sheds all year and blows twice, plus early joint and gut signs worth tracking from young adulthood.

Dense double coat, medium length; long-coated variety in some lines · sheds high

Golden Retriever

A grooming and health calendar for Golden Retrievers: feathering that mats, a double coat that blows twice a year, and a breed-specific cancer risk worth knowing early.

Medium-length double coat with feathering on legs, chest and tail · sheds seasonal

Labrador Retriever

A year-round care calendar for Labrador Retrievers: coat blows twice a year, ears need weekly attention, and joints and waistline need watching from the start.

Short, dense double coat with a water-resistant outer layer · sheds seasonal

Pomeranian

A year-round care calendar for Pomeranians: a double coat that mats where you cannot see it, a windpipe that rules out collars, and a mouth that needs daily work.

Dense double coat — a soft undercoat under a long, harsh, stand-off outer coat · sheds seasonal

Poodle

A care calendar for Standard, Miniature and Toy Poodles: a coat that never stops growing, professional grooming every 4-6 weeks, and eyes and ears on a weekly rotation.

Single curly coat that grows continuously and does not shed out · sheds low

Rottweiler

A care calendar for Rottweilers: minimal grooming, structured growth in the first two years, and the joint, heart and cancer signs to track through adulthood.

Short, coarse, dense double coat · sheds moderate

Yorkshire Terrier

A care calendar for Yorkshire Terriers: a silky coat that needs daily attention or a short clip, plus dental and knee care that starts early in toy breeds.

Fine, silky, continuously growing single coat · sheds low

Cat breeds

10 breeds

Abyssinian

A year-round care calendar for Abyssinians: a ticked coat that needs almost nothing, gums that need watching young, and a cat that has to climb.

Short, fine, close-lying ticked coat · sheds low

Bengal

A year-round care calendar for Bengals: almost no coat work, a great deal of enrichment, and a heart and eyes worth asking your vet about.

Short, dense, unusually fine 'pelted' coat · sheds low

British Shorthair

A year-round care calendar for British Shorthairs: a plush coat that needs weekly work and more in spring, a heart worth screening, and a serious tendency to gain weight.

Short, very dense, plush double coat that stands away from the body · sheds seasonal

Maine Coon

A year-round care calendar for Maine Coons: a semi-long coat that mats where it is hardest to see, a heart worth screening, and a cat that keeps growing for years.

Semi-long, water-resistant double coat, longer on the ruff, britches and tail · sheds seasonal

Persian

A year-round care calendar for Persians: daily combing that is not optional, a flat face that needs eyes and breathing watched, and a kidney test worth asking about.

Long, dense double coat with a heavy undercoat · sheds high

Ragdoll

A year-round care calendar for Ragdolls: a silky semi-long coat that still mats, a heart worth screening, and a placid indoor cat that gains weight quietly.

Semi-long, silky, with little undercoat · sheds moderate

Russian Blue

A year-round care calendar for Russian Blues: a dense double coat that needs weekly work, a reserved cat that dislikes change, and a waistline to watch.

Short, very dense double coat that stands out from the body · sheds moderate

Scottish Fold

A year-round care calendar for Scottish Folds: folded ears that need checking, a cartilage condition that affects every one of them, and joints to protect for life.

Short or semi-long, dense and plush · sheds moderate

Siamese

A year-round care calendar for Siamese cats: minimal coat care, a mouth that needs watching from young, and a talkative cat that does badly with boredom.

Short, fine, close-lying single coat with almost no undercoat · sheds low

Sphynx

A year-round care calendar for Sphynx cats: weekly bathing, ears and claw folds that need cleaning, warmth as a welfare item, and a heart to screen.

Effectively hairless — a suede-like down over most of the body · sheds low

These calendars describe what is typical for a breed. An individual animal’s schedule is set by its own health, coat and where you live — your veterinary practice is the authority on both the parasite risk in your area and what this particular animal needs.