{"topic_id":"companion_grooming_dog","category":"companion-grooming","context":"---\ntopic_id: companion_grooming_dog\ncategory: companion-grooming\ntitle: \"Dog — grooming (regular grooming needed; tooth-brushing for dental health; coat brushing prevents mats)\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version (merckvetmanual.com). First-hand consumer text saved to source_file; paraphrased derived fact summary per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3. Pulled/extracted 2026-08-01.\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/companion-care/dog_owner_combined.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-01\ntokens_estimated: 560\nverification:\n  method: paraphrase\n  claims: 10\n  passed: 10\n  date: 2026-08-01\nrecovered: false\npath: companion-grooming/companion_grooming_dog/01_companion_grooming_dog.md\nsource_document: \"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), pet owner version\"\n  title: \"Dog — grooming (regular grooming needed; tooth-brushing for dental health; coat brushing prevents mats)\"\n  url: \"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/dog-owners/routine-health-care-of-dogs\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-01\"\n  ref: \"Routine Health Care of Dogs (Merck pet-owner version)\"\n  doc_type: \"professional veterinary manual (consumer version)\"\n  needs_review: false\nlicense: paraphrase\ncopyright_note: \"Source Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) is a copyrighted veterinary reference and not openly licensed; per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3 all claims are paraphrased derived fact summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not verbatim quotations.\"\nauthority_tier: T3\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T3:vet-ref\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\n---\n\n# Dog — grooming (regular grooming needed; tooth-brushing for dental health; coat brushing prevents mats)\nSource: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.\n\n## Claims\n\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Dogs need checkups, grooming, and a safe home to stay healthy.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Regular toothbrushing supports dental health.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Regular brushing removes loose hair and prevents mats.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Indoor dogs live with people and often their furniture.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Outdoor dogs need access to a clean shelter that protects them from bad weather.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Dry food aids dental health at equal nutrition compared with canned food.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Give free access to fresh water unless a vet restricts it.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Liquid medicine: use a syringe to deliver it to the back of the mouth near the rear teeth.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Topical medicine: apply directly to skin or coat at the neck scruff so the dog cannot lick it.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* This is especially important for dogs with thick or long fur.\n---\n## License & attribution\n\nSource: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) is a copyrighted veterinary reference and is not openly licensed. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, every claim above is a paraphrased derived fact summary (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not a verbatim quotation.\n\n- https://www.merckvetmanual.com/dog-owners/routine-health-care-of-dogs","sources":["companion-grooming — Dog — grooming (regular grooming needed; tooth-brushing for dental health; coat brushing prevents mats) (retrieved 2026-08-01)"],"source":{"authority":"companion-grooming","title":"Dog — grooming (regular grooming needed; tooth-brushing for dental health; coat brushing prevents mats)","url":"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/dog-owners/routine-health-care-of-dogs","retrieved":"2026-08-01","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version","verification_file":"pdf-raw/companion-care/dog_owner_combined.txt"},"source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version","source_file":"pdf-raw/companion-care/dog_owner_combined.txt","trust":{"authority_tier":"T3","fidelity":"paraphrase","license":"paraphrase","display_grade":"B"},"tokens_estimated":583,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}