How to help your puppy enter the scary world of Grooming
When should you start your puppy on a grooming schedule?
It is always a good idea to start puppies on a grooming schedule as soon as you can. Grooming can be a scary and stressful experience for these pups, with the loud blow dryer and clippers. Although you won’t be able to actually bring your dog to the groomers until they are fully vaccinated(for their safety and all of the other dogs' safety), there are some things that you can do at home to get these pups ready for grooming.
Regular baths at home is a good start to getting them ready. After the baths it is also a good idea to blow dry your pup. The number one thing that puppies and even grown dogs are scared of when coming to the groomers is the blow dryer. You should also play with their feet and face daily to desensitize them. Even if you aren’t doing anything to their face and feet, just petting them and rubbing their little toes will really help a lot to get them ready for clipping nails and trimming their face.
I do not recommend getting a full groom on their first appointment. I highly suggest just getting a bath, blow out, nails trimmed and maybe a puppy trim. This way we can slowly get them used to the process and being around all of the tools. Whenever I have a first time puppy I always take my time with them so that I don’t freak them out on their first visit with me. I will give them a bath, brush them, and blow dry them. I clip their nails and try to file some of them down. The nail dremel is normally scary for most pups so we do what we can on their first visit. Then I will trim their Sani area (paw pad, privates, and face). The clippers can also be scary, so what I normally do is I’ll turn them on and I will use the back end(side without the blades) and rub this all around their body, especially under their paws. I even do this technique with older dogs on their first visit with me, just to try and locate which areas they are more sensitive to so that I know to be careful there whenever we actually start the groom. I will also take my shears and open and close them, to where they make the little swoosh sound, and I do this around their paws, under their belly (the “skirt” area for some dogs), and in front of their face. Again, I am not cutting any hair when doing this, I am just trying to see their reaction and read their stress levels to hearing the sound around certain parts of their body before getting started.
Most puppies do not get their adult coat until around 4 to 6 months old, sometimes before then. This is when their coat will start to change from the fluffy thin hair to the thicker coarser hair. When the coat goes through this change you might notice more shedding and there might even be more knots in the hair. It is very important to brush more during this time because the thin hair from the puppy coat tends to tangle up with the coarse hair of the adult coat. This is when I normally recommend getting a “grown up” haircut, to go shorter than before because it will help out with the knots and coat change.
It is so important to get puppies used to the grooming experience as soon as possible, especially if they are a high maintenance dog. Dogs that need frequent grooming should definitely have their first grooming appointment by at least 4 months old, with work being done at home up until this point. A tool that can help with desensitizing at home is a metal comb, my favorite tool of all!! You’d be surprised how many puppies are scared of simply being brushed. Starting a good brushing routine at home can literally work wonders with your pup. Another thing is a good puppy shampoo and conditioner, my favorite is the tropiclean brand because it is all natural and puppies can have such sensitive skin.
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If a puppy is not used to the grooming experience and is not brought in for grooming until later, it can cause a lot of issues. This puts so much stress on an older dog, and by older I mean even a 7-8 month old dog. When a dog is super stressed, they can turn on anyone at any minute, especially the groomer who is trying to groom them. This is not the groomers fault, no matter how patient we are with a dog sometimes nothing will seem to help ease their stress. In some cases a dog will actually have to be sedated by a vet in order to be groomed. You might think, “Why would someone sedate their dog just to make them look better?”. Well these types of grooms are not done to make the dog look better. Actually, they are normally shaved down to make the dog comfortable. Any long haired dog, especially curly coats, need to stay groomed to prevent any mats. As I have said in my previous blog about matting, these mats are very painful for the dog.
So, it is extremely important to get your pup used to grooming as soon as possible and to make sure that they stay on a regular grooming regimen. It will help you and your fur-babies in the long run!
-xoPamperedPups