This is Mindy, a 12 week old Morky puppy. ("Morkies" are a cross between Maltese and Yorkies.)Mindy is super cute, very easy to handle and groom. She came in for her first grooming appointment at the youngest age possible and only stayed about 40 minutes. This is Clip Clip Hooray's ideal puppy grooming situation. Mindy came in and got cuddles while I talked to her owners. I gave her a bath with Tropiclean's Puppy and Kitten Tearless Shampoo and hand dried her with the mini velocity dryer. While drying her I was able to brush her, which helped speed the process. Then a little extra brushing on her rump to remove some tangles. She allowed me to use the quiet cordless clippers on her paw pads, in front of her eyes and her sanitary area. A quick snip snip snip with some kitty nail trimmers and her nails were done. I used my little scissors to trim up her feet, neaten her "bangs" or visor and we were done! Oh, I wiped out her ears too. Tie a cute little bandanna around her neck and add a bow on top and you have a quick and easy puppy groom!
The fact that Mindy is naturally laid back and very accepting of human handling made this go smoothly. So we were able to do everything and do it quickly without upsetting her. The biggest problem people run into when grooming puppies is wait too long to get groomed! It's easy to bathe a puppy at home in the sink. But going to a grooming salon is very, very different and can be scary to a puppy. It's best to introduce them to it at a young age and just do the basics. I know people get really mad that a groomer won't do a haircut on their puppy. REALLY MAD. Even when the groomer explains that to a young puppy, clippers and brushes and dryers are super scary and can be dangerous to use around a nervous pup who hasn't yet learned how to behave on the table, some owners disregard this and want a Full Haircut NOW. This attitude is no fair to the groomer, and not fair to the puppy.
When the owner waits too long to bring a puppy in for professional grooming, not only does the puppy lose out on early experiences, but their coat can already be very matted from improper brushing. I don't know any groomer that is willing to torture a puppy and dematt it. Dematting is at best uncomfortable and most often painful and tedious. Not what we want a young dog to learn to expect when it goes to the groomer! Unfortunately, this can result in having to the puppy on its first visit. And a matted dog means a shaved dog. Many puppies are ok with this and it can be done safely with limited puppy worry, but the owner is usually extremely unhappy and will begin the pattern of avoiding groomers since they "always just SHAVE my dog down!" This is all around bad for the puppy, who will have to pay for it all his life, cycling between extremely matted, long, uncomfortable groomings, and then being nekkid, regrowing his hair only to become matted and continuing the cycle.
Ok, enough ranting. Here are some tips for introducing your puppy to the professional groomer.
1. You get your puppy. If you don't have a groomer already, find one. Stop in or call, explain you have a puppy and want to introduce it to grooming. The groomer will tell you all you need to know.
2. CCH likes to have owners bring young puppies in to visit. Stop by at a quiet time, the puppy gets to meet the groomer, get cuddles and cookies. They get to become comfortable in the grooming salon and with the groomer BEFORE being groomed. This is great for older dogs as well!
3. Schedule the puppy's first groom. The earliest we usually groom puppies is at 12 weeks and after the second set of puppy shots. Here at Clip Clip Hooray, we do puppies on a quiet day (like cat day) when we have plenty of time to work with the pup. I always start with a bath, try a blow dry. If the blow dryer is too much for the puppy, we have to cage dry the pup. The point is to keep things low key and not scare the puppy. Afterward I work on the easiest to the hardest. Brushing, combing, followed by a nail trim, sanitary trim, paw trim and finally the face trim. Always going slowly as to not scare the pup. Sometimes we have to pass on doing something, like trimming the feet. We'll work a little extra on holding the feet, but avoid stressing the puppy or using anything sharp. There's always next time.
4. Make sure you can pick your puppy up promptly! I hate for puppies to have to stay at the groomers any longer than necessary. I work hard to make sure your puppy is done quickly, calmly and safely. I want this to be a pleasant experience for your puppy. By picking him up when he's finished you can help your puppy learn that grooming isn't so bad and he gets to go home when it's over! Plus since puppy's don't have alot of bladder control, we can avoid having to re bathe.
Here are a couple things you should NEVER, EVER DO!
1. Don't be upset, scared or worried yourself! Puppies get groomed. It's ok. So many owners teach their dogs to be afraid of groomers by setting a bad example. Come in with a relaxed, cheerful attitude. Don't cry, clutch at the puppy or act like this is a really terrible thing. Trust me, your puppy will pick up on your fears.
2. After handing your puppy off to the groomer, say goodbye, give him a pat and leave quickly. Don't look back, talk to your puppy or keep running back over. You'll be teaching your puppy to be anxious about you leaving him, in addition to making it harder for your puppy to adjust. Just a quick pat and leave. Even if your puppy cries or whimpers, you'll only make it worse by a drawn out departure.
3. Use the best tools for home grooming. Talk to your groomer and make sure you have the correct type of brushes or combs for your puppy, and are using them correctly. Learning how to use the right brush the right way is important and can really help you keep your puppy looking the way you want him to look.
4. Start early. Your groomer and your vet will tell you when it's ok to starting going to the groomer. This is training for something your pet will have to do his entire life! Don't skimp. Waiting until your dog is 6 months old is TOO LONG! By 6 months he should be on his third visit to the groomers. Even if you don't have a breed that needs a haircut, chances are your puppy will still be professionally groomed at some point in his life. Teaching him it's ok as a puppy will make everyone happier when he's grown up!
5. Take your breeder's grooming advice with a grain of sand. Or a whole beach. There are a lot of breeders out there who will try and encourage a sale by telling your their breed doesn't need brushing or grooming. That's a big fat dirty lie. I hear it all the time from new owners of breeds like Malteses, Shih Tzus, and most often, these new "designer" "breeds", which are all too often poorly bred mutts. That's a rant for another day, but beware! All dogs need to be groomed based on their skin and hair type. Some will need it more often, some can go longer without. It all depends on your puppy. So if you're looking at puppies and the breeder tells you the dog never needs brushing, you might want to take a careful look. What else might they be lying about?
Wow! This post got way longer than I planned on! I really just wanted to show a picture of a really cute puppy. Maybe add a few hints about giving your puppy a good start in regard to professional grooming. To be honest, this is a pretty brief overview. The main thing is, take your puppy to a good professional groomer at a young age. Even if you plan on grooming at home, let a professional train your pup in how to behave during grooming. Give your puppy a good start at an early age!
Have a puppy or thinking about getting one? Clip Clip Hooray is always here to help the new puppy owner learn how to take good grooming care of your pup! Call us at 410-848-6863 or stop in, we'll be happy to help you pick out the right brushes and shampoo for your puppy, as well as how to use them correctly. We can also help you decide when to start bringing your puppy in for professional grooming and how often.
