Whilst puppies don’t require grooming in the early months, the sooner they are booked in for grooming the easier and less stressful the first time will be. Cute as a button dog grooming recommends puppies being groomed 7-10 days after their 12-week vaccination.
When your pup is exposed to the gradual process of grooming early on and realises grooming is an enjoyable experience, they will be happy to be groomed for the rest of their life whether it’s at home or the Groomers.
The critical learning period for dogs is between 8 – 16 weeks of age where many experiences within that time frame become a learned habit. Often dogs will be booked in at around 6 months of age for their first grooming experience and can become very anxious and scared of the grooming process and in some cases can cause difficulties in managing them.
When your pup has learnt grooming is a part of their daily routine it is important to keep up with regular visits to the groomer. Booking an appointment every 4-8 weeks is ideal. You will have a pup that visits the groomers happy and will also have the benefits of a clean, matt free coat!
To encourage your pup to have the best grooming experience possible there are some tips below that you can follow:
- Touch and play with the paw pads – prepares them for nail clipping, paw pad trims and foot tidies.
- Check your dog’s ears – great for ear cleaning and to check for any foreign objects like grass seeds etc.
- Brush your dog’s coat thoroughly – allows the coat to stay knot and tangle-free.
- If your dog has a long coat gently hold the hair under the chin – this prepares them for trimming around the face.
- Let your dog get familiar with items being around their face and body – this prepares them for scissors and clippers being used around them.
- Turn on an electric toothbrush near them – the noise will prepare them for clippers being used on them.