Puppies First Visit
Your puppy’s first visit to the groomer is very important. We try to make the visit as uneventful and stress free as possible.
Your puppy should be groomed as early as possible. Age 10-12 weeks is ideal.
It is not fair to a puppy to bring him to his first visit at 12-16 weeks of age without some coaching at home. In order to figure out how to train your dog for grooming, an understanding of what is expected of him as an adult is necessary. All dogs will be subject to nail trimming, ear cleaning, brushing, bathing and drying. The main objective is to teach your puppy to be still and eventually allow grooming that may take as much as 2-4 hrs. Every process; bathing, nails, brushing, drying and especially clipping, require obedience. Basically, you must gently teach your pup you are the alpha (one in charge). There is nothing particularly fun about getting your nails done or being still for a blow dryer-and not much can be accomplished if you have a moving target. You need a brush and hair dryer to get started.
- Basic training. Hold your puppy’s paw in your fingers for a brief period. When he starts to whine and pull away, gently say no, hold on for a few seconds more, then release. Do not release when your puppy begins to whine-this teaches him that whining will let him get his way. Gradually increase the time holding his paw until you can hold it as long as you like. This will allow us to do nails and brush leg feathering when necessary.
- Simple brushing. Once you can get your pup to be still, introduce him to a brush. Run it over his back a few times without applying pressure-making him be still in the process. Gradually increase the time and the pressure-brushing all areas, especially the ears and tail.
- Blow dryers. Turn on your home blow dryer and get him used to the sound. Do not direct the warm air on him, get him used to the noise first. Then, starting with the back and rear, gradually introduce air flow.