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Your puppy’s first grooming is a milestone in their life. It can also have a lasting effect on how your puppy will do with future grooming appointments. To make it a positive experience for everyone there are some things you can do to ensure you and your puppy are prepared. Here are some tips that will help ensure your first trip to the groomer is a huge success.
Prepare your puppy to be handled
The more socialized and used to being handled your puppy is before heading to the groomer, the better. You can prep your puppy for being handled by the groomer ahead of time by playing with their paws (including in between their toes), and ears. It is a puppies natural instinct to pull their paws away when they are first touched. By regularly playing with them at home, they will associate it with a form of petting which will make it much easier for the groomer to trim their nails and pads successfully. The same goes for their ears, if you massage your puppy’s ears regularly before heading to the groomer, they will associate that feeling with comfort. Making cleaning their ears much easier.
Brush your puppy regularly
Just like we brush our hair everyday, it is important to brush your puppy’s fur/hair. Brushing feels good for your puppy and also prevents any matting from occurring and/or removes any hair that would naturally shed. Mats are interlocked hair that can develop into painful knots on your puppy’s coat. This is a risk for puppies with thick coats and will make grooming more difficult and less enjoyable. Regular brushing is a great way to prevent this from happening and will get them used to the feeling of being brushed.
Prepare for your appointment
Be sure to exercise your pup before the heading to the groomers if possible. This will reduce anxiety and leave them feeling calmer. If you are driving down, feel free to put their favourite toy or blanket in the car.
When is the best time to book your puppy’s first groom
Most puppies are ready for their first mini grooming appointment between 12-16 weeks. Starting early and not waiting too long will help set you up for successful, stress free grooming appointments. Puppies at this age are still open to being handled and touched, so it is easier to get them used to the groomer at this early stage. Once your puppy is vaccinated, you can get them booked for their first puppy visit. The first visit is usually a shorter visit to help them get familiar with the groomer and the grooming space.
It is important to note that your puppy will feed off of your emotions, so be sure to model calm behaviour as you take them to their first grooming appointment and don’t make a fuss when leaving them. The less emotional your departure, the better it will be for everyone 🙂
The first puppy groom includes:
- Full bath
- Brushing
- Nail Clipping
- Pad Shaving
- Ear cleaning
- Face trim
- Sani and bum tidy
At The Dog Market we offer a full range of dog grooming and pampering services.
Our grooming services include the necessities for keeping your dog clean and healthy and include:
- Full Professional Grooming
- Nail clipping
- Bath and brush
- Special treatment baths
- Flea treatment
- Hand scissoring
- Teeth brushing
- Ear cleaning and ear plucking
- Pad shaving or Paw trimming
- Anal gland inspection and service
- Hypoallergenic or oatmeal treatments (for sensitive skinned dogs).
Visit our grooming page for more information and to book your appointment.
New puppy Essentials
Check out our Puppy Catalogue for the wide range of essentials for your new puppy or download our checklist of essential items and things to research before bringing your new puppy home.