Bringing a new puppy home can be a mix of emotions, excitement, love, frustration. In these early interactions with your pup you are setting them up for a lifetime of companionship and fun. Training and food are very important, but for long coated dogs, grooming training is equally important. Most long coated dogs will be groomed every 6 weeks for the rest of their life. That’s 112 grooms in their lifetime! So here’s how we, as a team, can make their grooming time (in the salon and at home) as pleasant as possible for all involved.

 

Teamwork. Some may think that  it is all up to the groomer when really, it's a team effort. If a pup is left with knots, or is never brushed, they will resent being groomed and may become a problem. Even aggressive! It’s up to you as an owner to give them many positive home experiences so when they come into the salon, they can really enjoy their spa day and relax. Don’t worry, we are here to give you plenty of tips and tricks to help.

 

My motto for puppies “If they don’t like it, do it often and make it fun!”

 

Many puppies will object to certain aspects of grooming. Not liking their legs brushed, not liking their hind area being touched, not liking tail, ears or feet being touched. These are all common complaints and, if you get them early, they are all fixable.

 

Puppy homework Here are some groom training exercises that I have found help greatly in de-sensitising your pup to some of the elements of being groomed. There will be others but these are the main exercises.

 

1) If you have an electric razor, use the opposite end (not the cutting end) and lightly go

over your pups entire body including undercarriage, feet (top and pads), ears, beard, neck

etc. Show them the razor first and let them sniff it before applying this technique. This helps to

de-sensitise them from the vibration and sound of the clippers. Give treats for good behaviour.

 

2) Constantly touch your pups feet. I'm talking fingers between toes from top and bottom.

Fingers between pads and most importantly, a gentle squeeze of each toenail (they can feel

this due to the nerve ending through the quick and this will help them with having their nails

trimmed). Try and plan this one for when they’re relaxed or watching TV with you at the end

of the day.

 

3) Start to practice gently holding the fur under pups chin (puppies will almost always object

to this one so it’s a gently gently approach). Go with him when he moves (never pull against him). Once he’s still, give him a treat. Groomers will gently hold this area for safely trimming faces on all breeds and its one of the hardest things for puppies to get used to. Just limited bursts for this exercise. Eventually pups head will sit on the groomers hand and be quite relaxed (as most adult dogs do). Treat when they are still.

 

4) Touch your pup all over. Play with their ears, tail, feet and reward your pup with a treat when they are still.

 

5) Line brushing technique. This is the easiest and most effective way of brushing to prevent knots. I recommend a plastic tipped slicker and a poodle comb to check you’ve got all the knots after brushing. We will show you this technique in person. Quick short strokes are much more comfortable for your pup. Most puppies need to be groomed 2 – 3 times per week to prevent knots. Long coats every day. If you like your puppy long, prepare to be best friends with your slicker brush and comb.