I Love Puppies!
I Love grooming puppies.
I know...
I am crazy.
I love giving puppies their first groom because, I feel it is so important for them to have as good an experience as possible for their very first groom.
I like to play and make it fun for them.
At the same time, I want to start teaching them gently, how to be good on the grooming table.
This is 'Sadie'.
She is 10 weeks old.
'Sadie' did really good in the tub.
I talked her through getting her face washed.
No water in the nose, Yah!
I hate when they turn their face right into the sprayer when you are trying so hard not to get water in their nose.
One good experience down, moving on to the dryer.
"I didn't sign up for this!"
I like to hold puppies up close to me when I use the HV dryer on them for the first time.
I feel it helps them to stay calm while they get used to the noise and air from the dryer.
Cuddle, cuddle, cuddle.
I also do a lot of talking to and hugging while I dry the puppies.
Actually, I do that with all of my dogs, young and old.
Boy, would my teacher from grooming school be yelling at me.
She felt that you should always be all business with the dogs, NO playing.
She was SO wrong.
Time to move on to the fluff dry and the brush.
Did you ever notice that puppies love to chew on brushes.
As long as someone distracted her, 'Sadie' did okay for the nails.
She only chewed on my fingers twice.
She is still learning what the word 'No' means.
Shih-Tzu's have a mind of their own.
They have no problem ignoring you when they want.
I think that the word 'NO' to a Shih-Tzu means, 'okay, I'll do whatever I want.'
:)
They also have no problem letting you know when they don't like something.
'Sadie' did not like the nail clippers.
This will most likely be something we will have to work on during future groomings.
Right now we'll just chew on the nail clipper.
I was not sure how she would be for the face.
She was good for her face in the tub, that's usually a good sign.
First, I let the puppy smell the scissors.
Then, I try to find what is the best hold to keep them from moving too much while scissoring around the eyes.
Then, I rub my fingers between her eyes so that she gets used to having something around the eyes.
I slowly move in with the scissors.
Some times I will just hold the scissors closed next to the corner of the eye to make sure they will stay still before I start cutting.
I use my fingers to pick up hair away from the eye.
Then I scissor again.
'Sadie' did so good.
The cup hold worked the best on her, she didn't move.
"You lookn' at me!"
'Sadie' liked to watch everything that I was doing.
I always stop and let them investigate what I am doing.
It really does seem to keep them calm.
'Sadie' survived her first grooming.
She is very young, so I kept the grooming lite.
Bath, brush, blow dry, and trim the rear, feet, and around the eyes.
I Love Puppies!
Happy Grooming, MFF
I found your blog yesterday while trying to read up on grooming for Westies. I'm getting one a few months and I wanted to be prepared for what comes with it (and possibly learn to do it myself??). Anyways I am completely and thoroughly enjoying reading your blog and I had three quick questions:
ReplyDelete1. With a new puppy (such as a westie) what is the best time to come in for the their first grooming and the best ongoing schedule? I'm reading into hand stripping and may want to do this but I want to make sure it doesn't hurt the puppy?
2. I already have a Dogo Argentino (mastiff) who is short haired. I bathe him at home one a month, and clean out his ears with wipes weekly and nail trim. Is there honestly any advantage to taking him to a groomers...I always feel his upkeep is simple so I do it at home but I'm wondering if we're missing out on anything. I do love the HV dryers at the self serves though...his coat is always MUCH softer after that versus a towel dry at home.
3. I'm in Dallas, TX...way to far to drive to you lol. But by any chance have you met any groomer friends in the DFW area you would recommend.
Thanks for the wonderful blog and good luck to you, your two legged and four legged children. What an Awesome read!
-Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
DeleteI like to start puppies as early as possible. Since Westies are a high maintenance grooming breed, the sooner they get used to being brush, bathed and groomed the better for them. Everything is new when they are very young and they are more open to new experiences. I like to have customers bring their puppy in sometime around 10 weeks, or after their set of first puppy shots.
I usually only do a bath , blow dry and trim face and feet for the first groom to get the puppy used to me, the brush, water, and noisy blow dryer, and being away from home for a little while.
As for hand stripping....not all groomers hand strip, or even know how. When you find a groomer that does know how to hand strip it is usually a pricey procedure. Hand stripping is time consuming and very hard on a groomers hands. A Westie can look just as nice with the proper blade/comb attachment as with hand stripping.
As for your Mastiff...more power to you if you are able to bathe him at home. :) If you are happy with the job that you are doing I wouldn't worry about taking him to a groomer. If you have access to a self-serve all the better. You can bathe your own dog, use their dryer, and leave the mess with them. lol
I really wish that I could recommend someone to you. Sadly many groomers are so competitive with each other that we do not have a country wide directory that we could use to check out each other and recommend each other. I will not recommend anyone unless I have actually seen their work and how they handle a dog.
When looking for a groomer, ask a lot of questions, and listen to your gut. The groomer should be happy to take the time to answer your questions. Find one that specializes in a puppies first groom. That first groom is so very important. It MUST be as pleasant an experience as possible.
Good luck with your new puppy. I love Westies. :)
Thanks for reading my blog.
Lisa, MFF