PREPARE YOUR PUPPY

There are many ways to prepare your puppy for their first puppy tidy and then for their entire life of grooming, we've compiled a few tricks and ways you can help them at home feel more comfortable once they come into our Salon. 

Taking your puppy to be groomed for the first time is a huge occasion! The first experience your puppy has at the groomers sets the tone for how they feel about the grooming process for the rest of their life.

Puppies learn so much at a young age and it is during this young age you must give them these experiences in abundance, to improve their disposition in life. The grooming experience is one of these. 

What you can do to help your puppy before their first visit to the salon is to give them some training at home. We suggest you make a daily training habit of;

  • Handling Techniques - Play with their toes, under pads and holding their ankles.
  • Inspect their ears, stick your fingers in and wiggle them around only gently. 
  • Hold onto their chin and whiskers to keep them secure. This is to stimulate when we have to scissor around their eyes and we need to keep them safe and secure to do so.
  • Get them used to the sensation of getting washed with a nice warm water. Start with washing in the sink with a bucket of water running over their backs. Leave washing their heads until they become more comfortable with the process.
  • Very important to get them used to the blow-dryer. Always start at the rump/bum of the puppy and slowly work your way closer to the head. The rump/bum is non threatening to the puppy, as they become more accustom to the noise of the blow dryer then you can work closer towards the head.
  • Getting the puppy use to the noise of the blow-dry is so important as this also desensitises them to other noises that are out there in their environment. For example the vacuum, the lawn mower etc, etc. 
  • Brush, brush and brush some more. Truly it is far easier to give your puppy a quick 2-5 minute brush each night then to save it till the weekend. By then their coat is stiffer and harder to straighten out and we all know you have better things to do on your weekend than a good hour of brushing. 
  • Brush your puppy just prior to their dinner. Plan just extra 2-5 minutes it will take to give them a quick slicker. Then a big praise and rewards by giving them their dinner afterwards. This is a great way to train them into being brushed.
  • Most breeds with transition in coat texture. Puppy fluffy coat is easy to manage and starts from birth up to around 8 months of age. From 8 months to 1/2 years is Adolescent stage and is a complete nightmare to maintain a longer coat. It is suggested to have a shorted haircut during this stage to minimise the discomfort of knots, matts and tangles. From then on they will be in Adult coat which is much easier than Adolescent stage but not quite as easy as the Puppy Fluff stage.
  • THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS NO GROOMING OR LITTLE GROOMING.

Please phone Monique on (07) 5444 6381 to book your puppy in for their first puppy tidy, or simple a bath and blow dry or have any questions about any of our services.