Will taking my pup to the groomer weekly help?
If not, any suggestions?????? |
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| Try not to overwhelm him. Think of this as a new trick and "train" him step-by-step.
First, just put him in an empty tub for just a few minutes. Praise him for standing there, give him a small treat. You can practice that several times a day for just a couple of minutes. Gradually add a few minutes, but don't leave him alone. Talk to him, pet him, mkae it pleasant. Next try turning the water on, a nice warm temperature. A very small stream. Let him explore it, don't force it. Over a couple of days, you can increase the water flow. I have a sprayer/hose that attaches to my sink faucet and lets me wash the dogs easier, so the next step would be to "practice" getting his feet wet. Do that several times a day for a few days. At that point, you should be able to wash him. I always did the face last, because the puppies don't like it. Same thing for grooming, practice. It's hard to get a puppy to stay still for grooming. So let the grooming be a quick brushing of the body, followed by play time. Then a bit later, brush another body part, followed by play time. At this age, I was thrilled if I could them to hold still for more than a minute. Only two of my dogs have ever liked the dryer. So I have no advice on this. |
| Luckily you have a few months before grooming becomes really vital! He's really young and just has to be introduced to grooming slowly and consistently. Use lots of treats and make it a nice experience for him. Another thing that might help is take him for a walk, play with him and just get him really tired out. It's always easier to introduce new things with a tired dog-- a lot less resistance! |
| Good advice. Try to pick the times to brush him when you notice he's particularly tired. I still try to do this with Frank & he's 2. It just makes things easier when they are not so revved up.
I wouldn't recommend taking him to a groomer until he's at least 16 weeks. You need to get him used to the grooming process at home so he doens't get as scared at a grooming facility. Lots of treats & praise at this point he is very young. Also, don't expose him to strange dogs until at least 12 weeks either. His immunity is very vulnerable at this age. |
Once a week?!?!?! My dog says she wants to move into your house if you're able to take your furball to the groomers weekly. It's expensive  |
Actually, the groomer only charges $20.00 for the first 4 months. Thats the bath, blow dry, brush, nails, ears, tail & some really nice spray... smells good.... 
She said after the fouth month, it'll range somewhere between $100.00 - to - $150.00 or more. I'll take advantage of the groomer for now & work with him at home too.
Sharon (the groomer) said he did excellent for her.  |
That's really cheap for the intro but the post-4 month price is Really expensive!! I thought I was paying top dollar and most places here charge about $80. I worry that a bath once a week might be harsh on puppy skin.  |
| I take Barkley to petsmart once every two weeks to once a month depending on how much it rains He lets me brush him, but there is no way he's getting in a tub. I've tried everything. Standing in there. Offering him every kind of treat imaginable including steak. I've put the treats into the tub in the hopes it would entice him--but he absolutely refuses to get in there. He's 11 months old now. They only charge me 39.00 for the bath and brush--so it works out ok for me. |
| What you want to do is reward the puppy WHILE he is doing what you want him to do...being still. Have him lay down on his side and brush him with treats. When the session is over NO treats. If you treat him afterwards he will wiggle to try to get if over with faster. Treat WHILE he is still, NOT when he wiggles. Timing is everythign at the begiing. You don't want him to squirm, then get a treat.
Get someone to hold a pice of something for him to nibble on while he is getting brushed AND not wiggling. When he wiggles the brush stops and the treat leaves. Make the two connect and he will be glad to be still for you. |
| I don't take any of mine to a groomer... our Schipperke-mix used to go to the vet for nail trims and they clipped a little to short once. After that she would cry her head off when we went in. So I just do it all myself and developed a stronger bond between myself and my dogs.
You might try one short grooming session every evening maybe after he's played and is about ready to take a nap. We had two 9 week sheepie-girls at the same time and I would comb or brush one and my husband would do the other while we watched TV. It's not that they need brushing at this age... it's that we were training them to tolerate the proceedure for when it would actually be required. We would quickly look in their mouths, ears (pluck a couple of hairs from there)... handle their feet... even use one of those cardboard-type finger files to file each toe (just a quick sweep over each one in order to get them used to being handled. We gave them a favorite toy or chew at the start of a session that we saved only for these special grooming times... when the session was over, the toy went away. Mine are just over 2 now and will now lie on their sides and go to sleep while I brush them out... one I can even take a hold of her 4 feet and roll her over so I can do the other side and she just goes back to sleep. (That was from the training book- The Art of Raising a Puppy written by The Monks of New Skeet.) The effort you put into your puppy now will allow you to better handle him in the future when he will be much bigger/stronger. The same applies when it comes to training. Just brief sessions because their attention span is short but they learn so fast at this age. It's important to take advantage of it and make it a fun time he will look forward to. Good luck and congratulations on your new puppy! |
| What everyone has posted is very good advice, try and do it yourself with little sessions here and there through the week. Make it enjoyable and reward with a treat, sort of brush brush, goodboy, then a treat. Make the whole experience fun for him, at the moment it is not such a big ordeal with a baby puppy coat so you both have time to learn together. By the time it is, he will be trained nicely and enjoying the whole grooming experience.
Also I have my doubts about taking one so young to a groomer, if he has a negative experience there then that ruins any chance of him being groomed & enjoying it in the future. So start and do it yourself, make it enjoyable and fun for him and you will benefit from that greatly over the years. Also read this discussion, go down to where "carl lindon" has posted, it is wonderful instructions on how to get puppy use to being groomed and enjoying the whole experience.
http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=2364 |
| Those really are WONDERFUL instructions!!!!
Tasker went to the groomer about every three months for most of his life but then we had some "issues" with the groomer and I decided to start doing it myself with questionable success. (click on my camera to see the skinning the poor boy got, my inexperience not his fault) Luckily he's very well behaved. THe only real problem we have is cutting his nails which he hates. I think much depends on whether you intend to keep him in a long coat or in a short coat. If you are going to keep him in a full coat you definately need toget him to tolerate brushing as you will need to groom him almost daily so the sooner you start the better. I agree, a weekly bath would not be a good idea. |
i wash all five of my dogs once a week. i'm allergic to everything, and dogs bring everything into my house. I don't have a problem with dry skin, either.  It definitely helps cut down on mats! |
| Ugh, nail cutting. I'm the one who's squemish about it and I wind up giving Clyde and Lucy a complex since they know I'm scared! I give up and let the groomer do it. She has the confidence that I don't! |
| I hate trimming their nails, too. I'm always so scared I'm gonna hurt them.
Meanwhile, I'll trim Ainsley & Einstein (my cats) nails all the time. Last night I put soft claws on them both. No problem. So why am I such a fraidy cat when it comes the doing the wigglebums' nails????  |
| Try using a dremmel tool!!!! They work great. I had one for a long time and used it and it was wonderful. It broke and I just haven't gotten a new one. The battery operated ones are very nice. You need to use them frequently but they won't take off too much of the nail and you don't have to worry about cutting to the quick. |
I really dislike nail trimming of dogs with black nails  That's why we took Meesha, my schip-mix, to the vet to be trimmed. I just have never figured out how much was safe to take off so I purposely leave them a bit longer.
With black nails, they say to look for the pinpoint in the center and trim only small amounts. Luckily I haven't clipped any too short (yet!). I raised Meesha from a 5 week old orphaned pup and she's the only one that is nervous about it but I guess it's just more her nature. After the hissy-fit and crying her head off at the vet (people wondered what they were doing back there to that poor little doggie  ) I decided I had to do it myself because it was simply too stressful for her to have the vet techs do it. I don't think she ever forgot the time they cut the quick.
This site is kinda neat because it has pictures- http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/dog_nails.asp
I've never used my Dremel tool on their nails but here is a neat site about that too. I wish the pictures were clearer because it shows her trimming black nails. http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merensjp/ ... remel.html White nails are so much easier to trim. (sigh) Check the price of the DREMEL Pet Nail Grooming Kit at Amazon.com The DREMEL Cordless Tool 750-02 used in the demo pictures, but I recommend the Pet Nail version! |
| Lucky goes to the groomers every Friday. He gets a bath, blow dryed and his feet, butt, stomach, and bangs trimmed and he gets to play with the Friday bunch - a pekignese named Marcie, a schnauzer named Floyd and a maltese named Prissy. Our groomer only charges us $28 for the friday appointment.
He loves going there. Now when I blow dry my hair at home I get 2 seconds of blowdrying and Lucky gets 2 seconds. |
| Hoover doesnt really mind the bathing part, he just doesnt like the blow dryer at home...
We found a local groomer that charges $25 a week for a bath and brush, but if i dont take him weekly, then it is $50-75 a visit depending on how badly matted he is. If we get him hand trimmed, it is typically in the $150 range..... I was taking him weekly, but my wife and I work 45+ minutes away from home, and it is a bit hard to drop him off and pick him up within their hours every week - so it is every other week now. I think now that it is nicer out, we may go 3 weeks assuming he doesnt go back into his digging phase or roll in the mud
I actually dont mind washing him myself, but i have a sore back and it is taxing on me to try and brush him out all the time. |
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