# First Puppy Cut/Trim



## shadowsfamily (Nov 20, 2003)

Shadow is 15 weeks and hasn't been to a groomer yet. We would like to keep her in a puppy cut - when should she go for her first cut/groom and what do they typically do?


----------



## TikisMom (Jul 22, 2003)

Grooming, whether you to it yourself, but especially if you are taking her to a groomer, should start ASAP. You want to do this so she gets used to being handled by you and by others. If you wait until she is older she may be fearful. You can take her in for a bath, brushing, nails and trim around the paws and eys now and when her hair is to long for you to manage yourself you can get it clipped. 

You may want to visit the groomer before you taker her. Some expect you to drop the dog in the morning and pick her up at the end of the day meaning she is crated all day







. Others will let you make appointments, stay with the pet or give you a call when she is done. Some groomers put the dog in the crate wet with a large blow dryer pointed at them to dry them, others hand dry. Charges will depend on what you have done and what condition the coat is in. 

After checking around and visiting groomers in my area I decided to do Tiki's grooming myself. He gets brushed every other day in a puppy cut, every day when we are letting his coat grow out. He gets a bath every week to 10 days depending on how the weather has been. I will often give him a mini-bath just to wash his face, feet and belly. I just put him in his first puppy cut 3 weeks ago, until then (for the past year) we were letting him grow a long coat which I trimmed as needed. I hand clip him as he was afraid of the electric clippers. He loves the puppy cut! It is also much easier to care for, brushing takes less time and bath time is also more enjoyable. 

Judi

Sorry so long! <_<


----------



## Colette'sMom (Aug 21, 2003)

Hi Shadow's Mommy,
Colette is now 6 1/2 months old. The photo you see was taken when she was just 3 months old in August. I, too, want to keep her in a puppy cut. Her first trim was just before Halloween. I told the groomer to please put her back the way she was.







The groomer then suggested that I bring in a photo. I told her to clip her nails, do the hair between her pawpads, check in her ears and cut any stray hair that was getting into her eyes. I wanted her head and ears left alone. She also trimmed a little passageway so that there are no clings when she goes to the bathroom. :lol: 
My breeder also does grooming, but it's a long trip, so I asked a neighbor who owns a small dog that needs grooming. If anyone is from New Jersey out there......my groomer is called, "The Garden State Barkway."  You must be careful since a groomer is a good place to pick up all sorts of little nasties. Make sure they have a good reputation and that the place looks well kept. The groomer also made her own suggestions which I welcomed. As I said, I just asked for a slight trim. Now Colette's coat is longer than when I had her trimmed, but since it's not tangling, I'm going to wait a while. I bathe her but would never attempt to cut her as I'm without talent.









Oh yes........to echo Judi..........don't bring Shadow to a groomer that will keep her all day!!! If they cannot do it in 2 hours then they are too busy is my philosophy.

Gail


----------



## kit001 (Jul 6, 2003)

One thing I want to add, please. Morgan went in once when I first got him, his fur had been cut already and was all different lengths, so it needed to be trimmed out evenly, now he doesn't go because I do all his work myself, BUT when he did go, I went down first as the groomer is just down the street from where I live, just to make the appointment and ask all questions I had first. and to check them out for myself. When I got there, the one thing they wanted from me was his medical records to show he was all up to date on his shots and so forth. In case he bit someone or had allergies, etc.... so check with them on that too before taking your baby in to be groomed.


----------

