# First groom for a puppy?



## Huxtable (Feb 19, 2012)

Maybe I'm being unreasonable, but 3 weeks seems like too long to wait to bathe a poodle. Does your trainer have a poodle or has experience with poodles? I ask b/c perhaps her experience is with different dogs and she might not be able to give you the best advice concerning poodles. 

They say you're supposed to wait until your puppy has his rabies shots before going to the groomers-- which means about 4 months. Same for going to the dog park, basically you don't want them to catch anything. That said I also jumped the gun and  had Hux professionally groomed earlier, I forget his exact age but it was about 3 or so months... I just asked the groomer to take special care of him. 

If I were you I would get puppy shampoo and bath him myself. I would bath and brush him weekly for the next few weeks, this will get him used to being groomed which is very important._ (Continue the daily brushings you're already doing). _Then once he's about 3 months 2 weeks take him in to get professionally groomed.

Depending on the groomer you might be able to stay and watch. I know the bigger stores (petsmart, petco) have a clear glass window so you can see what's going on at all times. Other places just take them to the back, you leave, then you come back when they're ready. I've heard of a few groomers letting the parent stay and watch, but it's much less common. 

Congrats on your parti poodle boy! I'm sure he's a beauty


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## paisley pup (Jul 12, 2012)

As a groomer I would say sooner is better.taking your pup to get groomed will be apart of your his life forever. Getting them used to all of the new sounds , smells,and people is best started early.as far as if you stay for the groom is usually up to the groomer.usually you can , some dogs get so excited seeing their owner they can't sit still.enough to get the groom done.also I would not suggest a full body haircut for his first time. It's all new so face feet sanitary and bath and brush is best for most puppies.


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## sple15 (Jul 24, 2012)

*Groom after rabiesd*

Great advice about waiting for full groom until after rabies shot. This is our first spoo and I will get her face, feet and sanitary groomed soon. I plan on having a friend who grooms her dog to help me. Wish me and Whiskey luck!!!!


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## Elfywara (Apr 16, 2012)

Na, my trainer is used to Border Collie in particular (she have 5!). But she did told me she trained several poodles before.

Ok, so i'll wait until the rabies shot before getting him to the groomer. I want so much to clip all his body to help him pass the heat of the summer, but i'll wait for the second grooming, i'll just do the face, feet and sanitary instead. 

I will bathe Sirius the next week for sure (i can't this weekend, because we are going camping!)!

I live in a small town, so i will carefully choose my groomer, to make sure he is reputable, use to poodle and gentle with my spoo. 

Thanks for advice!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Poodles do best when bathed frequently. Some breeds get dried out skin if bathed frequently, but a poodles life is one big bath. The sooneer they get used to it the better. Their hair gets better with frequent grooming. 

I took mine to the groomers after the second vaccine. 4 months old seems too old to start! Either take her to the groomers or do it yourself. I asked to be the first of the day since they sterilize at the end of each day and also asked that they do her first and call me immediately. She was fine (and clean and groomed!). They did as I asked and she was done in a couple hours. 

I think you can take your puppy. She might do better without you there. Most groomers ask for vaccines on all the dogs, so the chances of catching something are much less than you would think.


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## Huxtable (Feb 19, 2012)

Elfywara said:


> Ok, so i'll wait until the rabies shot before getting him to the groomer. I want so much to clip all his body to help him pass the heat of the summer, but i'll wait for the second grooming, i'll just do the face, feet and sanitary instead.


I can TOTALLY understand wanting to cut down that coat-- poodle fur can grow so big so fast! Luckily I got Hux in the winter, so even though I wanted to cut him down, everyone talked me out of it b/c he was "so cute and fluffy" plus it was cold outside and he was just a puppy. That said it's so damn hot these days, lol, so I would want to cut down my puppy if I were you too. Perhaps you could go in early if its a groomer that you have reviews on, and like I mentioned just tell them to take "special care" of him b/c its his first time. Any good groomer will. 

Vaccines are a known requirement for groomers, but sometimes they don't ask for them. For Huxie's first grooming I took him to the sorta ritzier boutique groomers that has a higher end clientele since I can walk to it from my place, and they didn't ask to see any documents they just asked if he was current. On the other hand at the retail store groomers (Petsmart) they asked to see papers and stuff and usually won't take the puppy until he has all the proper shots/vaccines (which includes rabies). So depending on where you go they may be more slack on the rule and in which case you never know... I've read some unfortunate stories about illness's dogs have contracted from the groomers. This won't happen to you, but just be careful

Like you've already planned, I think bathing him yourself first is the best option. And it's great that you'll have help . Oh and there's these great scissors called Tiny Trim that I use for Huxtable's pads (feet) in between grooming. It's important to keep the hair off their pads so they have better traction _(and they'll bring in less dirt)_. The scissors are meant for the face, ears, feet, and any sensitive area (like clipping off some of the wee wee hair near the tip, where the urine gets dried up at). The same brand also carries some scissors called Scaredy Cat that is for body trimming... I haven't used them, but they have high reviews. You may already have some scissors, but just in case you don't I'd get some of those too. _(I ordered mines from Amazon)_

Good luck to you and Sirius and to sple15 & Whiskey! I was so nervous about the first bath and the first grooming, but both were great. 

Oh and don't forget to put cotton balls in his ear before starting his bath (you don't want excess water to go down there and cause an ear infection). He'll probably try to shake them out, but just try to keep them in and have some back up ones. Also wash his face last, as that will decrease his chances of getting the shivers while drying afterwards.


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

Omar started at 8 weeks and the rest of the kids about 10-12 depending on when the breeder got to them. Poodles need to get used to grooming ASAP. 


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## stealthq (Aug 4, 2011)

In my area, you cannot get a dog groomed without their full set of vaccinations. I have yet to run across a place that does not require vaccination records to prove it, and I've been to several groomers at this point. Most require the Bordatella vaccine in addition to the usual puppy vax.

I ended up doing the grooming myself, a full groom every two weeks when he was young. It isn't difficult, just time consuming (very) and expensive once you've bought the clippers, proper shears, brushes, combs, etc. 

If you just want to get by until he can go to the groomer and don't mind too much that he'll look like a weed whacker attacked him, you can grab some hair scissors and trim everything down to a better length. Don't try to get close to the skin, just take the excessive shagginess off. Once you've taken care of the hair, it will be easier to bathe and dry him. I found Grooming the Standard Poodle to be a good resource. There are links down the left side of the page to go to pages on bathing/drying, clipping, brushing, grooming equipment, etc.

BTW, about the touchy feet. As like as not, it had nothing to do with a bad of experience. I've had a couple dogs that I know never had a bad experience being groomed, and they _loathed_ having anything done to their feet. It was just how they were. Best thing with them was to be firm and gentle.


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## paisley pup (Jul 12, 2012)

Most groomers require the vaccines to be currant with what is for their age you can take you can take your dog before the rabies and I'd highly suggest you do 4 months OS old to.start.as long as they have their distemper which.has the Parvo vaccine in it you should begin


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## paisley pup (Jul 12, 2012)

Sorry for the typos my phone is hard to type on lol


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## sple15 (Jul 24, 2012)

Sounds good to me. I've been brushing daily, bathing once a week and generally gettiing Whiskey used to being handled, messed with etc. She is very food motivated so that will help also. I appreciate all this grooming advice.


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## Elfywara (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks everyone with the advices!!!

I think i will try to find a good groomer the next week. I will carefully choose him (one who ask for current vaccination), go to his place without my puppy to speak with the groomer, etc. So, in 2 weeks, if everything is ok for me (like trusting the groomer), i will set an appointment. Next week, though, i will bath my puppy for the first time (at last!). 

Today i found a way to brush him without him noticing it : i gave a rotula bone (don't know if it's good in english!) and he was into it for at least 30 minutes! So i brush him, even on the paws, no problem at all!!! I was so happy! I even brush his ears, which i never did before! I'll try to "sand" his nails like this, maybe it will work. And clean his ears. Etc.!

Now, i'll try to cut the fur near his genitals. Some hair are so dirty with urine...

I'll give you news soon! Thanks again!!!


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## Elfywara (Apr 16, 2012)

Finally, i gave him a bath today! In my shower (more convenient than outside in his little pool), with the Espree Milk and Honey shampoo. He smells so good!!! But i'm concerned about his eyes : i think it's a little red in white part, maybe the shampoo isn't good for the eyes... I'll watch it.

So, it went well! Sirius was a good boy, but he was tired to be there at the end! He dried with the air, i didn't use a hair dryer. 

I cut the hair around his genital too. 

His paws are white now, not yellow-beige!!!

He is beautiful!!!


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## limonia (Oct 16, 2011)

*addtional question*

hello everyone - such helpful information!

interested in people's feedback. i've heard from many (including breeders) not to bathe (with any type of soap, shampoo, etc) more than once a month that otherwise too dry. yet some people bathe their poos weekly? any feedback about best practices? 

thank you


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

You can wash your poodle as often as you like. some of my dogs get weekly baths some monthly, just depends on my schedule. Use a Pro Quality shampoo & conditioner. In my groomer forums it is always stated the more often a Poodle is bathed the better since a dirty coat will break & when growing hair we don't want breakage.

If I am to groom a Puppy then I don't require all the vaccines. If it is a dog over 6 months of age then yes I expect full shots & a rabies too. I have done puppies as young as 8 weeks but usually most are 3 months of age since the breeder has done the 1st haircut. You should look for a groomer that does 1 on 1 & one that does require vaccines for all older dogs that way your pup won't be exposed. I have had no problems the 4 years in business. We groomers do like to start puppies young & get them used to the process. We hate getting in the 7 month old dogs that have never been groomed before.


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## Huxtable (Feb 19, 2012)

*@Elfywara*
Glad everything went, it's so nice when they smell fresh and are clean!

As fas as his eyes go be sure to use a tearless shampoo. Most puppy shampoos are tearless though some are not. I've been using a natural oatmeal type dog shampoo on Hux and it does pretty well, the milk and honey ones sounds like it would be okay too... that said you could always bathe his body with that shampoo then purchase a tearless puppy shampoo to use on his face.

*@limonia *
I've heard of some poodle owners bathing daily, especially if the dog sleeps with them. So weekly isn't that much in comparison.... Most people have experience with other types of dogs, usually short-haired dogs and those are the ones you may should bathe less b/c of dry skin. 

Poodle hair really is similar to people hair so that's something to keep in mind. If you're concerned about drying out the skin, then I would suggest doing one of two things: 

1.) Using a conditioner after shampooing _(this puts the moisture back in the hair/skin just like w/ people)._ 
2.) Use a conditioner instead of shampoo every other week. For example, week 1: shampoo and condition, week 2: condition only, wk 3:s&c, wk 4:c. At the very least use a conditioning spray. _Keep in mind that depending on your dog's hair a lot of conditioner may (or may not) make the texture more straight than curly overall..._

*Etc:*
And I figured I'd post (copy & paste) an example of requirements needed by one of the retail store grooming salons:

_"Dogs should be introduced to grooming as early in life as possible, especially those with excess hair that will require regular grooming and clipping. All dogs entering a Grooming Salon should be current with Canine Distemper, Parvo, Corona or a combination vaccination package of the equivalent, Rabies, which is required by law in most states, and Bordetella. Puppies should start their vaccination series between 6 to 8 weeks of age.

Exposing puppies to other animals before they have received a complete series of vaccinations can spread disease to not only the puppy but to other pets as well. Ideally, pets should wait at least 2 weeks after vaccinations to be exposed to other animals. This allows the vaccine to get into the pet's system for maximum protection.

You should consult your veterinarian for possible risks if your puppy has an abundance of fur and needs to be groomed before all vaccinations have been completed."_

Overall it's important to start grooming your pup early so that they're used to be handled in such a way. That means *at home* he/she should get weekly bathes and blowouts, daily brushings, etc... so that when they finally go to the professional groomers, after their series of puppy vaccinations are done, they'll be used to it. Funny enough a lot of poodle owners end up becoming "professional groomers" in their own right after awhile after doing so much at home grooming... which can end up saving them some money.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

A comment about the feet. Some dogs are very sensitive about their feet and it probably doesn't have anything to do with a bad experience. My Aussie was that way as a pup - so much so that the vet commented that he would be very difficult to examine if we did not get a handle on it. We made a point of handling his feet and ears ect several times a day and the vet was amazed at the difference next time he went. Just keep the sessions short and fun and soon you will be able to work with his feet without a problem. The younger you get them use to this kind of handling the better.


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## Poodleloverxoxo (Oct 24, 2012)

Elfywara said:


> Na, my trainer is used to Border Collie in particular (she have 5!). But she did told me she trained several poodles before.
> 
> Ok, so i'll wait until the rabies shot before getting him to the groomer. I want so much to clip all his body to help him pass the heat of the summer, but i'll wait for the second grooming, i'll just do the face, feet and sanitary instead.
> 
> ...


Hi, I also live in a small town in Canada and it took me a while to find a good groomer (reasonably priced). Now that I found her, I will keep her! She is experienced with poodles too, so I am very lucky!


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