Hey Woofa’s,

I’ve had a few people mention to me lately that they have bought a puppy.

Nothing wrong with that!

However, when I ask what breed of puppy they bought, it’s always an ‘oodle breed!’

Now, again, nothing wrong with this breed at all.

However, when I ask ‘are you brushing your puppy‘, the answer is always a big fat no!

The last thing I want to do as a Dog Groomer is shave your puppy off short for it’s first ever groom session.

I had to do this to a Cavoodle puppy a few weeks ago and it broke my heart.  Thankfully the dog took it really well, but it’s too big of a groom for it’s first haircut.

WHY DO I NEED TO BRUSH MY PUPPY?

Any long haired cute fluffy puppy is going to need to be brushed – it’s a no brainer!

This puppy is going to grow long hair ALL OF ITS LIFE!

It needs to be brushed!

And it needs to be brushed regularly!

If you don’t brush the hair, knots will start to occur.

If the knots aren’t brushed out then the hair will matt (tight knitted knots) and if those matts aren’t taken out then the hair is one pelted coat.

Pelted coat means the matted hair has all joined together as one piece.

And if this is left the matted/pelted hair gets tighter and tighter and can pull on your dog’s skin causing bruising.

This is not a fun situation for your puppy to be in – at any age.

As stated above it’s not good for you puppy’s first experience at the Dog Groomers to be an all over shave off.

It’s much better for them to have an introduction to grooming experience first.

HOW DO I BRUSH MY PUPPY?

You need to brush your puppy ALL OVER their body!

Ears, under the chin, front and back legs, paws, underarms, tail, around their bum, around their neck etc – anywhere where there is hair it all needs to be brushed.

Wherever there is hair, you need to brush it.

I normally use a brush first – generally a soft slicker brush and then I follow through with a steel comb.

You need to brush from the skin all the way to the end of the hair.

You don’t want to go in hard and fast, try being gentle and slow.

Your puppy may not be familiar with what’s happening, so let them sniff the brush before you start.

They’re going to wriggle and squirm because it’s new to them, be patient.

WHAT IF MY PUPPY WON’T LET ME BRUSH IT?

As stated above it’s important to go slow and steady to begin with.

It’s all new to your puppy.

They may try and bite the brush, you’ve got to be patient with them.

Do not hit them with the brush!!  Discourage them from biting the brush!

Try brushing one part at a time.

Place them up high on a laundry bench, or outdoor table, somewhere where they are safe and can’t jump off.

Put a towel down, so they know when they’re up there it’s brushing time.

Praise puppy when it’s good, let them know they’re doing well.  You can use treats if puppy is food motivated.

You’ve got to keep persisting with brushing your puppy.

They’re going to need to be brushed their whole life, so how you start them off is important.

I’M TIME POOR – WHY CAN’T THE DOG GROOMER JUST DO IT?

I generally won’t take a puppy into my Dog Grooming Salon until the Veterinarian has given the puppy the all clear to go into a public place.

My salon is clean, don’t get me wrong, however Puppy’s immune system needs to build before going anywhere public.

So, with this in mind, your puppy still needs to be brushed at home.

Even after having had the Dog Groomer experience, you still need to brush your dog at home – EVERYDAY!

Dog Groomers get bitched about A LOT on ‘oodle breed’ pages for shaving the dog off short!

We don’t do it because we WANT to we do it because it’s best for the dog.

Our general go to is – HUMANITY OVER VANITY!

So when someone brings in a matted puppy and says, ‘oh we love him fluffy so don’t take any hair off, make him look like a teddy bear!!’

Our first thought as Dog Groomers is  – ‘What’s best for the dog?’

Dog Groomers are happy to maintain your dog, but you have to commit to 4-6-8 weekly visits to the Groomer AND you have to brush them at home!

If you’re so time poor you can’t commit to this, don’t get a fluffy dog!!

For this puppy, YOU are its WHOLE LIFE! It relies on YOU for EVERYTHING!

Your puppy can’t brush itself, YOU NEED TO STEP UP and do it for them!

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

BEFORE you buy that cute little fluffy dog – recognise that it’s going to need to be brushed AND groomed for it’s whole life!

Are you up for that kind of commitment?

YES your long haired puppy needs to be brushed – EVERYDAY!

IN THE COMMENTS BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW – HOW OFTEN YOU BRUSH YOUR PUPPY?