I love seeing dogs come in when they're pups and watch them grow up. And you see them in all kinds of stages including the challenging teenage period. They normally act up a bit more, pretend they never met the dryer, cutting nails is now a challenge and god forbid I touch the ears! But that too passes and usually within the next groom or two they're all grown up. Still silly little things but obedient and responding to all the training we've done.

What about  pups who haven’t been exposed to grooming at all until they’re around 9 months or even older?

I mentioned before how starting as early as possible is key to building up a dog’s confidence in grooming.

We know life happens, especially over the last couple of years when availing from services was a challenge. But your puppy is growing up and before you know it your dog's coat is getting out of control making it impossible to stay keep it mat free. 

Your puppy’s coat starts to transition between 6 to 9 months, sometimes even later. The hair goes from "puppy coat", which is soft and fluffy, to "adult coat" which is denser and more coarse. This period of this change can be a trying one as they’ll need more brushing and maintenance to prevent matting. And as we know a teenage pup is likely going to challenge you on this every step of the way.

Moreover if your little furball hasn’t met a brush at that stage chances are there will be some matting (more on that here). I always assess individual puppies and what the best way to proceed is. With teenage pups it can be challenging to teach them new tricks during this period so we might have to start slowly as we would with a younger pup. Grooming can be overwhelming if not done gradually so starting slowly is always best even if you do need to come to the groomers more frequently to begin with.

The most important thing is to build your dog’s confidence in grooming as it will be their way of life and it would be a shame if it was an unpleasant one. 

As always give me a call for some free advice or pop into my groom room in Raheny for an assessment and we'll work out a plan on how best to proceed.