In The Salon this Month - Puppies & Coat Care

We’ve had a couple of interesting things occur, that I felt were worth passing on.
The one I feel is really important, is about the number of puppies aged around 9months of age, who turn up for their 1st EVER grooming appointment, with a coat that is full of moulted un-shed puppy hair, and full of tangles causes by Bathing that mucky puppy when they’ve been doing what puppies do best, getting into mischief!
This isn’t because the owners are negligent, but because of misunderstood instructions from the breeder of their precious pup.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard;
“Oh but the breeder said not to touch the coat until he’s at least a year old”
Or;
“But the breeder said his coat mustn’t be clipped until his adult coat comes in.”
Both of these statements are correct, but not in the way most owners would think.

Let’s address the 1st one; “Oh but the breeder said not to touch the coat until puppy’s at least a year old”.
This doesn’t mean the puppy’s coat mustn’t be brushed and combed daily by the owner,
Nor does it mean the puppy should not be introduced to professional grooming at around 12 weeks old to allow it to get used to all the new experiences of being handled and examined, noisy clippers, dryers etc. they have what’s called a “puppy intro trim”. This involves gently introducing them to the clippers, trimming around their privates, and in between their pads, toes, and the hair in their ears. To keep these areas hygienically clear of hair, so mud and dirt don’t accumulate causing skin problems etc. Nails are trimmed to avoid those growing bones from being put out of line by the wrong gait, caused by overgrown nails. And the puppy fluff is gently carded out using specialist tools, and then the tips of the puppy hair, where its beginning to die is gently trimmed, without going down into the growing adult coat.
It’s so important to daily groom your dog, to spot pest problems or health issues from developing, and it gets the pup used to being handled, so it doesn’t fear Vets visits etc.
So you can see, these appointments should be around every 4 to 10 weeks depending on the breed of dog, and make the daily home grooming by “Mum or Dad” so much easier.
In-fact, pups need to be brushed and combed daily by their owners, so that all that puppy hair that is moulting out is removed allowing free and easy access for the adult coat to grow through.
Failure to do this, can mean that the adult coat has to struggle to grow through the dense puppy fluff, and in some cases, the adult coat gives up and also dies, thus giving the signal to the puppy coat to grow thicker and quicker! By the time the pup is 9months of age, the coat is a felted mess, and resembles a sheep’s fleece, and we all know sheep are impossible to brush out, they get clipped off once a year, and then the coat is left to grow out untouched, for another year. The same goes for a pup, if you don’t touch (brush/comb/groom/bath) the coat, the ONLY option is to clip this off, and start again with a clean sheet, so to speak. But doing this whilst puppy is going through this stage means the time for the adult coat to come through is extended, or even halted until both recover.
All dogs go through around 4 coat changes between the age of 12 weeks and 2 to 3 years. And a complete coat change can take up to 18months to complete. So get it wrong at the very start, it’s not an instant fix, having the dog clipped off, but the start of a long road to get it back growing properly, into a coat that is easy to brush and comb, and doesn’t knot up easily.

Now let’s sort the 2nd statement. “But the breeder said puppy’s coat mustn’t be clipped until it’s adult coat comes in.”
This is true again, but the breeder means clipping down the body and leg hair whilst puppy hair is still present.
This is because if this is done, the message goes to the hair shaft of both puppy fluff and adult coat that they BOTH need to grow twice as quick, twice as thick, because they have been cut down! So they both do, and this is where the problems start. The puppy coat is finer, there is more of it, and was designed to keep the puppy both warm and its body protected from accidents etc, whilst it was immobile, and unable to run from danger.
The adult coat is designed for streamlined speed, protection from danger, and the extremes of cold and heat, hence shedding and moulting 6 weeks before either cold or hot weather is predicted. It was perfect, until us humans came along! I’ll explain;
Once the puppy is mobile, it needs to shed that “Puppy fluff” as soon as possible, its holding puppy back, preventing the adult coat from growing, as there’s only room for so much hair!
In the wild, twigs, brambles whist running through the undergrowth, tumbles with brothers and sisters, and the grooming by the bitch Mum, would take care of that puppy coat, so by 9months of age, the pup would be sporting a glossy “teenage coat”. So we as owners have to take on this puppy fluff as soon as the pup arrives to live with us at 8weeks. Daily care, checking toes, removing hair inside the ears, checking inside the mouth, brushing and combing, right down to the skin, always starting with the brush, ending with the comb being able to get right down to the skin throughout the coat, ALWAYS ensuring that has been done BEFORE bathing the pup, because if not, that shed puppy fluff is going to turn into a solid knot that will be almost impossible to brush or comb out without causing the pup a lot of pain. It’s this pain and discomfort that can turn a pup into hating being handled or grooming, because of the discomfort the knot cause them, pulling constantly on their skin. Sadly, through misinformation, this is the owners fault, not the groomers.
If daily correct brushing and combing is done, with regular professional grooming visits, the puppy enjoys grooming, is easy to keep clean, and by 9months of age your pup will be sporting an almost adult easy care coat!
If the above has left you at all concerned, or you are at this moment struggling, because you are daily brushing your dog but the knots and tangles are still there. It might just be the case you are not brushing and combing correctly. I’m happy to show you just how easy and quick it is to groom your dog correctly, and for free, as this benefits all concerned.

Firstly, your pup who will feel so much better and happier being groomed well, and will enjoy the close bonding time with you its owner. And it will enjoy its Spa time and playtime with me.
You, because it will no-longer be a struggle both you and your pup will enjoy the experience, and you will both release those endorphins called happy hormones, making you both feel so good!
And me, because I know the puppy will be relaxed and happy about grooming, so will enjoy coming for its pampering with me and its playtime with the doggy friends they’ll makes whilst visiting. And you the owner will be happy about leaving a relaxed pup for its pampering grooming and playtime with me.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries or wish to book an appointment for a puppy brushing demonstration.
If you’re out of our area, but still want advice, or want details of how to contact a Groomer in your area.
Email me I’m only too happy and willing to help.

As always, your dog’s wellbeing comes first.