my malti-poo puppies hair

[esgarrett58]

i was wondering if anyone knew if i had to wait for a certain age before i can get my maltipoo puppy's hair trimmed. he is 15 weeks old. when i went and got him groomed, the lady told me i should wait, but really did not give a reason why. he is more long haired than curly. if anyone knows, please reply.

[Shineillusion]

I've been grooming dogs for over 30 years, and in my opinion you got your puppy groomed at exactly the right age. I prefer to do the first groom between 12 and 16 weeks.

Of course, it's usually not much of a groom. I do a bath, trim nails, do a sanitary trim, brush/comb, and tidy the feet and face. I call it my "Introduction to Grooming." That's usually all a puppy that age can tolerate. But it sets the tone for future grooms, and gives me a chance to identify problems such as the beginings of mats, so they can be taken care of before they result in a complete shavedown. It also gives the puppy a chance to experience most of the aspects of a groom; bath, dryer, clippers, grinder, comb and brush, but without it being a big scarey process.

I don't like to wait until it's necessary to do a major, heavy duty groom. Puppies need to experience grooming as a happy thing.

[myshihpoo]

My groomer would not take my dog until he was fully vaccinated... if I remember right, I think it was right around 4 months of age. She also required that he had a bordatello vaccination (for kennel cough)... which is not a "required" vaccination usually, but recommended if you plan on ever having your baby in a kennel. Perhaps that was the same reason why your groomer told you to wait (altho an explanation would have been better! LOL)