Grooming Estimate

What Age to Start GroomingYour Dog

When to start grooming your puppy
The most frequently asked question I receive about “babies” is when to start the first grooming. Puppy or kitten information is the same for the most part. If you are going to use mobile, it really does not matter what the age is.

There is no law stating that in order to groom a pet they must have any vaccinations, store front or mobile. In a store front the biggest issue is that puppies and kittens, without all the proper vaccinations are at risk of getting sick.

They also might be able to make other animals ill as well. In mobile grooming since there is only your animal in the vehicle, they are not around other pets to make them ill or vice versa. The only variable would be the airborne contagions. Puppy One is in the van and has Parvo. Immediately after that puppy is groomed the next stop is Puppy Two. There we will have a problem. Taking the above into consideration, I always suggest starting the little tykes out ASAP.

The biggest reason to start them early is so that they learn proper and safe behavior. Babies are more difficult to do than most since they are squirming wiggly little things. They are also terrified and rightly so of all the strange and loud equipment. Most humans if you can even remember your first haircut were scared to death, most were crying and you had no idea who this person was coming at you with strange things. Animals are no different. For a baby to have this big black thing (clippers) that makes a lot of noise coming at their eyes can be frightening. The blow dryer sounds louder than a vacuum and if turned up full force can shoot a small fella right into the trash can. So, in order to get the kids accustomed to grooming so they do not get cut with the clippers or scissors, they understand the sounds are not going to hurt them, start early. The better trained a baby is, the safer and faster they are done.

Note on author: The advantage of opinions is they cannot be wrong and they cannot be right. Consequently all written material is strictly my opinion based on over 30 years working with animals. I do not believe in “experts” for one finds out quickly that there is always someone who is smarter, better educated and a wider life experience. If I was an expert and knew everything I would opt to be dictator of the world, not working with animals. I do not believe in statistics since for every con argument there are equal pro arguments to challenge those statistics. Consequently rarely, if ever do I use them.