[Porkchop]

First, I have to apologize in advance that my posts are always so long. I get excited and want to share a lot of details. TL;DR, I groomed my girl and the before and after shots are below.

I did Lacey’s second (big) groom earlier this week at 24 weeks old.

Her first major groom was when she was 11 weeks old. I trimmed every bit of hair short with scissors. I had planned on just cutting all the hair on her head. but it looked so funny and tiny compared to her fluffy body that I knew I had to cut body hair short too. I did it in two sessions, holding her in my lap while she was conked out. Needless to say I was covered in hair and my back hurt. I had the grooming table and the clippers but she was in no way ready for that.

I do weekly trimming the muzzle and around the eyes with scissors. Less often I trim her sani area and under her feet/between the toe pads. I work on getting her comfortable with the Andis clippers and working with her on the grooming table.

I did the current big groom in one day, in two sessions. she got a bath and blow dry first. A break for an hour or two. Then the haircut. Andis 2 speed clippers with a 1/2” comb was used on her butt, chest, belly, neck, legs and feet. I followed up with curved scissors to tidy up, especially the legs and feet. I trimmed her topknot, sides of face and chin with scissors. I didn’t touch her back, tail or ears. She was pretty much a champ about it, I’m so happy! Lots of treats for her during the process.

The before pics were taken after her bath and blow dry. The after pics were taken after the haircut. The last pic I didn’t have a good “before” of her from the front so there’s only an after. She looks tidier and I’m happy with how it turned out. There’s other details I could’ve done but saved it for the sake of her patience.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Cuuuuute!! And I love her alert little eyes. So expressive.

 

[Skylar]

Good job. She’s so cute. She looks like the sweetest little stuffed toy dog.

 

[Raindrops]

Great job! She must have been a very good little girl! Puppies are so hard to groom! One tip in case it is helpful... you might want to cut even shorter around the anus. I know it ruins the teddy facade... but you might be very glad if she gets diarrhea. Helps a lot with cleanup. Likewise, short hair around where she pees can lessen the dampness.

 

[Porkchop]

Thank you, ? PeggyTheParti and Skylar. I love her little button eyes. Our dogs eyes really communicate so much to us. When people meet her in real life they always comment how she looks like a stuffed animal. I’m loving that look for her right now. I will likely experiment with different clips in the future!


Thank you, Raindrops! Your tip is a very good one to share. Occasionally I do shave her anus, base of tail, inner hind legs, belly, and labia with a 10 blade. (I don’t think it ruins her look at all!)
I really should be doing the sanitary shave more often than I do currently. Maybe I could invest in a separate “dirty” blade to be used only for “anytime” sanitary trims so that I don’t have to do it exclusively after a bath/dry. While she’s learning I think it could be worth the expense of a quicker dulling blade.

My plan was to shave there after her next bath! As well as shave the armpits, front of the neck, and inside the ear leathers with the 10 blade. Those were the “details” I had to wait on this time.?

 

[Newport]

Thank you for sharing these super cute puppy photos! She has a beautiful coat, and I think you did a great job.

 

[Porkchop]

You’re welcome! I always REALLY enjoy seeing others’ before and after grooming pics. I can’t wait to see what her adult texture will be like, but am not looking forward to the coat change process! She’ll be getting the full shave down once that starts. And I will post the pics here on PF. I wasn’t sure if this should’ve went into the poodle picture thread or the grooming one. since I included the equipment I used and on what body parts, I figured grooming.

 

[Dogs4Life]

Good job! She is just so adorable!