First Grooming

[Tait & Finn]

Just wondering when everyone gave their pup his first grooming. Thanks.

[Lindsay n Archie]

I had a free puppy groom coupon at Petsmart (no trimming), we took him when he was about 12 weeks old.  He did great and came out looking like a fluffy marshmellow.  He even let them dry him with a dryer (instead of towel dry).  This past weekend we gave him a bath in the bathub ourselves because he smelled horrible! It was literally the funniest thing ever (ill post pics later). He looked like a helpless little rat. He shook a few times and we got drenched. Overall he did great! There was TONS of dirt in the bathtub after. I mainly towel dried him and my boyfriend used a hair dryer on medium far away from his skin so it awsnt too hot. Cleaned his ears, tried (and failed) trimming his nails, and combed him. The combing is the big thing since his fur is so long. The groomer told us to use a this long metal comb first, then a bristly brush after.  It took about an hour to comb his fur out.  (i did comb him before the bath too).  Ive trimmed around his eyes and butt myself once, and shoudl probably do it again soon.

[Kyoko]

I think Pet Smart has puppy package for like $5 up to 5 months old, which include wash, brush, nails and some trimming ( sanitary areas, feet, etc...)

[Tait & Finn]

I've given him a few baths in the kitchen sink which went well. Was thinking more along the lines of hair cuts. When was the first hair cut? Thanks.

[Charlotte]

We just took Lola for her first grooming (after lots of at home baths and eye-trims) - she is 6 months.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Oscar had his first full groom at 5-1/2 months. Lucy had hers at about 6 months. Oscar's hair grows faster than Lucy's did though. I've done a ton of scissor work on Oscar's face/head from the first week we brought him home (at 8 weeks). His face/head hair grows so fast and obscures his eyes so I have to really stay on top of it. When I was looking into different groomers and what they charge for that first full groom, they all told me the first visit should be for a bath and blow dry (no hair cutting) to get the puppy use to the people, tools and environment. Makes for less anxiety with the full groom including clipper cutting.

As it turned out, with all the previous work I'd done on Oscar myself (baths, brushing, high-velocity blow drying, and face/head scissor work, Oscar allowed the groomer to do almost a full groom the first time. By 'allow' I mean the groomer took her cues from Oscar and when he'd had enough she stopped (my guess is he laid down to signal the end of the grooming session, because that's what he does with me).

[Lindsay n Archie]

what is a typical price for a full groomer with trim?

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I think it depends a lot on the location, but mine charges between $55 - $67 (Portland, OR area). Prices vary for different sizes of doodles. When checking with different groomers in the area the prices varied from $55 - $85 (the higher price does NOT necessarily reflect a higher quality of work, however).

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

The above prices are for a full groom, including clipper cut.

[Suzanne Newman]

Whidbey is a puppy, and for a bath, trim around the eyes, sanitary area & feet they charged me $30.  It will likely go up as she gets older though.  

[Kristin Foti]

We had Sadie done at 4 months. I was lucky enough to know a wonderful groomer.

[Suzanne Newman]

Whidbey had her first official bath when she was 8 weeks old.  She is now 13 weeks old, and we are going today for another bath.  She did GREAT!  I have read that the early you start them, the easier it is. 

[Megan York]

Walter went for his first "mini groom" at 16 weeks. He had a bath, his feet, eyes, sanitary area trimmed and nails clipped. He handled it like a pro. My groomer said he was a little anxious when he had his paws worked on. But other than that, he did great. And like someone else mentioned, he came out looking like a fluffy marshmallow. Cutest thing ever. His hair was all blowed straight, I kept saying he looked like he was on Jersey Shore.