Basic Care For The Long Coated Breed
After purchasing your first longhaired breed, be it Poodle, ShihTzu, Lhasa Apso or other varieties, there are some simple procedures for keeping him/her in top condition. If you made your purchase from a registered breeder, you may already be aware of the care a longhaired breed needs, if not then please read on.
For a Poodle, at 8 weeks of age your puppy should already have its feet, face, base of tail clipped prior to going to their new home. This should be done every 4 weeks until the pup is 6 months of age, this enabled the pup to become accustomed to the feel and noise of the clippers, for other breeds they should have regular trims around eyes, feet and anus, brush and blowdry so that the pup gets used to being handled. Ears should be plucked at this time and nails should be trimmed. Check ears weekly and clean with a good ear cleaner. (A good breeder will have started basic grooming education before the pup leaves).
As an adult, low maintenance trims should be done every 6-8 weeks. If you prefer your breed to kept longer, they will need to be professionally trimmed or groomed more frequently. Brushing with a slicker brush every day while the pup is young will get him into a routine and will keep him knot free. Run a steel comb through the coat after brushing just to be sure no knots were missed. As an adult, thorough grooming three times a week is sufficient.
When brushing, part the coat and brush from the roots out. Poodles do moult but they do not drop their hair. When they are moulting they need to be brushed more regularly otherwise the dead hair stays in the coat and will become matted, this applies to most longhaired breeds. Good quality, mild shampoos that are suited to your dogs coat type are recommended, always ensure all shampoo is rinsed, otherwise dandruff will occur and make your dog itch, always finish with a quality conditioner. Bath as often as you need to, a bath once a month is recommended but its ok to bath more frequently if necessary.
If your puppy objects to brushing you must persist and be consistent (just as for toilet training). Place your puppy on a table with a mat so he does not slip (a towel or mat on the washing machine is an ideal height) and spend a few minutes brushing every day and don’t stop because he is trying to bite or yelps, as this is his way of teaching you! Only stop when he is relaxed and quiet, then reward. He will soon learn that the job gets done quicker when there is no fuss.
Always remember to praise when he has been good. Do not play with the pup while on the table, otherwise he will not understand the difference between playtime and groomtime.
A common thought amongst pet owners is that some breeds should be kept long during the winter because “he will get cold”. This is ok if you are prepared to do the work to keep his coat knot free. If you leave your dog to be long and a matted mess because its too cold, your groomer will have no choice but to strip your dog bald. A jumper on top of a long coat will make it matt twice as fast. A shorter, low maintenance clip can be done all year round if necessary, with a jumper on cold days. I do not recommend clipping double-coated breeds.
GROOMTIME IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS PLAYTIME AND HELPS THE BONDING PROCESS BETWEEN OWNER AND PUP.
Information contained on this page is (c) Copyright Koolandra 2002