FLUFFY PUPPY - Frizzy's First Groom

Bichon puppy owners are often apprehensive about the first grooming appointment. Are we going to turn their fluffy darling into a skinned piglet? At about 14-18 weeks, the Bichon puppy coat is beginning to get a little bushy and out of hand. The owner wants a trim, but is not ready to lose the whole fluffy look that they adore. Groomers know that puppies are hard to scissor and shape. Puppies rarely stand still for fine finish work. And the coat is so soft that it's nearly impossible to scissor well. But that's not a good reason to shave a puppy.

Meet "Frizzy". She is a 14-week old Bichon who came for her first groom as soon as she had her last set of puppy shots. Well, a week later, so the immunity would be established. Her owner wanted a get-acquainted session and a light trim.




Yep! She's frizzy alright! After bathing and gently fluff drying,(much of which was done in our lap rather than on the table), we introduced her to the clippers. I chose to use the Laube Speed Feed trimmer with the largest comb attachment that comes with the kit. These comb attachments are great. I do a LOT of my Bichon work with this trimmer. And it was a perfect choice for this baby, because it is whisper quiet. There was absolutely no "fear factor".

The feet were trimmed with small 5.5" curved scissors, which I also used around the eyes and the head. Because the puppy was very squirmy, I could not do my usual freehand shaping of the head. So I gently held each ear and trimmed the bottom and around the back quite close to the ear leather. Then I just curved the sides of the whiskers upwards to the ears. There was not enough growth under the chin to do any more than a light even up. I also trimmed the base of the tail and a little of the rear leg angulation.





Part of puppy grooming is knowing when to compromise and when to insist. I never would push a puppy into a stress reaction. We just do what we can and introduce the baby to each phase of grooming. It should not be a horrible experience for the puppy. You can tell that I had to compromise my standards a little on Frizzy's head and around her eyes. She was not cooperating with that part.

After the puppy's first groom, I give the owner a little homework. Oftentimes the homework is to take a few minutes every day to hold the puppy's face by the muzzle or the whiskers. That was the case with Frizzy.



It's really hard to be firm with something this cute! But holding our head still is extremely important when the groomer is using sharp implements. Frizzy needs to practice this without the sharp implements.

In spite of the stressful time working on the head,this was a very satisfying grooming. Frizzy was totally adorable and I love being the first groomer a puppy encounters. I was delighted that her owner got Frizzy started with the grooming process at such an early age.

Support the GroomBlog and shop with BBird at BBird.biz. The Laube Speed Feed trimmer with snap-on combs and the Arius-Eickert Proline 5.5" curved scissors used for this grooming can be purchased at the birdie shopping cart. Click HERE to go there!