Dog grooming

[CleverQuacks]

Hello,
Tomorrow I bring home my Shihtzu puppy. She will be nine weeks. I have never had a dog that requires regular hair cuts before so am after some advice. How often should she be groomed? I will obviously brush her coat every day but how often should she visit a groomer? At what age should she start getting groomed? How can I make it a pleasant experience for her?
Thanks

[Lairydea]

I've three high maintenance dogs (not shih-tzus) who are regularly groomed. I like to keep on top of it as mine hate being brushed so mine get done monthly or they'd be three giant matted wrecks - some people I know go once every two months or even longer.
My tip would be to introduce her to the groomer early on, find someone who is nice and patient and will make it a pleasurable experience for your pup. Comb/slicker brush daily and make it no big deal of it. Good luck!

[LouH1981]

Hi, I’m a groomer. I would definitely ring around in a couple of months time and see if any local groomers might do a puppy groom. This usually just involves a bath, dry, introducing them to the environment and tools and maybe a little gift around the face. Watch her coat around the six month mark as her puppy coat will begin to mix with her adult coat and they are really prone to matting at that point.
I have clients who like to keep their shih-tzu’s short so come every 6 weeks and others who book in every 8 weeks. It depends on your lifestyle and long you would like to keep the coat. It’s great that you are a conscientious owner and you are thinking about these things xx

[LouH1981]

Sorry that should read trim around the face, not gift 🙈