Curly dogs-how much grooming?

[letseatgrandma]

I would like a small dog and like the curly breeds; poodles, bichon, Shih tzu or some sort of cross-breed. How much in the way of grooming/trimming do they need? If they were brushed at home daily, how often would they need to see a dog groomer? Our local one charges about £35/40 for a small dog; is this something that needs doing once every 6 weeks as their website recommends?

Clarks shoe shop recommended that my son came to be fitted for another pair of shoes 6/8 weeks after I bought his first ever pair and my hairdresser recommends that I come for highlights every 6/8 weeks, but I do neither of these things!! Is dog grooming the same, ideally 6/8 weeks, but realistically less, or is it much more important?

I think it depends how long you let their coat grow. I have a cockapoo and I'm a bit rubbish at grooming him - the upshot of that is that he can get matts if I'm not careful. I suppose I get him groomed every 8 weeks or so, but if I brushed him more I could get away with longer. The thing is, his eyebrows get long and he can't see, but lots of people trim those themselves. also, his paws are like sponges in this weather, so it helps to keep those trimmed.

But they do look much 'cuter' with long hair, imo.

My dog is like a teddy/kangaroo cross, he is quite hairy. He goes to the groomer in springtime for his annual tidy up. My neighbour has a kind of curly/wiry jack russell who never goes. I only know one dog who seems to go a lot, he is a bichon/westie cutie.
I have to have my hair done at 8 weeks, it should be 6. I discovered that American kids don't have the obsessive Clarks schedule and their feet seem OK, so became lax.
Enjoy your curly friend - rescues are great

Thank you for the replies-I like Westies, too!

Stleger, I wouldn't mind a rescue dog, but I have never seen the sort of dog I'd like on any of the rescue websites. All the dogs locally seem to look like Staffies and much as my Dh loves Staffies, that's really not what I want.

It depends on how you want your dog to look, neat and tidy, scruffy or clipped short, it also very much depends on the dogs coat, even in a breed there are variations. The standard poodle pup we have now is two and still has what is considered a juvenile coat, is softer and tends to mat easier than and adult coat. She will mature in the next year and then it will be easier to care for. She is groomed professionally every 4 weeks only because I've always done my poodles monthly as I like them to look good. When showing they were done weekly so monthly is not a chore.

Poodles have easier coats to manage than Bichons, they have softer coats, poodles are a bit coarser. As a general guide, most poodles will be alright with minimal home grooming if professionally done every 6-8 weeks, if you brush a few times a week properly, that is down to the skin, behind the ears, elbows, hocks and better still layer brushing then you can stretch it longer between pro grooms. A quick brush down the back isn't enough. A pro groomer cuts nails, does glands and cleans and plucks ears all of which are important in these breeds.

Before I retired from grooming all new customers would come back after 6 weeks, I'd assess the coat and if there were mats we'd continue with 6 weekly grooms, if not then next time it was 7 weeks, if no mats we'd stretch to 8 rarely in these breeds would we go beyond that as the style pattern was lost and dogs became shaggy! Worse dogs were the once a year matted to the skin shave offs, the 2-3 week dogs were easy but not necessary and the 6-8 week ones were just fine.

It's important with any breed that will require pro grooming is to start them off early, get them used to the sights and sounds of the salon. Once vaccinations are done enquire from friends and family who they'd recommend and make an appointment for a bath and brush up, a few months educating pup at this age sets them and you up for a lifetime of happy grooming.

I'm sure someone can help find you one! I'm in Cork, so probably not near you - but our latest dog in the gang is a Yorkie from the local pound. To be honest, our rescues are full of huskies, staffies and greyhounds...but a few others are in there too.

The mobile mop has a non-matting coat and he heads for the parlour every 8 to 9 weeks. I do like him short plus it minimises the mud he brings in in the winter.