Elevate Your Grooming
Puppy's First Haircut
A small, fluffy white puppy sitting upright on a bright pink grooming table.
Puppy's First Haircut
A close-up portrait of a fluffy white puppy held on a pink table.
A close-up portrait of a fluffy white puppy held on a pink table.
Puppy's First Haircut

by Blake Hernandez
Groomed by Sarah Yagi

While there will always be new puppies coming through our salons, it is important to know that each situation can be different, and we owe it to these young dogs to teach them the routine and make them confident while still meeting our grooming clients’ requests.
A groomer holding the chest of a fluffy white puppy on a pink table.
Fig. 1) Start off with a brush-out. Puppies at this age rarely have any tangles or mats, but brushing is a good way to get them used to being touched all over and reassure them that there is no reason to fear it. 
A woman leaning down to kiss a fluffy white puppy's forehead on a table.
Fig. 2) This particular puppy got a bit overstimulated with the brushing, so some positive reinforcement and kisses were used to keep the dog calm.
A groomer holding clippers near a fluffy white puppy's ear on a pink table.
Fig. 3) Clippers being used backwards and rubbed all over while they’re running is a great way to do desensitize puppies to the vibration and noise.
A groomer introducing electric clippers to a curious white puppy's nose.
Fig. 4) If the puppy wants to smell or touch the tools safely, this can help build their confidence before any clipping happens. 
A groomer using clippers to trim the paw fur of a fluffy white puppy.
Fig. 5) Supporting the dog from underneath while wrapping around to the rear legs gives you control while also teaching them to stand up on all fours and trust you while you are working behind them. 
A groomer trimming fur on a white puppy's rear leg with electric clippers.
Fig. 6) If the puppy is tolerant of this position, you can use this as an opportunity to lift the tail and access the anal sanitary.
Two groomers carefully trimming the facial fur of a fluffy white puppy with scissors.
Fig. 7) Certain steps of the groom may require an additional hand in order to safely execute and confidently guide the puppy through them, especially when scissors are involved.
A groomer using curved shears to trim the rounded fur on a puppy's paw.
Fig 8) For this puppy, feet trimming worked out best while sitting. Over time, you can work the dog up to standing during all scissoring to improve the overall finish and symmetry of the groom. 
A freshly groomed, fluffy white puppy standing alert on a bright pink grooming table.
Fig. 9) Once back to standing, comb the body hair down towards the underline.
A groomer using scissors to trim the underline coat of a fluffy white puppy.
Fig. 10) On this coat type, lightly trimming the underline with thinning shears is best to create a clean finish.

This puppy came in with the request of two inches all over, but the client was informed that today’s appointment would simply be to introduce the dog to everything so we can achieve that trim next time, if the behavior did not permit. Expectations are very important to control at this point in a puppy’s life. This one left clean, happy and freshly trimmed, and also set up for even more grooming success next time. 

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