Proper grooming is essential to all dog ownership.   Establishing a relationship with a professional groomer in your area as soon as your puppy comes home is highly recommended.  Please put the time into ensuring that you find the right groomer for your newest family member.  A professional groomer that handles the dogs in her care with kindness and grace is essential.  Visit the grooming facility, meet the groomer and come home with a list of references to contact.  Ask your chosen groomer the age of which she would prefer seeing your puppy.  Typically we recommend waiting until after 12 weeks to take your dog to a groomer as they will have a second vaccination at that time. 

In the weeks that your puppy is with us, we have already started proper handling of your puppy for grooming.  Beginning at just a few days of life, your puppy is first introduced to having his feet handled when when we perform the ENS procedures.  From there, we continue nail trimming and filing on a weekly basis.  We also intentionally handle the puppies paws when they are snuggling with us as this frequent handling desensitizes them to having their paws handled for grooming and nail trims.   We also begin gently brushing our puppies at 4 weeks of age, with a soft bristle brush and continue to do so on a daily basis.  Before they go to their new homes they are introduced to a slicker brush, similar to what you will use on them at home.  We highly recommend continuing to brush your puppy on a daily basis.

Starting around 6 weeks of age, we also begin regular baths and blow outs, we typically bathe them on a weekly basis as our goal is for them to have three full baths and blow outs prior to going home.  Once your puppy comes home, we recommend continuing with a simple bath and blow dry every 10-14 days, through 16 weeks of age.  This frequent bathing when they are young will ensure baths to be a pleasurable experience for all throughout the dogs lifetime.  When fed a high quality diet and bathed using a gentle, quality shampoo, the risk of your puppy developing dry skin is very minimal, but be sure to adjust the bathing time if needed as outdoor temperatures and humidity do have a direct effect on skin and coat.  As the puppy ages, we increase the length of time between baths, but always aim for no more than a month between baths and blow outs. 

We have used a variety of products over the years, but the Isle of Dog and Kin and Kind grooming products have continually served us well.  Isle of Dogs offers an extensive grooming line, but here are a few of our personal favorites:

Silky Oatmeal Shampoo
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Conditioning Mist

Kin and Kind Flea and Tick Shampoo and Spray is great for dogs that are over 12 weeks of age to aid in preventing external parasites.  During warm months, our dogs are all bathed with Kin and Kind Flea and Tick Shampoo and regularly sprayed down with the flea and tick spray.  Especially when we are going exploring in the woods.

Kin and Kind Flea and Tick Shampoo

Kin and Kind Flea and Tick Spray

In addition to the grooming products above, we highly recommend that you purchase a simple slicker dog brush and a metal comb before your puppy comes home. 

Our favorite and affordable slicker brush

These items will be an essential part of preparing your puppy for a lifetime of stress free grooming.  Grooming can be a relaxing time for both dog and owner, a special time to further build your connection together.

We do our part in lowering the risk of hip dysplasia in the puppies that we produce by certifying with OFA or PennHip, each of our parent dogs.  But studies have now shown hip dysplasia to be a multifactorial disease, meaning there are many factors that can contribute to an individual dog's risk of hip dysplasia.  So once your puppy goes home, there are several ways that you can actively reduce the risk of hip dysplasia for your dog.  We ask that all of our families follow the recommended guidelines to ensure the health and longevity of your canine companion.

SPAY/NEUTER AFTER 12 MONTHS
We require that every puppy is spayed and neutered after they go to their new homes.  But several studies indicate that the timing of the procedure could have an impact on the future risk of hip dysplasia for your dog.  Several studies now show that a dog spayed or neutered after 11 months of age, can significantly lower the dogs risk of hip dysplasia and may reduce the future risk of certain types of cancer.  

OBESITY
We all know that a healthy diet is an imperative part of a healthy lifestyle and it is the same for your dog.  A diet complete with the needed vitamins and minerals to support adequate and steady growth is essential in puppyhood.  While the nutritional needs of your dog may change with time, maintaining a healthy weight through every stage is imperative.  Little treats are great training tools, but all of those calories can add up. You can reduce the risk of hip dysplasia in your dog by monitoring their weight and preventing obesity.

EXERCISE
Regular exercise is important for all of us and equally important to our canine companions.  But certain types of exercise, especially at a young age, can actually increase your dog's risk of hip dysplasia.  We recommend avoiding excessive exercise in growing puppies and young dogs.  Your puppy is an excellent walking partner, but keeping the lengths of walks reasonable for the age of your dog is important as well as reducing the number of stairs they navigate.  We know that having a running partner always makes the experience more enjoyable, but we do not recommend taking dogs under two years of age for lengthy runs. Avoiding strenuous high impact exercises in growing dogs under 24 months can decrease the chance that hip dysplasia will affect them later on.  

With due diligence on our part and yours, we can ensure that your dog lives a full life, free from hip dysplasia.

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