Congratulations on the newest member of your family! What an exciting time!
You bought the food; the toys; picked out your vet; and thought about how to train your new friend; but what about grooming?

Surprisingly, grooming is an essential and big part of your pup’s life.
Not only is a well-groomed dog beautiful to look at it, it’s also a healthier one.

A brushed-out coat free of mats or packed undercoat allows your pup’s skin to breathe, and allows you to thoroughly check them for fleas, ticks, or skin conditions.

Mats can easily provide a breeding ground for fleas that can go unnoticed due to limited visibility, and they can cause/hide hot spots from the painful pulling at the skin; and packed undercoat doesn’t allow the proper air ventilation for dogs to regulate their body temperature, which can cause heat strokes.

In short, grooming is not just for cosmetic reasons, but also to ensure your pup is in tip top shape; and here at The Modern Pup, we strive to make this lifelong occurrence an enjoyable one.

Here are some tips to make grooming a not-so-dreadful thing.

At Home Care

Since your pup will be home with you more than at a grooming salon, you will have to do upkeep in between visits to the groomer’s.
This is to maintain a properly groomed dog, and it also teaches your pup that this is just a normal part of life.
If the only grooming your dog receives is by the groomer every couple of months, he or she will see it as a punishment.

When you first bring your pup home, start off with small things to help desensitize them.

You can start off with their feet.
Hold and massage their feet when they’re in a relaxed state. This will help with nail trimming in the future as it trains them to not be bothered with people handling their feet.
If you have an electric toothbrush at home, you can run the base of it on their feet to get your pup used to vibrations and noise which will help with nail grinding.

Once your pup is fine with you handling their feet, you can move onto drying.
To help with drying, have your pup in the bathroom with you while you use a hair dryer so they get used to the noise.
Once they’re used to the sound, occasionally use the dryer on them until they become accustomed to the force of the air.
Gradually use the dryer over their whole body, including their head until your pup isn’t fazed at all.

If you decide to bathe your pup at home, here are some tips.
Before bathing, thoroughly brush out your pup as water will make any mats or packed undercoat tighter and harder to remove afterward.
Also, be sure to rinse and lather your pup at least twice. One wash will only get your pup somewhat clean. Two washes are usually suffice in removing all the dirt from your pup’s coat.

Now let’s move on to brushing.
Brushing is the most important upkeep you will have to do.
Here’s the proper tools and techniques to keep your dog mat and undercoat free.

Tools & Techniques

Determining what type of tools you’ll need all depends on what type of coat your pup has.


For Curly-coated, Silky-coated, Long-haired single-coated, and Long-haired thin-double-coated dogs such as Yorkies; Shih Tzus; Havanese; Maltese; Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers; Kerry Blue Terriers; Afghans; Cocker Spaniels; English Springer Spaniels; Portuguese Water Dogs; Bichons; Poodles; and Doodles; you’ll need a long bristle slicker brush and a thin metal comb.

Starting from the head and working your way back and down, you want to brush the entire dog.
Pay special attention to the muzzle, cheeks, ears, behind the ears, around the neck, the tail, and inside of the legs as these areas tend to mat up the fastest.
Using the brush, apply a slight pressure to get to the root of the coat.
Once you’ve completely brushed your pup, run the thin metal comb over the entire dog.
It’s very important to use the comb as it will tell you if the dog is fully brushed out.
If the comb gets caught, use the brush again until the comb is able to smoothly run through the coat
Depending on the length and thickness of the coat, you’ll need to brush your pup either every day or every other day for 15-30 minutes.

For Long-haired thick-double-coated dogs such as Golden Retrievers; Newfoundlands; Great Pyrenees; Samoyeds; Pomeranians; Australian Shepherds; and Chow Chows; you’ll need a long bristle slicker brush, an undercoat rake, and a thin metal comb.

Starting from the ears and working your way back and down while using slight pressure, brush the entire dog with the long bristle slicker brush.
This will help loosen the undercoat and remove any tangles or trapped undercoat in the top coat.
Pay special attention to the neck, chest, belly, the back of their legs, and tail.
Once you’re done loosing up the coat, you can move onto the undercoat rake.
Using slight pressure, run the undercoat rake from the neck down to the back legs to remove the loose undercoat.
Once you’ve removed the undercoat using the rake, run the thin metal comb from the ears to the tail.
You’ll need to brush your pup 2 or 3 times a week for 30-45 minutes when they’re not blowing their coat, and every other day for 45-60 minutes when they are.

For Medium-haired double-coated dogs such as German Shepherds; Alaskan Malamutes; Akitas; Shiba Inus; Corgis (both Pembroke and Cardigan); and Siberian Huskies, you’ll need a undercoat rake and a thin metal comb.

Starting from the neck and working your way to the body, you’ll want to use slight pressure with the undercoat rake to remove loose undercoat.
Pay special attention to the neck, chest, belly, and back legs as these areas tend to pack up undercoat the most.
Once you’re done using the rake, run the thin metal comb from behind the ears to tail. Be sure to comb the tail as most people tend to forget to do so.
You’ll need to brush your pup once a week for 20 – 30 minutes when they’re not blowing their coat, and 2 or 3 times a week for 30-45 minutes when they are.

For Wire-coated dogs such as Airedales; Jack Russells; Welsh Terriers; Irish Terriers; Westies; and Schnauzers, you’ll need a long bristle slicker brush and a thin metal comb.

Starting from the neck and working your way back and down the body while using slight pressure, brush the entire dog with the long bristle brush.
Pay special attention to longer lengths of coat such as the beard, skirt, and legs.
Once you’re done with the slicker brush, run the thin metal comb through the longer lengths of coat: the beard, eyebrows, skirt and legs.
You’ll need to brush your pup 2 or 3 times a week for 15-30 minutes.

For Short double-coated dogs such as Labrador Retrievers; Rottweilers; Pugs; Beagles; and Belgian Malinois, you’ll need a furminator brush.

Using very light pressure, use the furminator from the neck down to the body.
If you don’t want your house covered in short fur, I recommend you brush your pup once or twice a week for 20 minutes.

For Short single-coated dogs such as Boxers; Vizslas; Whippets; Greyhounds; Boston Terriers; Bulldogs(American, English, and French); and Pit Bulls, you’ll need a rubber brush.

Using slight pressure, rub the rubber brush back and forth over the entire dog including the top of the head.
If you don’t want your house covered in short fur, I recommend you brush your pup once or twice a week for 20 minutes.

The Grooming Salon

Okay, now that we’ve gone over the home care, let’s talk about the grooming salon.
If you plan to take your pup to the grooming salon whether it’s just for a nail trim, a bath, or for a full grooming, it’s best to bring your pup as young as possible.
This will help in training them so they become accustomed and won’t stress out every time they step foot into a salon.
The more often you bring your pup to the salon, the better off your pup will be.

For pups that require full grooming, I recommend the first 3 times you take your pup to the grooming salon they get small things done.
I.E. for the first visit just a nail trim; second visit the Bath package; and the third visit the Clean Up package.
OR for the first visit the Bath Package; and for the second and third visit the Clean Up Package.
Starting off slow will help your pup adjust to the new experience and not overwhelm them.
Once your pup is fully accustomed to going to the salon, then I recommend they get the Full Groom package.
In my 13 yrs of grooming, I’ve found that’s the best way to introduce new dogs to grooming.
However, there are exceptions to this rule.
Some dogs are not overwhelmed and can get the full grooming by the second visit, while others take 4 or 5 times before they’re accustomed.
Every dog is different and it’s best to go at your pup’s pace to ensure they always have a good experience.


Once your pup is accustomed, how often they need to get groomed is determined by your pup’s coat.

For Curly-coated, Silky-coated, Long-haired single-coated, and Long-haired thin-double-coated dogs that are kept short(5/8″ or shorter), every 6-8 weeks will keep your pup properly groomed. If you like to keep your pup longer, then every 4-6 weeks will do the trick.

For Long-haired thick-double-coated and Medium-haired double-coated dogs that you want a clean up on, every 6-8 weeks will keep your pup looking fresh.

For Wire-coated dogs, every 7-9 weeks will keep them from getting overly scruffy.

If you want just a bath for your pup, no more than twice a month, with a recommendation of every 4-6 weeks.

I hope this information was helpful.
If you ever have any questions,
don’t hesitate to contact the salon.