It is definitely necessary to begin grooming your puppy as soon as possible. The best time to start being groom professionally is at about 16 weeks of age, after the puppy has had all their shots.
The sooner you familiarize your puppy with being groomed, the happier they will be. Patience is key to years of successful grooming.
You’re going to want to tire your puppy out by playing with them for a few minutes. Next, select a location for grooming. This should be a table with a rubber type (bath mat) for traction. You should use the same place so that your puppy will remember this place is for not play time but "grooming time". If introduced correctly and consistently, your pet will associate this experience with pleasure and will look forward to this special time between you and him.
At first, puppy grooming is also a behaviour lesson. Conduct frequent short sessions with patience, LOTS of verbal praise and treats.
Be sure to touch and play with your puppy's feet and rub your fingers between its toes daily. This will make nail clipping easier. I promise that your groomer and your vet will love you for this. Dogs will naturally pull their feet back when being touched. You will notice that many pets are perfect for grooming but freak out when the nail trimming begins. This can be avoided by your taking the time to help train them to realize it is not a painful process.
Begin by showing your puppy his brush and comb. Let them sniff and play with it a few seconds. Brush/ comb their coat a few times, then reward your puppy with a small treat and praise. Slowly increase the number of brush and comb strokes. After the first week, you should be able to do the brushing AND combing quite easily.
In order to avoid matting, it is important to brush your puppy as often as possible. If your puppy is prone to matting due to its breed, please check out the video below on how to de-mattify your puppy.
This process should help you to communicate to your puppy that grooming is a positive experience.
Best of luck!
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