Should My New Puppy Receive a Haircut Before Coming Home?

At My Doodle Maltipoos often receive this question from future families asking if we include a hair cut before their puppy comes home either at 8 weeks old, or after they have graduated dog obedience training, when they’re 13 weeks old. Although we do not give your puppy a full haircut before going home, we will trim around the eyes and face to ensure your puppy can see clearly and hair doesn’t irritate the eyes or ears and we will give them a bath and blow dry before they go home.

There are a few reasons we don’t offer a full haircut before your puppy goes home. We’ll list a few starting with the most important reason.

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Your puppy should be fully vaccinated before going to the groomers

Typically during your puppies time with us, they have not had their full round of vaccinations. Even at 13 weeks old (after they graduate training), they still require one more vaccination before it’s safe for your puppy to visit the groomers or any place that could have other animals. We will send your puppy home up-to-date on vaccinations and will provide records of each vaccine as well as recommended schedule for future vaccinations. You can read more about our recommended vaccination schedule, but we always recommend following the recommendations of your local veterinarian.

A great piece of advice when you first bring your puppy home is to call your local vet and schedule the remaining vaccinations and then call a local groomer to schedule their first haircut as most groomers are typically 2-4 weeks out on scheduling.

We recommend your puppy’s first hair cut be with a local groomer you plan to stick with

The first puppy cut experience is really important for your new Maltipoo. It helps you and your Maltipoo get familiar with the grooming process and build a relationship with the right groomer. Your puppy’s first haircut can be a scary experience that they aren’t used to yet. Groomers are not only trained to clean and trim your puppy, but also in how to keep them calm and learn to really enjoy this grooming experience over time.

Choosing the right local groomer is very important

If you visit the worlds largest Maltipoo Facebook Group, you will find many stories (good and bad) of their puppies first time at the groomers. Based on many recommendations from these group members on how to find the right local breeder, we have summarized a few tips that will help you.

If you don’t yet have a groomer in mind, I would highly advise that you talk to any friends or family that have a dog and ask for personal recommendations and why they like their groomer to help you make a more informed decision on the best groomer for you. You can also visit google and read through reviews and even customer submitted images to ensure you feel comfortable with the right groomer during this first-time experience.

We do offer a few exceptions upon request

Although we never bring any dogs to the groomers before they’re fully vaccinated, if your puppy ends up boarding with us beyond the time they are fully vaccinated, we will offer to schedule and bring your puppy to our local groomer upon request for an additional fee.