# First Time Grooming



## swolman (Sep 21, 2007)

My westie, Wrigley, is 14 weeks old, and has never been groomed. When should he be groomed? Every two months, every three months?


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## TeddieXRuxpin (Sep 11, 2007)

It depends on how well you want to keep him up. 

Do you want to keep him in medium or short coat? Are you willing to groom him yourself? 

Westies hair usually is kept at medium length, but still needs to be brushed daily or every other day. Just to keep it nice and un matted. 

I have a Shih Tzu and in five months have gotten him groomed once. I keep him clean and brush him every day before bedtime. He will probably get groomed three times a year.

It's person preference.


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## Shanette Peters (Jan 14, 2008)

swolman said:


> My westie, Wrigley, is 14 weeks old, and has never been groomed. When should he be groomed? Every two months, every three months?


I agree with TeddieXRuxpin, Depends on how much up keep your willing to do yourself. If you prefer not to do much in terms of brushing you may have to go once a month to a groomer, where as if you are willing to spend time yourself and do regular nightly brushing or even at least twice a week then you might be able to go to the groomers every 2-3 months or longer if you want to keep the 'westie look'. In either case wether you do it yourself or get the grooming done professionally I suggest to get it done regularally. That may even mean going for weekly/biweekly brushouts by a groomer if you don't care to do it yourself. Hope that helps.


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## justagirl21 (Jan 19, 2008)

For Westies I recommend the owner to keep up with the brushing to keep the coat knot free and healthy and come in for a westie clip about once every 8 weeks, thats when it'll start to grow out and look a bit dowdy. If your not into brushing take your dog in more reguarly to make sure matts don't form in the skirt, pants or head. Also if you can't afford to get your dog clipped ever 4 weeks or so because you don't want to brush, you can book into your groomers for just a bath and brush out to get rid of loose and dead hair (it'll also keep your Westie whiter for longer ) and it wont cost as much as a clip. Traditional grooming procedure is a handstrip and some places will still do that (you'll pay thorough the nose), but its much more common now to do a clipper trim on these dogs, it is alot less stressful on the dog and the pattern lines followed when grooming Westies is the same, whether clipper or handstrip. As the owner, its all up to you..


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## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

I agree...it's up to you as the owner, and how much work you want to do between grooms. If you up keep the dog with regular brushing, and an occasional bath you can get away with a groom every couple of months to reset his pattern. 

If you aren't into brushing, then you will want to bring him in every 6-8 weeks for a thorough grooming. 

And the sooner the better, as the younger the dog is, the quicker he will catch onto the grooming 'thing'!! I love getting young dogs, because they learn so fast that grooming isn't a big deal...what I hate is getting dogs that need regular grooming but haven't been brought in until they are thoroughly matted, and have no clue what the grooming process entails; so not only do you have a scared dog, the dog is matted, and you run more of a risk of clipper cutting him because he is liable to move more. Bring him in now, when he is little!


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