One thing we have really noticed about Buddy is that every time his hair gets long, he starts to look raggedy and old. That’s no way for a puppy to look! I am sure that Buddy still feels like the same happy and rambunctious puppy, but when he looks like he just spent the winter in the Scottish Highlands and has the long, furry coat to prove it, we know it is time to schedule a haircut with Buddy’s groomer.
Buddy is a Mini Teddy Bear Puppy which means he is a mix of Shih Tzu and Maltese. Maltese dogs tend to have weepy eyes, so when their hair around their eyes gets long it can get discolored and matted with sleep . Which can make it hard for Buddy to see! We believe that it is important to have him groomed regularly, not only because it makes him look much cuter, but it also makes a happier and healthier pup!
After about a month between haircuts, buddy was starting to look pretty hairy and he wasn’t feeling quite as cute as he normally does:
So, we decided it was time to take him back to his favorite dog groomer: Lucky Dog grooming!
Kathy, the owner of Lucky Dog, does a great job with Buddy and has taken an experience that can be scary and difficult, and turned it into a fun day that Buddy looks forward to! At Lucky Dog, Buddy got his toenails trimmed, a good bath, and a nice new puppy hair cut!
Trimming your own Teddy Bear Puppies toenails can be a difficult exercise. We have tried trimming Buddy’s toenails once before, but it ended in lots of tears and agony… and the tears were from Mom! If you haven’t trimmed a dog’s nails before, we strongly encourage you to take them to a vet or dog groomer and watch to learn how to do it right. Trimming your Teddy’s nails to short can be a mistake that hurts for days or weeks, and not trimming them often enough can lead to problems with their walking and joint pain in their legs and feet.
For a good resource on how and why to trim your Teddy’s nails check out the ASPCA Guide to Trimming your Dog’s Nails.
Once Buddy had his nails trimmed it was time for his haircut. Kathy, being an expert, did a couple of things we didn’t realize you need to do when grooming your Teddy Bear Puppy.
1) She plucked some of Buddy’s ear hair
This is a common practice done in some smaller dog breeders because of the excessive hair that can build up inside of the ear. This hair can block the airflow, trap moisture, and cause problems such as ear infections. Plucking your Teddy Bear’s ear hairs and cleaning out their ears regularly can help avoid these problems. Kathy said it’s important that you only pluck out a few hairs at a time. If you try to pluck out to many at once you can damage your Teddy’s skin and cause other problems inside the ear.
2) She trimmed down the hair on the inside of his eyes to almost a buzz cut
As I mentioned before, Maltese tend to have very weepy eyes and having long hair around their eyes can give the gunk more of a place to build up at. Kathy trimmed down the hair around his eyes almost as short as possible. This will make it much easier to clean out the sleep from Buddy’s eyes and will keep that hair from becoming matted and “gunky”.
Buddy with his Favorite Groomer!
Buddy Happy and cleaned up!
Buddy liking all the free space around his eyes!
While taking your Teddy to a professional groomer can be a little expensive, it can also be a great way for you to learn the best practices in grooming your pup! In our opinion, it costs a little extra, but saves a lot of time and we can be sure Buddy is getting exactly what he needs to be his happiest and healthiest!
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