When to have my Yorkie's first haircut???

[Sweet KB]

Gee, seems like an easy enough question, but I have been thrown several curve balls as first-time owner and now I am unsure, lol!

My sweet little Yorkie is 21 weeks old and her coat is looking rather fluffy and dull. It is about 2 1/2 inches long with about an inch worth of the adult color (grayish-blue?) showing through, so she looks a little silly Still VERY CUTE!

I thought the right thing to do was to take her to my local "Big Box" store's groomer for their special on a puppy trim. Well, after I pointed out 2 small mats I had just found, they insisted they could not do the puppy cut and the only way to get the mats out was to cut them out, which also meant SHAVING her down to even her out! Oh, and that would be $50. Well, I left there disappointed, figuring I could buy some pet clippers and do it myself ( I cut my husband and kids hair, after all) if it just meant using the guides and clipping her down. Luckily, I found a video on how to de-mat a Yorkie and I had the mats brushed out IN NO TIME ALL!!!

Through all of this, many questions were raised and I need some experienced Yorkie owners opinions on these two:

1) When I went back to a different groomer to inquire about prices for scissor cuts and styles, she suggested NOT cutting her hair until 8-10 months. She thought that the texture of her emerging adult hair might have a bit of a curl to it and to cut it would encourage it to curl more rather than be straight and silky. I thought genetics played a bigger part in this, but what do I know? I don't want to risk changing the texture of her coat by clipping her now, but if it's not going make a lick of difference, better to do it now while its still hot and it has a chance to grow back for fall. Any thoughts???

2) In my internet travels I noticed posts about cutting off excess hair on the inner part of the ear and either the tips or up to the entire outer ear to relieve them of extra weight to encourage them to stand. Our Yorkie has one droopy ear that she CAN raise and she seems to be doing so more often. I also read that after they lose their puppy teeth, they'll stand on their own (coincides with a particular age?)

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer, we really appreciate it!

[Maximo]

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. I have never heard that trimming hair during puppyhood could negatively affect the texture of the adult coat. I do believe that is all genetics. Often Yorkies will have a puppy coat through most of their first year, so trimming is actually beneficial.

I'm glad the first groomer was honest with you that they intended to cut and shave. Some just go ahead and do it.

[BrittanyVThomas]

Mia got her first haircut at 7 months. But she definitely needed it sooner. I brushed her a lot and made sure she had no mats before I sent her to get her haircut. I brought pictures for them and told them NOT to shave her...I just wanted her trimmed and shaped up. They did an awesome job and it didn't change the color or texture at all. It's always a good idea to get a puppy cut before 6 months or so just to get them used to it :-)

[Sweet KB]

Thank you so much you two, you've made my decision much easier! It makes sense that just doing a little trim shouldn't make a difference in texture and will only help to make her be more comfortable through the rest of the summer~and of course, make her look cuter!

[gracielove]

The first thing I would warn you about is that most groomers out there are not what you would think they are. In most states there is no official training to be a groomer. Places like PetSmart train the people they hire off the street to be groomers. Many people start businesses as "groomers" without any real experience at being one. Investigate and get references if possible before taking your pup to a groomer. I'm not saying there are no good ones out there because there are. It's just that there are more bad ones than good.

I think the lady you talked to was saying that having the puppy coat length would help to keep the adult coat straight as it grows in because of the weight the puppy coat would add on the ends. It doesn't change the texture or type of hair your dog has it just helps it go grow in without so much wave in it as the coat changes from puppy to adult. Many other groomers would tell you to cut the whole puppy coat off and let the adult coat grow in. I'd guess that the one that recommended letting it stay long has had a bit of experience though I can't say what kind.

If you want to keep your pup's coat long then don't take it to a big box store or pet store because most of those are accustomed to just bathing and shaving the dogs. Many people don't groom their dogs daily and just take it to a groomer now and then to have it given a bath and shaved down again. I guess that adds to the "groomers" lack of experience.

I have had many long haired dogs over the years and have found some of the best groomers have learned from show dog people. They have to learn how to use the scissors and they learn how to do a lot of different cuts. Not all of these groomers are perfect but if they are successful then they know their stuff. Still get references and visit the place and watch how they work.

Gracie went to the groomer when she was around 5 months old the first time. I tried a new groomer and it went well the first time but the second time was a disaster because the woman let someone else do her. I won't go into it but I was steamed for months after.

Thankfully we now have an excellent groomer. She has shown Shih Tzu's for many years and is great with the dogs. I do Gracie's touch up grooming at home. Things like ears, butt, feet, etc. Then she goes for major work about every 3 to 4 months at the groomer. I have noticed that a lot of people here on YT do their own grooming due to bad experiences with a groomer.