Maggie will NOT let me brush her, only comb. She will NOT let me near her with a blow dryer so I crank up the heat at bathtime in the winter and run a rotating space heater in the family room. I towel dry her and let her take off and shake and run and rub all over. It's quite funny and she never seems cold. In the summer I towel her and take her out in the sun for a natural walking blow dry. She always looks best after a groom because somehow they are able to brush and dry her I guess.
Since you prefer the long hair look you will save $! I don't like her looking messy so she gets groomed every 8 weeks or so. I wish I knew what her hair would do (curl or straight) if I could get her past 14 weeks, I think that's the longest I ever let it go.
If Charlie is only 6 months you still don't know what he will look like! It took Maggie a long time (at least a year) to lose all the black from her face and ears. When the blond was coming in it was mixed with the black and it really looked like she was going to have gray hair on her head (old lady gray-- not yorkie silver) and also we thought her body was turning grey as she had some grey hairs, but those stopped coming in and have disappeared.
Here is a fun site with pages of photos of puppies and the adults they turned into. They sure do change
Puppies Puppies Puppies, Oh those adorable Puppies!