# First groom and trim



## Charlieee

Hi,
When would you say is the best time to take your puppy to the groomers for the first time? 
Bella is 4 months old now and although we groom her regularly, we have yet to take her to a groomers for a trim or have her nails trimmed. My parents don't feel comfortable doing this themselves just yet (although the breeder told us its not too difficult) but myself and my mum are concerned that as it's getting warmer Bella will need a trim to help keep her cool and its getting hairier near her eyes. My dad is worried that when we trim her, she will have a more tight curled poodle look (which he doesn't really like) as we have seen some other cockapoos from the same breeder like this. How long will it take for the fur to grow back to a shaggy look?


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## Dylansmum

Hi Charlie, lots of us go through the "reluctant to groom" stage. I held out til 8 months by which time Dylan resembled Cousin It from the Addams family! He was very matted but the groomer managed to keep his coat quite long - about 1 1/2 inches on his body and long on the face and legs. He didn't go more curly - I've not seen that happen with anyone's dog on here. The hair goes a bit bouffant, but that goes back to normal in a few days, especially if they get wet. The second time I got him groomed, he had to have a really short cut as he was just too matted. The coat does get really difficult to cope with once the adult coat comes in around 7-8 months. Here are Dylan's 3 stages:

Before first haircut:









After first haircut:









After second haircut:









2 weeks later:









They definitely do seem more comfortable in the hot weather with short hair, and don't worry, it soon grows again.


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## kendal

all for of my girls have different coats, Gypsy and Inca are very poodle but werent like that as pups, Echo is much more spanial and her topnot doesnt stick up like the others do, and Delta i think is a mix as she has the poodle head but spanial coat. 


































but Gypsy and Inca are almost 5 so it could be an age thing. 

i find this a little anoying when you get a cockapoo you take the chance that it may look a bit like a poodle but some cockapoo owners dont like the poodle look. i compleatly understand when you dont get the cut you want but to not be happy with the natural curl of the coat, ok Gypsys head and tail anoy me as they never sit right where as Incas always sits pefectly, but it just matches her charicter. maybe its just that im so used to the breed and how diverse they are, i emember hating Gypsys first grrom but i think it was more because i didnt know she was away fo a hair cut and this strange skinny scalped dog came running into the livingroom. (so glad after that day i got contole of what we told the gromer to do then took over myself)

sorry i'v kinda hijacked this thread, i think all moy lot were done between 7 or 8 months, but their is not harm in sending her in for a light trim or just a face and bum trim.


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## embee

You don't have to get a radical trim done, you can just ask the groomer to tidy the dog up and take some pictures along so you can show the groomer what look you want. The look of a cockapoo can vary so much depending on the kind of cut. I prefer to keep Flo around 2" all over with a tidy face which keeps her 'puppy' look. They are always a bit fuzzy once they have been washed, dried, brushed then trimmed but they soon go back to their shaggy look. I always spray Flo over with water once I have dried her to settle her fur down. I did find that I didn't get the look I wanted from the groomer so I now trim her myself about every 4 weeks.


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## sonatalady7

We have a Bella too!

We just had her cut for the first time (at 9 months). She had a few mattes, but they were able to leave some length. I didn't want to have to deal with long hair in the summer, and we live in Virginia Beach where it get's really hot (it was 90 F yesterday), so I wanted it shorter. 

Her hair did not look really kinky (like a poodle) before her cut, but I was still worried. There was no need to worry. She came out looking amazing. Even after she got wet and her hair got curly again, she still looks like our adorable Bella! 

Since she's still so little, I'd suggest taking her in for a nail trim/ear clean, possible face/feet clean up (if she needs it) just to get her used to going in.


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