Grooming (Main Page)
Maltipoo Grooming
Overview
Grooming is a very important part of taking good care of your Maltipoo. There is a lot to know when it comes to complete care for the body, head to toe.
It is vital to know exactly how to:
- Brush & comb your Maltipoo
- When & how to give baths
- When & how to take care of his or her nails
- Understand about dewclaws
- How to deal with coat issues
- Keeping your Maltipoo's coat clean of stains
- How to keep the coat free of tangles
- Expressing the anal glands
- How to deal with your puppy or dog if they are afraid of any of these grooming needs
Let's take a look at this topic to see how to keep your dog healthy and beautiful....And in tip-top shape.
With proper grooming, your Maltipoo can look absolutely beautiful
Baths
Bath time can be one of the funnest grooming tasks that you do with your Maltipoo. Let's look at some of the details:.
Age -
You may begin giving your Maltipoo baths from the day that you bring him or her home (the minimum age of 8 weeks old). If you have newborns at home, you will not want to give full baths until this age. Newborns will be cleaned by the dam...As they approach the age of being weaned (4-5 weeks), you can wipe them down with a soft, warm wash cloth.
How Often to Give Baths
- How often should you give your Maltipoo a bath? it may seem like a good idea to wash your puppy or dog as often as possible, to keep them clean.
Or you may be weary of giving baths too often because you've heard it can dry out the coat. The right timing will be to give your Maltipoo a bath once every 3 weeks. Even with a quality shampoo and conditioner, much more frequent baths will dry out the skin and coat because the process will be cleansing away natural body oils too often. On the flip side, if you do not give baths often enough, those same oils will accumulate on the skin. Tiny pieces of hair will be falling back into the coat. These intermingle with the oils. Going much further than that 3 week mark will allow the body oils to mix with the hair pieces and this can lead to an unpleasant odor, hair tangles and even blocked skin pores.
How to Give a Maltipoo a Bath
For puppies that are not used to water, you will want to start slowly and start off in a clean kitchen sink. When you wash out the skin, be sure to not use harsh chemicals, especially bleach...if any residue if left behind this will be terrible for your dog's coat. Cleaning it with antibacterial soap should be just fine. Be sure to have the counters nearby cleaned off of any clutter so that you have plenty room to put down your supplies within arm's reach. You will need:
- A quality canine shampoo
- A quality canine conditioner
- 2 soft wash cloths - 1 for washing and 1 for covering the eyes during rinse off time
- A big absorbent towel to wrap your Maltipoo in immediately after the bath
- Sterile gauze pads - for cleaning the ears (bath time is the best time to do this)
- Tweezers or a small pair of canine ear forceps- To puck out any long, stray hair in the ears; bath time is the best time to do this
- Leave-in conditioner spritz - To work on getting out any tangles from the coat and to add a layer of protection to the hairs
- A wide tooth canine comb sized for toy breeds
Do not fill the sink when your Maltipoo puppy is in it. First, put in the stopper and fill it with warm water, approximately only 3 inches is needed. Test the water with the inside of your wrist to get an accurate feeling for the temperature. Then, gently and while talking in a calm and soothing voice, slowly lower your pup into the water. Be sure to hold onto him or her with one hand at all times until they become used to bath time, this will make them feel safe.
Begin by soaking down the coat. A spray nozzle works best however if your pup is timid, you can use small containers. The Poodle gene part of a Maltipoo will make the hairs partly water-resistant, so it is important to make sure the coat is wet down to the skin before adding shampoo. You can lift up layers and check this.
Once thoroughly wet, add the shampoo and do not be shy. Scrub all areas of the body, not forgetting the genitals, underbelly and tail. Use the wash cloth to gently clean around the eyes. Take care
to not spray water directly into the ears, as excess water in the ear canal can cause medial issues and bacterial infections. (More on this ahead).
An important part of baths is to rinse out the shampoo; any remaining residue will cake into tiny pieces that will blog skin pores. Since shampoo does the job of stripping debris and other elements from the hair strands, you will want to be sure to use a thick, luxurious conditioner that will put moisture and bounce back into the coat.
Directly After Bath Time & Tangles
After bath time, you will want to towel off your Maltipoo and then comb the hair with a wide tooth comb while the hair is still damp. This is the time to look for tangles. Tangles are matts of hair that have stuck and tangled up together. While it happens more to long coats, they can develop even with those dogs with puppy cut haircuts. If they are not properly removed, they will continue to grow and grow... until the entire coat is a complete tangled mess.
Go section by section, slowly combing and expecting to find a tangled knot. If you do, apply leave-in coat conditioner to your fingers and using only your fingers, gently work the tangle out. Do have patience. If you simply cannot work out a matt (tangle), you will need to carefully clip it off so that it does not grow larger.
Also, after bath time is a good time to trim nails.
Drying
To completely dry the coat of your Maltipoo, you may wish to allow it to air dry, or you may choose to blow-dry it. If using a blow-dryer do not put it on the highest setting... a low or medium setting is just fine. You can use the wide tooth comb or small pin brush to hold up layers of the coat as you dry the roots first and then work to the ends. This will help make the dog's coat fluffy and full.
Photo courtesy of Sarah
Brushing
When it is after a bath or on other days when the coat is dry, you will want to brush out your Maltipoo with a small rubber tipped pin brush. Do not just brush over the tips, you will want to brush down to the roots and then up and out. This will pull any dead hairs from the coat and add fluff. Never brush a dry coat; always mist with your leave-in product as you go. Section by section, you will spritz and brush.
More Grooming:
Nails and dewclaws
- Nails can grow quickly and will need to be kept nice and short. You choices will be to clip them or file them.
Anal glands
- All dogs, both male and female, have these which are also called scent glands. It is a good idea to take note of these when you are grooming your Maltipoo since they can become engorged with too much fluid.
Ear care and cleaning
- Taking care of the ears is important as well. This will be to keep them free of debris, excess wax and moisture. Proper cleaning of the ears can help keep infections at bay.
Keeping a Maltipoo clean in between baths
- These 7 easy tasks will keep your little guy or gal clean and smelling fresh.