Brushing Your Australian Shepherd Puppy
This is actually a common question we get regularly… Is it important to brush your Australian Shepherd puppy? The answer is absolutely 100% YES. Every breed of puppy gets a brushing nearly everyday when they are born. Their mothers take care of it and brush them several times a day in their early stages of life. Usually until they begin to eat food on their own. Once their mothers have “weaned” them so to speak, they absolutely need a little work from someone other than their mother. Someone to clean up the wet food that mama missed and brush their fur.
This stimulation is very healthy for a pup because it’s something they are used to getting almost daily from their mother. We like to start getting them used to soft brushes way before they go to their new homes at 8 weeks. I have bought expensive brushes and cheap brushes. I like the baby brushes for infants and toddlers to start with. Then it graduates to some that are more firm.
This first brush we use is a Safety 1st Easy Grip Brush which is a really inexpensive brush and works really well because it’s very soft on their coats. As the puppy gets older and coats become thicker, you may want to invest in something a little better. I suggest any grooming tool from Chris Christensen. We like any from that brand.
Many inexpensive ones can also be found at Walmart. Wav Enforcer is the good brand and you can get the #510 which has a nice little handle and is double-sided. Soft and firm. Here is one from Mars that we like as well. Soft is always used until we start getting shavings in their fur at 7-8 weeks, then we like to brush those out with a little more firm brush.
My favorite brush disappeared (imagine that) but it had a leather piece on the top of it and short white bristles that were super soft. It was convenient because it fits over your hand and you didn’t have to try to hang onto it.
Brush your puppies fur softly. They have baby coats and baby tender skin so really it’s just to help get them used to grooming and also human touch during the socialization period. Touch. Brush. And add a few kisses… That never hurts.
And while you’re brushing your Australin Shepherd puppy, you can also look to see if they need their nails trimmed. We handle puppies feet constantly and trim nails every 10 days or so. For sure every two weeks when we are weighing and taking new pictures.
I am the person who loves a good pedicure (you know the kind that you get your foot massaged) so I tell myself the puppies love that too. Soft though. Those ticklish feet can really be a problem. We also trim the foot hair between the pads with a blunt end scissor. Full spa treatment here at Canyon Creek every two weeks or so!