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Dog Grooming by Breed

How often each breed needs a groom, and what tends to go wrong

Dogs of many breeds and coat types being groomed

Grooming needs vary more between dog breeds than almost anything else about them. A Labrador needs a bath and a deshed a few times a year. A Poodle of the same weight needs cutting every four to six weeks and combing to the skin in between, and letting that slip by a month costs real money at the salon.

Coat type is the one that answers the question. Whether a dog needs a haircut every five weeks or a deshed twice a year, whether it can be clipped at all, and what happens if the interval slips, are all decided by the coat and not by the breed name. Two dogs of the same weight in the same group can need completely different appointments.

Size decides the physical side: drying time, whether one person can handle the dog safely, and whether a salon has equipment that will take it.

Every Dog Breed, A to Z

206 breeds, page 6 of 9

A Lhasa Apso in full coat, a heavy silky coat over a small dog

Lhasa Apso

A heavy floor length coat on a small dog, and a temperament that has opinions

Lhasa Apso
A Lowchen in the traditional lion trim, which is optional and cosmetic

Lowchen

A lion trim that is entirely optional, over a soft coat that mats like any bichon

Lowchen
A Maltese in full show length coat with a topknot

Maltese

Pure white, floor length, and a full time job if you keep it that way

Maltese
A Maltipoo in a full soft wavy coat

Maltipoo

A coat you cannot predict from the name, which is the whole difficulty with the cross

Maltipoo
A Manchester Terrier, a smooth terrier in two sizes and one coat

Manchester Terrier

A smooth terrier in two sizes, and the breed the Doberman was built from

Manchester Terrier
A Miniature American Shepherd, a separate breed and not a shrunken Aussie

Miniature American Shepherd

A recognized breed in its own right, with an Aussie coat and the same MDR1 risk

Miniature American Shepherd
A Miniature Pinscher, no relation to the Doberman it resembles

Miniature Pinscher

No relation to the Doberman it resembles, and older than it by centuries

Miniature Pinscher
A Miniature Schnauzer showing the harsh wire jacket and full furnishings

Miniature Schnauzer

A wire jacket and a set of furnishings, and one decision that cannot be undone

Miniature Schnauzer
A Morkie, a Maltese and Yorkshire Terrier cross with a coat lottery

Morkie

A Maltese crossed with a Yorkie, so the coat is silk either way and mats either way

Morkie
A Mudi, a wavy coat that needs far less than the other Hungarian herders

Mudi

The third Hungarian herding coat, and the only one you can look after with a brush

Mudi
A Neapolitan Mastiff, whose folds are the entire grooming job

Neapolitan Mastiff

A short coat that needs nothing, over folds that need cleaning and drying every day

Neapolitan Mastiff
A Newfoundland, a half day appointment and often two groomers

Newfoundland

A half day appointment, two groomers, and a coat that holds a bathtub of water

Newfoundland
A Norfolk Terrier, the drop eared one, separated from the Norwich in 1964

Norfolk Terrier

The same breed as the Norwich until 1964, and the one with folded ears

Norfolk Terrier
A Norwegian Elkhound, a standoff double coat that blows twice a year

Norwegian Elkhound

A standoff northern coat that blows twice a year and is never, ever clipped

Norwegian Elkhound
A Norwich Terrier, the prick eared one of the two Norfolk and Norwich

Norwich Terrier

One breed with the Norfolk until 1964, and the one with upright ears

Norwich Terrier
A Toller, a water repellent double coat that over-bathing strips

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

A water repellent coat that frequent bathing strips, on the smallest retriever

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
An Old English Sheepdog, the most profuse coat in the herding group

Old English Sheepdog

The one herding coat most owners genuinely do keep clipped, and why that is defensible

Old English Sheepdog
An Otterhound, an oily rough coat and genuinely webbed feet

Otterhound

An oily rough double coat you must not wash the oil out of, on webbed feet

Otterhound
A Papillon, a long silky coat that almost never needs cutting

Papillon

A long silky coat that almost never needs cutting, which is rare enough to be worth explaining

Papillon
A Parson Russell Terrier in a broken coat, one of the three the name covers

Parson Russell Terrier

Three different coats under one breed name, and the name does not tell you which

Parson Russell Terrier
A Pekingese, a flat face under one of the heaviest coats in the toy group

Pekingese

A flat face under one of the heaviest coats in the toy group, so both daily jobs apply in full

Pekingese
A Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a thick double coat on very short legs

Pembroke Welsh Corgi

A large dog's coat on a small dog's legs, and one of the heaviest shedders there is

Pembroke Welsh Corgi
A Peruvian Inca Orchid, the fourth hairless dog and the most sun sensitive

Peruvian Inca Orchid

The fourth hairless dog, the most sun sensitive, and the one that must not be greased

Peruvian Inca Orchid
A Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, a harsh coat that is meant to look untidy

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen

A harsh coat that is supposed to look untidy, on a long low body

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen

Why Cat Size Does Not Change the Groom

Cats have no size index here. Outside the genuine outliers the practical difference between a nine pound cat and a fourteen pound one is close to nothing: the same table, the same equipment, the same appointment. What changes a cat groom is the coat and the temperament.

The one place weight does matter is indirect: a heavy cat cannot reach its own back, sides and base of tail, and the areas it stops reaching are exactly the ones that mat. That is a coat problem with a weight cause, and it is covered on the silky coat and double coat pages.

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