How often should you groom your dog?

There's no single schedule that suits every dog. The right interval depends mostly on how fast your dog's coat grows, how easily it tangles, and how your dog spends their days.

A rough guide by coat type

These are starting points I use with new clients in Portland:

• Curly and doodle coats (poodles, doodles, bichons): every 4–6 weeks. These coats keep growing and mat quickly close to the skin.
• Double coats (goldens, huskies, shepherds): every 6–10 weeks, with a de-shed during spring and fall blowouts.
• Long silky coats (shih tzus, yorkies): every 4–6 weeks if kept long, 6–8 in a shorter trim.
• Short smooth coats (labs, beagles, boxers): every 8–12 weeks for a bath, nails and ears.

Signs it's time sooner

Watch for tangles behind the ears and in the armpits, nails you can hear clicking on the floor, a smell that returns a day after a bath, or hair growing over the eyes. Any of these means the next groom shouldn't wait.

Why regular visits cost less time

A maintained coat is quicker and more comfortable to groom. A coat left for 12 weeks often needs extra time for dematting, which Maya’s Pet Grooming adds to the appointment automatically — and which your dog would rather skip. After each groom, Maya’s Pet Grooming suggests a next date (usually six weeks out) so you don't have to remember.