Before you decide to bring a Morkie puppy home, you should be aware that there is a lot of grooming involved in owning a Maltese-Yorkie mix. The same advice goes for a purebred Maltese or Yorkshire Terrier. It is not for someone with a busy lifestyle (or who is just plain lazy). To accustom your Morkie dog for grooming, begin this ritual from the very start when she is still just a puppy.
Grooming Your Morkie Puppy: Brush her hair daily
Ask a groomer about a good brush to use on your Morkie. Morkies have soft, fine hair the quickly becomes tangled. It needs to be brushed every day to help avoid these tangles, since they are painful to remove once they have formed. When my puppy’s hair gets too tangled, I have found that it is easier to cut them out, but you have to be careful that the haircut doesn’t get too choppy.
Grooming Your Morkie Puppy: Clean and trim hair around eyes daily
You will also need to clean and trim the hair around your Morkie’s eyes each day. This is because the hair gets in their eyes and causes tears, which will stain the hair. Wet a soft cloth with warm water and run over your puppy’s eyes to clean the tears away. Then comb the hair over the eyes and use small, grooming scissors to trim the excess hair. It is important to do this from Day One to get your Morkie used to this process.
Grooming Your Morkie Puppy: Bathe her weekly
Too many baths will dry your Morkie’s hair and skin out, but bathing regularly will keep the hair soft and clean. I give my puppy, Mila, a bath once a week. Make sure to rinse the shampoo completely, otherwise your pup might get itchy from the residue. Towel dry, give a few treats, and blow dry on a low heat setting. Click here to read more tips for bathing your puppy.
Grooming Your Morkie Puppy: Trim her nails monthly
This is my most dreaded part of grooming my Morkie; with any dog, you have to be extremely careful when trimming their nails. If you cut them too short, they will start to bleed. If you are really worried about it, there are actually trimmers available that will help you detect the quick of the nail to prevent going too short.
Grooming Your Morkie Puppy: Cut her hair every few months
Morkies have hair just like humans; it grows and grows. This means, just like our hair, it needs to be cut every few months. It is much easier to bring your puppy to the groomer – plus, she will get a professional haircut. It can also be expensive; haircuts for a five-pound pup cost a minimum of $40. That’s more than I pay for my own cuts!
To be perfectly honest, if you consider yourself lazy, I wouldn’t recommend that you get a Morkie puppy. This breed requires a good amount of grooming, so you will need to find time in your schedule to do so. For myself, though, the time I spend taking care of my puppy is worth every second.
