Aren’t morkie hairstyles just the cutest? While groomers are skilled at their jobs and can make your morkie look even more adorable than he or she already does, you may prefer to save the money or to face this new and artistic challenge on your own.
You’re in luck because we’ve got five different morkie haircuts here for you. Is your morkie a boy? We’ve even got some manlier versions to help your cute little fluffy pup still look like the male he is. Whether you’re looking for low-maintenance ease or high-maintenance perfection, we’ve got you covered.
Grooming 101
You’ll need scissors for all of these haircuts, and clippers for most. No matter which hairstyle you choose, the feet will need to be groomed in the same way. Gently separate your dog’s toes with one hand and trim the hair between them with scissors. This will keep their feet tidier and easier to keep clean while leaving the fur on the top of the foot. This is a better look than shaved feet.
For more general grooming tips, see our [Morkie Grooming Guide].
Morkie Haircuts: The Spoiled Little Princess
With an adorable little ponytail on the top of her head complete with a bow, your morkie will glow like the silky little princess she is.
Achieving This Morkie Hairdo
To achieve this look, you’ll need to let your morkie’s hair grow quite long. This will mean daily or twice daily brushes to keep tangles and mats at bay. Be diligent in these frequent brushing times to keep your morkie comfortable with the process.
If brushing is neglected and tangles or mats form as a result, your morkie will begin to fear discomfort or even pain when they see you bring out the brush, and this is a situation best avoided.
Helping Your Morkie Get Comfortable with This Look
Some dogs don’t like the feeling of a ponytail or beret in their fur or hair. To help your dog feel comfortable with these accessories, start them out young, even before their hair is long enough to qualify for the spoiled little princess look. Put a little bit of hair from their head into a gentle barrette or one of those tiny hair ties used for intricate hairstyling in humans.
If you opt for hair ties, choose the fabric kind rather than the rubber type so that they don’t snag in your dog’s fur. It’s important to make this a pleasant experience for her.
For this reason, always provide a small training treat (not a full-size treat because you may need to use a lot of them and it’s best to use small treats to prevent obesity) after she tolerates you putting her hair up to reward her for her good behavior. The first few times you do this, only leave the hairdo in place for a few minutes. Less if she looks uncomfortable with it. Then gradually increase the time she wears it as her comfort level grows.
Pro Tip: Put her hair up right before mealtime and immediately offer her a bowl of food. She will likely forget about the hairdo as she enjoys her kibble.
Maintaining This Style
Since morkie fur continues to grow rather than shed, you’ll need to trim the hair from time to time to keep it from getting dirty. Trim the hair so that it is a little above floor level to prevent frequent exposure to dirt and dust. It may also be beneficial to train your morkie to use a rabbit water bottle rather than a bowl to keep her facial fur from getting wet in the water bowl.
While this is one of the higher-maintenance morkie hairdos, its cuteness level is certainly worth the trouble!
The Shaggy Chique
If you like the longer-hair look but you also want to respect your male morkie’s manliness, the shaggy chique look is the style for you!
Achieving This Morkie Hairdo
The shaggy chique look will also require longer hair for your morkie, but not quite as long for the spoiled princess look. Let your boy’s hair grow out to about an inch or two all over his body. You will need to brush every day to every other day to prevent tangles.
Helping Your Morkie Get Comfortable with This Look
For this style, you’ll only need to trim or use the clippers on your dog occasionally. Clippers will be easier than scissors, so help your dog get comfortable with the noise and vibration by turning on the clippers and then giving him a small training treat (not a full-size treat because you may need to use a lot of them and it’s best to use small treats to prevent obesity), and then turning them off. Do this a few times a day for a few days before using the clippers on him.
When clipping, use a medium to long-length clipper guard and start with the neck. Then work your way down the front legs, main body, back legs, and tail, occasionally giving your morkie a treat for tolerating the clipping so well. You may need to take a break every few minutes if your morkie grows uncomfortable/uninterested in the treats.
Using your fingers or a comb, hold up sections of facial or ear hair and use the scissors to trim these areas. For that shabby look to help your tiny little dog still look like a boy, hold the scissors almost perpendicularly to the comb and snip a few hairs at a time until you’ve trimmed the whole section. This, rather than cutting a straight line, will give him that rugged, manly look. You may need a partner to hold your dog still so you can do this without the risk of hurting his eyes.
Maintaining This Style
You will probably need to do this clipping and trimming once to twice a month, but may be able to wait longer in between sessions if your dog’s hair grows more slowly. If you notice tangles forming more quickly or that the shaggy look has progressed to more of a homeless dog look, then it’s probably time for another haircut. You may also want to train your boy to drink from a rabbit water bottle to keep his hair dry and clean from the water bowl.
The Clean and Cute
This look is low maintenance and works for either males or females. If you really want to keep a bow in her hair, this look will keep her hair plenty long enough.
Achieving This Morkie Hairdo
This hairstyle is lower maintenance because it reduces the need for regular brushing down to once a week or so. The hair is kept shorter and tends to also be a little softer this way. This will also keep your morkie looking more like a puppy than either of the other looks we’ve discussed so far. If you transition from one of those longer-haired styles to the clean and cute look, your dog will suddenly look much younger.
Helping Your Morkie Get Comfortable with This Look
While less brushing is involved with this style, more frequent clipping and trimming will be needed. Help your dog get accustomed to the clippers as discussed in the shaggy chique section above. Use a short to medium-length clipper guard. Take breaks during clipping as needed if your dog becomes agitated. Remember that the easier/less scary you can make the grooming experience for your dog, the less stressful it will be for you and him or her in the future.
When trimming the face and ears, Use a comb or your fingers to hold up a section of hair for trimming with scissors. Trim a straight line or with a curving motion to make more of a rounded section of fur. If you are able to do these curving motions with the scissors following the curve of your dog’s head, the round-face look will add additional cuteness.
Maintaining This Style
Remember to brush your dog once a week to help them stay accustomed to the brushing process. Offer training treats throughout the experience to keep it a pleasant one for them.
The Pretend Poodle
If you love the spoiled process look for your little girl but hair that long just isn’t feasible with your lifestyle, the pretend poodle is a perfect blend of girly cuteness with a lower maintenance demand.
Achieving This Morkie Hairdo
Morkie fur is a different type of fur than the curly, wool-like fur of a poodle. So the pretend poodle is what it sounds like–close but not precisely the same. You’ll be shaving most of the dog’s body, leaving just the face, ear, and head fur as well as pom-poms on the feet and tail tip.
Helping Your Morkie Get Comfortable with This Look
After acclimating your dog to the clippers as described above, start with the forelegs to get those poodle pom-poms. Start with the smallest clipper guard first. Find your morkie’s wrist joint and start clipping above it. Shave the inner and outer forelegs upward from the wrist joint so that the legs are bare except for the wrist pom-poms. You can either leave those as they are, or put a longer clipper guard on and clip them a bit.
Next, find your dog’s heel joint and shave up the back legs from there. If you opted to clip the front pom-poms a bit, do the same for the back so that they are consistent.
Next, shave your dog’s neck, belly, rear, and the first three-quarters of the tail, leaving a pom-pom on the tip of the tail. Using scissors and either a comb or your fingers, trim the hair around the face and ears so that it is rounded and all shaggy, uneven ends are removed. The head, ears, and face should still have some fur on them for this look.
Maintaining This Style
Brush out those pom-poms and facial/ear fur every few days to prevent mats. Clip and trim as needed to keep your dog comfortable. If you live in a cold climate, your dog might appreciate a jacket in the cooler months as you keep the coat shorter.
The Baby Lion
This look is the lowest-maintenance hairstyle we’ve discussed so far and is still very cute in its own, non-traditional way.
Achieving This Morkie Hairdo
This look is very simple. You’ll shave your morkie’s entire body, except for the head, and then trim the facial and ear hair afterward.
Helping Your Morkie Get Comfortable with This Look
Allow your morkie time to get comfortable with the clippers as described above, then using the shortest clipper guard shave the entire body except for the head. Take breaks as needed for your dog’s comfort and reward good behavior with small training treats.
Trimming the face and ears will be all that remains. Using scissors and a comb or your fingers, lift a section of facial or ear hair and trim with a curving motion to round out the hair on the face as much as possible. The end result will be a mostly bare morkie with a tiny and adorable lion’s mane around his or her head.
Maintaining This Style
Gently brush the facial hair as needed to prevent tangling. Clip the rest of the body as needed for ease of maintenance. You may want to consider leaving it a bit longer in the cooler months as well as purchasing a doggy jacket and some booties to keep your morkie warm.
Grooming Best Practices
Grooming can be a fun and simple experience for both you and your dog as long as you are patient and allow your dog to get used to the new tools and processes as you go. It may be a good idea to enlist the help of a friend the first few times to help you with the harder parts like the belly and the face. However you decide to handle it, take care to go out of your way to reward your dog for good behavior and ensure that grooming is at the very least, not a scary experience. With a little practice, it could become a fun time for both of you!