anyone groom their own dog?

[cjnix29]

We have a border collie mix, and it costs me atleast $60 every two months to get him groomed. Anyone do this themselves? We really just have him shaved down and his nails clipped. Was wondering if it was worth looking into it, or is it just one of those expenses that are worth paying for!

 

[stahshee]

I would love to know how. I have a Shih tzu and Im paying 40 every month.. This month Im letting him get fluff so I can save some money.

 

[packofjedis]

I have groomed a couple of my dogs myself. An older Australian Shepherd - we just shaved her down once a summer. Bought decent clippers and attached a guard and went to town. Takes a while to get the hang of it, and you'll find you've missed spots, but it's easy to take care of it.

Now I have a havanese/bichon. My son and I have scissor clipped her. She just lays on her side and we clip off a certain amount. I feel like Edward Scissorhands but it works. Sometimes we may make an extra snip here or there and she'll look a bit choppy, but give her a week and she'll grow out some and you can't tell.

I guess it all depends on how "perfect" you want them to look. It's hard to get everything exactly even. Maybe practice makes perfect. I figure if it's saving me $50 and a trip to the groomer then it's worth it. Plus my Havachon has wavy hair so maybe you can't tell as much. If it was a straight haired dog, the mistakes would probably show up more.

 

[Nicolepa]

I had a Border Collie/Aussie mix and I never took her to the groomer. We got a set of clippers and would trim her up ourselves when she needed it. She loved taking showers so we would bathe her quite frequently.

 

[design_mom]

We always had miniature poodles when I was growing up and my mom and I groomed them. (Just the "kennel clip" not one of the fancy frou-frou hairdos.) My mom had a pair of special hair clippers (they seemed a lot like what the barber uses, but more "industrial" looking) and some scissors.

We had one dog who would stand there and be clipped like a champ. He loved to be trimmed (he thought he was beautiful.) The other dog didn't like it much and I had to hold her while my mom did the clipping. I often thought "this isn't worth it" for her, and we should have just let a professional do it!

Now, I clip DH's and DS's hair (and sometimes my BIL's and my Dad's), but I don't trim my dog. We have a labrador retriever. She sheds everywhere, but doesn't require clipping!

 

[gardengalB4]

We had a cocker spaniel mix that we
used to shave in the late spring every year.
My daughter was working at a vet as a groomer when she was a senior in HS.
She used to take the dog with her & do it on her own time...then when she quit,we got a set of clippers and our daughter did it.
Saved us a lot of money.

 

[Heidijs]

Yes, I have a golden retriever who is BEYOND fluffy. I shave down his coat somewhat all year long to keep the shedding down...not real short though, they need those layers to stay cool and warm. Sometimes we get a good laugh at his cut. I don't have the $$$ shears like the groomer has but it works good enough I guess. But in the winter when I can't bathe him outside, I take him to the groomer and with tip it costs me around $50.00 for a wash and shave for him. I usually resort to that about 2-3 time a year just to "fix" what I did to him all summer.

 

[akcire]

Growing up we had 2 different Maltese's. I always groomed them, even as a kid.

First I would wash the dog (usually every two weeks) from the neck down. I never washed the dogs head, I would only use wet wash clothes to avoid water in the ears. After the wash: I would blow dry the dog (low heat); scissor trim the face and ears, and trim up the behind with the clippers (a white dog should not have brown fur on it's bottom).

Once a month before the bath I would take the clippers to the whole dog and leave her in a style called a puppy cut. Maltese's get really long hair, and we would keep her hair about 1-2 inches in summer, a bit longer in winter. If I made a mistake it always grew out in a short time.

The hardest part was trimming the hair on the legs. Nail clipping is easy ask your vet tech to show you how.

I do the same for my two cats, and have since they were kittens. My vet thinks it is funny that they get regular baths (he keeps asking me if I want a job bathing cats at his office). As long as I keep the water below the neck level my cats don't care. (However they are less fond of the hair dryer than the dogs, they try to hide from it so I just wrap a hand towel around their heads and dry their bodies. Also since they have fur, not hair like a Maltese it is little harder to get them dry--I just go for mostly dry and on hot summer days will even let them go with a quick towel drying.

My only complaint washing an animal with fur is that they tend to leave quite a bit of fur in the bathtub (not an issue with the Maltese's). I called a local groomer to find out what it would cost to have the cats bathed, not groomed just bathed, and for $75.00 I can deal with a little fur. My husband pointed out that for $75.00 I could wash the cats myself, and then hire someone to clean the house instead.

 

[rookie78]

I have a maltese that I just started grooming 3 months ago. I say if you need the money do it yourself. It is a hassle, but the money saved makes it worth it. As long as you don't care how the dogs looks, b/c you might make a few mistakes the first few times. There are lots of helpful vidoes on youtube to show you how to do it.

 

[Schachteles]

Man I THOUGHT that I would be able to do it...dang dog was way too squirmy, so now I bought $60 electric trimmers that I won't use. Guess I just have to work the grooming into the budget.

GOOD LUCK...wish I could do it!

 

[rubato]

I groom my dog that I have now and I groomed my last dog.

The last one was a miniature schnauzer. I like a very well groomed dog, so I started getting him groomed every month. Well, at $30 a pop, that was adding up. So, I tried going every other month, but didn't like the way he looked. I bought the clippers that our groomer had. They were about $300 bucks, but I've had them now for 12 years and they're great.

After our schnauzer died, we moved on to a Welsh Terrier. That has added a whole new level of grooming. He is wire haired and has to be hand stripped and scissor cut. The first time I tried it, it took me 10 hours. I'm down to 6 now, but that's everything. That time includes a bath, ear plucking, nail trimming, hand stripping (special process that plucks the dead hairs out because he doesn't shed), scissor cutting his body, legs, feet, head and tail and then shaving his ears because I can't them short enough with scissors.

I could save a lot of time by just shaving him, but it changes the color and texture of his coat. Because he's wiry, he doesn't shed at all. I love it and am willing to do the work to have no dog hair in my house. I tried to get a groomer to do all this, but I could only find one that did hand stripping. She charged me $45 and that included no scissoring at all, just the hand stripping. I am WAY too cheap to do that!

It sounds like you would have a much easier time with grooming your dog. I would go for it if I were you. It can be intimidating at first, but give it a few tries. And, I do recommend the better quality clippers. I've never even had to sharpen mine in all this time. Just periodic cleaning.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

I do all my dog's grooming. I bought brushes, combs, and a grooming table from PetEdgedotcom, some clippers from Beauty Co, and a dog grooming video from eBay. I feel I do almost as good a job as my groomer. I saved enough money the first six months grooming my dog myself to pay for all my supplies. Now, it takes me less time to groom the dog than it used to take me to drive to the groomer's shop. And my dog looks nice all the time and it doesn't cost me any money. I highly recommend learning to groom your dogs yourself.

 

[StephMK]

Laughing at these grooming stories!

Our dogs are short haired so no grooming needed but I do trim their nails myself. I hate it because of the sound of the crunching but it can be done. Just get a really good nail trimmer & be careful not to cut the quick.

 

[HunnyPots]

I have on occasion groomed my toy poodle. He certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests afterward but he doesn't seem to care too much. I have been bitten quite a few times though and he has even bitten the clippers! Of course, he is 14 years old and quite senile so I don't hold it against him.
The main reason I don't take him to the groomers as much any more is that I'm afraid he will bite her now, plus his arthritis is so bad he gets very sore after a grooming and hurts for days after.

I have decided though, that when this one is gone, there will be no more dogs that require grooming. I hate the hassle and the expense that comes with it. I'd much rather sweep and vaccum up dog hair everyday!

 

[DSNY4ever]

We have a border collie mix and I regularly trim around his paws with scissors and then a few times a year during the summer mostly I shave him down (only because it gets sooo hot here- if it wasn't so hot he wouldn't need any more than a good bath and brushing). Someone gave us their old electric groomer and it works great and my dog sits very still and is very patient.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I have 2 big fluffy hairy collies. I have never taken them to the groomer nor the two before them.

I do all the bathing, brushing and nail clipping myself.

It would cost a fortune to take them every other month. I bought a grooming table, and a couple combs, brushes, rakes , and scissors. It takes a while but I could never justify the $200.00 I'm sure it would cost at the groomer.

 

[3happydancers]

I have a 62 lb. English Bulldog. At first I took him into the groomers and I would be charged $45.00. Then I thought, they don't even have to clip him because he is short haired, he only needed bathing and nail clipping. So now, I bathe him and I am learning to clip his nails (nail clipping only is $15.00-the price I paid for the nail clipper!). Just think, now every time he gets groomed by me, that is $45.00 that now goes into my famiy's disney fund! PLUS THE TIP!

 

[Jockaroo]

We groom our Scottish Terrier. Our first Scottie had skin allergies and we left him in a natural coat--he was beautiful. Our rescue Scot had some severe issues including abuse at a groomers. We learned to do the grooming so we knew she would never be harmed. We invested over $400 in our supplies (professional clippers, blades, grooming table, and very expensive scissors). The supplies are being used on the next dog and have been a great purchase for us over 8 years later. I will say our dog looks better than the ones coming out of popular grooming chains. These places put the same cut on Scotties, Schnauzers and Westies. We do the correct Scottie clip and our dog looks good. This breed needs grooming 4 times a year. It is also a breed that should be hand-stripped, but since she isn't a show dog, we do clipper the coat.

We were given instructions on grooming from a Scottie rescue group. We were sent a list of recommended equipment (different breeds need different numbered clipper blades), diagrams and a list of resource books. You can learn to groom your own dog. We do not do the nails, but let the vet do them. Our dogs have all had black nails and are very difficult to cut. Luckily, she is active and wears the nails down on her walks. PetEdge is great for grooming supplies.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

These places put the same cut on Scotties, Schnauzers and Westies. We do the correct Scottie clip and our dog looks good. This breed needs grooming 4 times a year. It is also a breed that should be hand-stripped, but since she isn't a show dog, we do clipper the coat.

/quote]

This makes me so sad that people think it is ok to just put the same clip on every terrier that comes in the door.
I see this coming out of one of the big chains in the area. I am the one who helped to write the grooming books they used to teach new groomers with . They found that it took to much time and went with the short and sweet method and this is what they get . Now 16 years ago we didnt allow them to turn out crap . Cant say the name but I bet you can guess LOL I was there 12 years and I can tell ya things have changed alot .
I see lots of funny grooming coming through the Vets office I work in . I also see alot of grooming that owners have done that are so much better then the groom shop up the road .

 

[a1tinkfans]

I groomed mine just today. he is a Cockapoo and is so great with grooming, just lays there.................I do his nails obviously but also have the vet check my work once in a while (she comes to our home, LOVE that) anyhoo, I watched videos on youtube, and wahla been doing it a long time, honestly I started because a groomer seriously burned my dogs Hiney, the clipper got too hot...she must have done many dogs cause mine does not take that long and perhaps he was like last dog in line, just AWFUL, I was very upset as well as angry....I have saved tons of money taking care of him and It is really no biggie (hes about 26 pounds) so bathing, cleaning ears (they are also prone to ear infections, UGH!) are fine by me......as a matter of fact, he was so sleepy this am that as I was trimming down his coat, he was literally falling asleep and I had to physically hold up his silly head to get under his neck, so funny,
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my dog!!!!