anyone groom their own dog?

[Jockaroo]

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 .

The places around here groom way more Westies and Schnauzers; I see very few Scotties in my area. But for each dog, a strip is shaved down the back and just slightly down the sides. The furnishing create a straight line or the infamous "hula skirt" that hits the broadest part of the shoulders and hips and fluffs out. This makes the dogs look very broad. These terriers should not "fluff" out on the furnishings. Tails are shaved and look rat-like and long. I don't know the specifics of the Westie and Schnauzer, but I do know there is a specific "swoosh" that the furnishing follow that blend the shorter back coat into the furnishings and when properly done, you can see the longer hairs lay flat against the dog creating a beautiful, sleek, block-shaped profile. Scotties shouldn't be poofy.

Edited to add: I may have misquoted. I did not intend to quote myself, but Mad4Mickey. I am not that egotistical--sorry!

 

[JoiseyMom]

DH grooms our dogs. Our eldest is part chow and has a chow coat...it takes forever and Oz..so does not like it...

Dh also does the nail clipping of the dogs and cats. I sometimes do the clippings on 2 of them.

Bathing our younger year old dog is very easy...the older one..not so much..

The last time we took him to a groomer they refused to do him...he kept growling . We let them (Pet Co) groom our Golden Retreiver.. and went to pick him up and he wasnt there. They let him some how get his nail caught in a grate opening on the floor and it ripped off!! They couldn't tell us at the time what vet hospital they took him too . It was not a pleasant time. Needless to say none of my animals will ever go back there!!

So far our 1 year old lab/border mix doesn't need shaving..just bathing and nail clipping, and that is pretty easy.

 

[SandrA9810]

Kiani was a samoyed mutt, not quite fluffy enough to be a real one, but she shedded like one. I never cut the fur on her body, but i would trim the fur off the back of her legs and at the base of the tail on the underside. She also had crazy long fur on her paws that i would trim with scissors. The hardest part was she would always sit down when i reached for her back legs making it a pain to do right.
The anil trimming, i would use clippers or the dremel tool. She hated both buit once i started and she knew she couldn't get away, she calmed down, until the next paw.

During the summer i would wash her at the dog park. The hose was by the sidewalk, so i would tie her leash to the fence close enough that she couldn't make it to the dirt. When i would use conditioner on her, it seemed like she was shedding all her fur off. So not dealing with it in the bath tub really made it nicer. Plus she would get so dirty playing, it was nice to put a clean dog back into the truck.

I got quoted once for like nearly a 100 dollars and said no thanks. It was slightly cheaper at like pets mart, but not worth it at all. Plus she was shy, and didn't like getting a bath. She would give me the saddest eyes until it was over. I didn't want her to be scared and getting a bath.

Having a handheld sower head really helps with the process. And now, they have them with a switch to turn the flow of water down, so you don't have to turn off and on the water constantly or feel like your wasting water.

Try it... what do you have to lose??? A funny looking dog for a coupkle weeks. They won't know the difference.

 

[labdogs42]

This is why I have short haired dogs (Labs and a beagle). Very little grooming! I do own my own nail clipper and a Dremel for grinding their nails. I'm even considering getting a grooming table to make the nail clipping easier. It really saves a lot of money, even just doing their nails yourself.

 

[rubato]

This is why I have short haired dogs (Labs and a beagle). Very little grooming! I do own my own nail clipper and a Dremel for grinding their nails. I'm even considering getting a grooming table to make the nail clipping easier. It really saves a lot of money, even just doing their nails yourself.

I know. It is a lot of work! But, I am just drawn to the terrier personalities. I can't help it. It's worth it to me. And, 6 hours every 2 months really isn't bad. I'm sure I'll get faster too. I've only done it about 4 times so far. Plus, I have a hair issue. I just don't like to clean that much I guess!

 

[katied]

We have a Springer Spanial. She's never been to the groomer. DH has a pair of old clippers, and trims her down at the end of spring. Otherwise, she get's baths regularly and he trims her nails. Not a big deal, but he's been doing it since she was a puppy so she's really good about all of it.

 

[rockyroad]

People have lived with dogs for thousands of years without need for groomers.

Groom the dog daily and he should not get nasty enough to require drastic grooming.

 

[SarahKate]

I have a Shih Tzu that I groom, after a couple of expensive trips to the groomers. I bought a clipper set at PetCo for around $45. I'm still getting the hang of it and he doesn't look perfect, but we are not hard pressed for him to look perfect. I'm definitely struggling with the face....can't get the little bugger to be still to get around that area. The legs are tricky too, and actually I've been letting that hair grow out a bit and just keep the area trimmed around his toes. I don't think I've ever cut his nails.....I keep a close eye on them, but they stay at a very good length somehow, I think playing around on the hard floor surfaces, walks on the sidewalk, etc.

 

[Leader of the Club]

I have a black Mini Poodle (named Mickey , of course) and he goes to the groomer about every 6 weeks. He looks so wonderful after he has been to the groomer and she is so wonderful! She is even going to keep him while we go to WDW in March. It costs me $50 but I really think its worth it and I work it into the budget.

My dear, sweet (now departed) Brittany Spaniel was groomed at home. She was an easy trim. I suppose I am intimidated by the poodle but I LOVE having a non-shedding dog--my son has allergies and asthma.

 

[2bearsmom]

We have a golden retriever and a papillon. We bathe them both at home, trim their nails and brush their teeth. Our golden has been taken to the groomers only twice. She's a nervous wreck while there and growls at everyone so I doubt she'll be going back. We try to keep her hair matte-free and trimmed up pretty well. Our papillon's fur is getting out of control though! He is just one very fuzzy little fur-ball, just turned one so still has his puppy coat coming in I guess. I have to comb the fur behind his ears almost daily so they don't matte but the rest of him stays matte-free. We'd just like to trim up the other end of him a little bit, just not quite sure how. Maybe I'll search youtube, that was a good idea. I don't want to take him to the groomers, I've heard horror stories of papillons going in and coming out with no more ear fringe!

 

[ZachnElli]

I recently started doing our dogs too. I have 2 poodle mixes. I got a grooming kit with a dvd on how to trim and that helped alot. The first dog I did, just laid there, he was so easy! My dog, however was not! I was even sore the next day from trying to hold her down and trim! We do have another dog that I keep putting off doing, she's a lhaso apso and her fur is different. Plus, she's only a year old and getting her to hold still is not easy! I've trimmed her face so she can see and she hated that!