# Do you groom or do you use take out?



## Donna5503 (Mar 13, 2009)

Hi everyone.....just wondering if you groom your dog yourself or do you take them to a groomer?

If you groom yourself, any good product tips?:wave::wink:


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## stacey101 (Sep 20, 2010)

I use to shave him myself, not anymore due to the clippers dieing one to many times haha!
However biggest tip I can give is ALWAYS bathe your dog before shaving.


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## malamutelove (Dec 6, 2010)

Myself. However there is this event out here for a 5 dollar groom!! I used this mom and pop shampoo!


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

I do them my self. But I am a groomer lol. Somedays id rather have some one else do them lol. Not that either is bad. But after a long day of grooming other peoples dog. the last thing I want to do is groom my own lol


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

I take Pixie to a groomer. I do trim her face myself sometimes, when it needs it and it doesn't seem worth paying for something that would take 5 minutes. Other than that I only shower them and occasionally brush them.

I'd like to get nice clippers and do my own grooming, because a lot of the time she comes back from the groomer looking ridiculous. I use the pet store for grooming because I know them and they are cheap, but they basically just shave the dogs all over, even goldens and various other breeds that shouldn't be shaved. One time I took her to a place that does style cuts and asked for a "poodly haircut" and got her back in the worst teddy cut EVER. Seriously. I couldn't believe any groomer would send her home looking the way she did. Basically shaved all of her short, except her face, which wasn't touched at all.

But I digress. I'd love to do my own grooming, but can't afford $300 for clippers at the moment, so for now I'm stuck with a groomer.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I do them all myself. Leeo and Blu Boy were my experiments as far as grooming and clipping Poodle type hair. The first few times they looked rather odd ... I eventually after 5 years became pretty good at it ... if I must say so myself! Lol!


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## workerant (Feb 28, 2011)

Kenda has short fur and she really likes water, so I bathe her myself. I use some hippy-dippy henna shampoo that someone gave me (but in truth I like it a lot - the scent isn't overpowering and she gets squeaky clean.) She's a sort of rough-and-tumble dog who spends a lot of time in the woods and lakes and creeks, so as long as she isn't stinky or oily to the touch, she's groomed enough!


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## spanielorbust (Jan 3, 2009)

I do all the grooming here myself - even for us two leggers. I don't do anything complicated though and stick to scizzor cuts on the dogs.

SOB


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

Biscuit really just needs baths, and we do it at home. We have a shower stall with a handheld attachment so it's not so bad. I do take her to a groomer for nail clipping and occasionally to have her ear fur evened out.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

I do all my dogs myself and I also have a few client dogs I groom for others.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

We use a groomer. We've done between-groom baths, but never clipped. I'd love to try trimming her myself, but I'm so scared I'll cut her with the clippers.


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

I bought some clippers for less than a $100 and a grooming arm with noose that clamps onto a table and clip Casbah myself. I don't do a great or even necessarily a good job but fur grows and it's definitely cheaper than taking her to Petsmart every few months like I used to do. Now I only take her to the Petsmart groomers if she needs her anal glands expressed. I'm sure they appreciate that.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

I do it myself: Bathing, brushing, teeth, and nail trims (clippers and dremel). No need to bother with ears, anal glands, or trimming hair with Kit. Short hair means she always looks groomed no matter how long it's been.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I do it all. Sassy did look unkempt during shedding, she could have a cloud of fuzz going when it was in full swing. After I got the furminator and gave her those nice walk til dry baths she mostly looked pretty nice.

Max is fun to groom. He doesn't really need trimming except for the hobbit feet he gets so shortening up his ear fuzz and fringes and pulling out the undercoat is at my discretion. Very few knots and mats, I have to not brush for a couple weeks before he gets a small one or two. A dremel takes care of the feet and I don't need to clear his anal sacs ever unlike Sassy. He dries in a half hour walk if I am lazy or half an hour with the dryer if I want to get rid of some of the curlies.

From day one I work on body handling with the dogs so I can clean even sore ears, handle the mouth and feet if and when it is necessary.


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## Charis (Jul 12, 2009)

I do them at home myself with a shower attachment. I also will take Sierra to be groomed every great once in a while (although Misty never goes to the groomer - she is too much for them to handle) and I will also take them to a self service salon (provides all the professional tools/table/high power vac/expensive equipment) for a small fee and I do them myself there. I usually do that when Misty blows her coat and needs a HV vac blowout of her hair or I want Sierra trimmed just so.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

I do all Jubel's grooming myself now, used to take him to petsmart/petco for nail trims/grinds before I got my own grinder. Basically just give him a bath in the shower with hand held attachment every 1-2 months when he gets a bit stinky or grimy to the touch. Ideally I'll touch up his nails 1-2 times a week with the grinder and clean his ears with about the same frequency. Usually just a wipe with a tissue, using some ear cleaner if the tissue comes out looking gross.


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

I groom all of mine myself. I can't imagine the fortune I would spend taking all 10 to the groomers. lol


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

I groom Buster myself. He went to PetSmart for grooming once as a puppy. Once he hit, I think, 5 months they wanted over $100 and I just cant see paying that for something I can do myself...and the one time I had him done he came back looking just like I'd done him. 

Bath & dry every 4-6 weeks, as needed. Trim fur on paws about once a month to keep him from slipping on hard floors. Clean ears weekly. Grind nails twice a week. Brush thoroughly 3-4 times a week, daily when he's blowing coat (his adult coat is SO much lower maintenance than his puppy coat was!). I'll wipe down his legs, chest & face between baths as needed to keep him clean and limit ouchie skin sores from staying wet (he drools and soaks the front end...and tends to piddle on his back feet).


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## itsjustmebre (Mar 29, 2011)

My two go to the groomer, though I'm hopefully getting an internship there soon, so I might be doing them then 

~IJMB


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## Spirit_of_Cotons (Jun 21, 2009)

When we first got Luke, we bathed him ourselves, but then decided to take him to a groomer. We took him to one five minutes away and it was awful. The groomers didn't listen, cut our pup and didn't tell us, insulted my mother on how she combed him, etc. So we left and went to another one and we love it. Our groomer listens, cuts Luke just right, and Luke likes it there too. 

So yes, we go to a groomer. The price is a bit high, but Luke is worth it.


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

I do it all. I groom all of them as if they were to be shown (except Manero: he has too much hair, so I use a thinning shear on him occasionally to lighten him up). I figure, if I have the ability, I may as well save money by doing it myself. Besides, I am paranoid as all heck that a groomer would mess up a Borzoi - they don't see them often! (no offense to groomers - I trained as one for a time, and I know groomers are not stupid. I'm just a paranoid mom!)


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## Candydb (Jul 16, 2011)

Petco conditioning shampoo. The chemical detangling agent works wonders on my schnauzers tangled mats ( she loves to lie dwn in mud puddles at every opportunity). I clip shave and and strip her my self its not so bad-- initially it was do to fear of Groomers now I am used to it and dont mind it at all....


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Donna5503 said:


> Hi everyone.....just wondering if you groom your dog yourself or do you take them to a groomer?
> 
> If you groom yourself, any good product tips?:wave::wink:



I groom except for ear cleaning and nail trims. Brush, bath, teeth - I do. (I don't clip him, I like his hair long and fluffy). I would do ears and nails, but...I don't want to hurt him. 

I like Untangler combs/rakes to get through his long hair and grab mats with less pulling on him. I also use freshening/detangling sprays on him prior to combing him. Oh and for drying, I use a high velocity (don't have the brand, but I got it from a website the sells dog show equipment. I love it  )


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## tobys2ndmom (Apr 19, 2012)

lil_fuzzy said:


> I take Pixie to a groomer. I do trim her face myself sometimes, when it needs it and it doesn't seem worth paying for something that would take 5 minutes. Other than that I only shower them and occasionally brush them.
> 
> I'd like to get nice clippers and do my own grooming, because a lot of the time she comes back from the groomer looking ridiculous. I use the pet store for grooming because I know them and they are cheap, but they basically just shave the dogs all over, even goldens and various other breeds that shouldn't be shaved. One time I took her to a place that does style cuts and asked for a "poodly haircut" and got her back in the worst teddy cut EVER. Seriously. I couldn't believe any groomer would send her home looking the way she did. Basically shaved all of her short, except her face, which wasn't touched at all.
> 
> But I digress. I'd love to do my own grooming, but can't afford $300 for clippers at the moment, so for now I'm stuck with a groomer.


I clip my dog, an 8lb malt mix, and my first pair of clippers was a pair by Wahl, the Pro-Series, and they're really good for the price, in the U.S. they're $50, so they're probably $100+ where you are, which might be a good start. But then again, talk about a dog coming out ridiculous! lol. Grooming is not easy without training, I'm on my 5th clip with him and it still isn't pretty, hopefully as time goes on i will get better. It's the scissor/face work that sucks, i wish i could pay someone to give me a lesson. Right now my favorite pair is from revlon US$15. but when i get good, scissors are pretty expensive, US$70 for a *just* good pair. If i had a cheap grooming place, i'd probably go, but around me all my groomers are US$75! !!


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## Candydb (Jul 16, 2011)

tobys2ndmom said:


> I clip my dog, an 8lb malt mix, and my first pair of clippers was a pair by Wahl, the Pro-Series, and they're really good for the price, in the U.S. they're $50, so they're probably $100+ where you are, which might be a good start. But then again, talk about a dog coming out ridiculous! lol. Grooming is not easy without training, I'm on my 5th clip with him and it still isn't pretty, hopefully as time goes on i will get better. It's the scissor/face work that sucks, i wish i could pay someone to give me a lesson. Right now my favorite pair is from revlon US$15. but when i get good, scissors are pretty expensive, US$70 for a *just* good pair. If i had a cheap grooming place, i'd probably go, but around me all my groomers are US$75!
> !!


Utube a video of the grooming tip you want there is a huge selection of grooming videos, thats how I got started. Also I paid for one grooming session and the guy talked me through how to do it and that was 2 years ago-- my dog looks great and I saved a bunch of money on paying for grooming (dog is a Giant Schnauzer, its not a cheap trip to the Groomers)-- I owe many thanks to that first groomer...


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

I groom Caeda myself, but her fur is pretty "wash 'n wear". I have progressed to blow drying her hair though after a bath. I actually give her a belly to toes rinse after some of our muddier walks too. I do ear washing, clipping etc myself. Teeth haven't been done a ton though (I know bad doggy mom, getting on that actually). 
I'm currently attempting to groom our temporary boarder, and he's got long hair, WAY harder than Caeda's short coat!


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## mcdavis (May 1, 2012)

I bath him whenever he's muddy but take him to a groomer for clipping etc. then do a few finishing touches when I get him home. He used to be pretty good about going to the groomers as he went to the local college for the first 3 years (handled by numerous students....), then a groomer came to the house, then we moved and we asked the new groomer to cut him short and she basically removed 99% of his fur  so we found another college then we moved again.
All was going well until he was 9 and the vet said she'd cut his nails and scared him silly so now he's a nightmare when it comes to nail clipping 
We're currently trying to find a decent groomer (fingers crossed for the one we're trying next week) as the last 2 seemed to think that bathing him, brushing him then sticking feathers in his ears is all that's needed :doh:.
If not I'm buying clippers and having a go myself


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## LazyZoe (Apr 8, 2012)

Seeing as Zoe has short hair and is pretty low maintenance on the grooming front, we do it at home. She does really good in the bath, lets me trim her nails (although that is still in the learning phase for me), and tolerates me cleaning her ears fairly well. Ease of grooming was something I was looking for when we adopted a dog though, because I knew I wanted to be able to take care of that at home to make things easier financially.


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## Tami (Aug 31, 2006)

I groom my 3 myself but I take them to a grooming shop w/a self wash area. I only have a jetted tub at the house and don't want to get any dog hair in the jets. Doing them in the shower is just a pain..literally. We have a really nice lady that owns a local dog grooming business and she lets the show people come after hours since we have several dogs to wash at a time. It works out well for everyone. No wet/hairy towels or wet dog smell at my house and she has the raised tub so my back doesn't hurt.


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## Louisexx (Aug 3, 2011)

I groom my malamute by myself...because due to his weight, body size and coat, it takes too much money in pet grooming salon
Therefore I bought clippers, nail cliper, all kinds of brush(Pin brush, slicker brush, comb, and shedding brush)
Shampoo(Vellus, Crown royal, and Isle of dogs), Magic touch spray No.3 of Crown royal

Otherwise, Grooming table and dryer are very very necessary!!

PS: If your dog may bite people, pet muzzle is a good choose.


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

I groom my dogs myself, but I work at a boarding and grooming kennel and my boss allows me to bring them in and use the tub and dryer there. I don't have to do much actual hair trimming except with Legend, who needs his feet, belly, and butt hair trimmed.


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## friesianlover (May 24, 2012)

We groom at home. We bath the dogs about once or twice a year (their outside dogs though..) and we usualy use Main and Tail shampoo.

As for brushes, I have an Australian Shepherd, and I use a slicker, a regular shedding brush (don't know the name of it..), and a comb.


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

Tankstar said:


> I do them my self. But I am a groomer lol. Somedays id rather have some one else do them lol. Not that either is bad.


Same here. I am still learning (I did cut my golden's tail off not the actual tail but just took off too much.)



> But after a long day of grooming other peoples dog. the last thing I want to do is groom my own lol


I second that


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

LuvMyAngels said:


> I groom Buster myself. He went to PetSmart for grooming once as a puppy. Once he hit, I think, 5 months they wanted over $100 and I just cant see paying that for something I can do myself...and the one time I had him done he came back looking just like I'd done him.
> 
> Bath & dry every 4-6 weeks, as needed. Trim fur on paws about once a month to keep him from slipping on hard floors. Clean ears weekly. Grind nails twice a week. Brush thoroughly 3-4 times a week, daily when he's blowing coat (his adult coat is SO much lower maintenance than his puppy coat was!). I'll wipe down his legs, chest & face between baths as needed to keep him clean and limit ouchie skin sores from staying wet (he drools and soaks the front end...and tends to piddle on his back feet).


I see very few owners like you. I had a mini poodle come in today whose ear was so badly infected and full of hair that when we plucked it his ear bled. I really commend you on the good job you do with your dog keep up the great work.


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## sm4657 (May 26, 2012)

I do my own grooming....I have 2 poodles, and 2 schnauzers...and I clip my sons schnauzer....I learned by book 40 years ago, and still do my own...I have saved a ton of money this way...I use the Moser Arco SE clippers and good shears...here's some pics of my dogs....oh, and youtube has lots of info on clipping:

img






















img


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## sm4657 (May 26, 2012)

Oh, and here's my poodle finished:


img









and my other:

img


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

I do all grooming myself. I'm way to cheap to spend the money to get our pup groomed. Also, even though I know groomers have been doing their stuff for many years, I just don't trust anyone else to groom my dog. I don't think they can be as thorough as I am, and I am very very thorough. I would like to invest in a good set of clippers one day, but for now I'm just using a battery operated beard trimmer. It gets the job done, but I have to go through a couple batteries to do it.


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

sm4657 said:


> I do my own grooming....I have 2 poodles, and 2 schnauzers...and I clip my sons schnauzer....I learned by book 40 years ago, and still do my own...I have saved a ton of money this way...I use the Moser Arco SE clippers and good shears...here's some pics of my dogs....oh, and youtube has lots of info on clipping:
> 
> img
> 
> ...


Your dogs are beautiful  How much did it cost for you to build your grooming station? I want to have a small set-up/room dedicated to grooming and doggie related things some day.


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## sm4657 (May 26, 2012)

Actually, my hubby built my grooming table, and I bought the grooming arm on line.....the arm just clamps on. Then he put up peg board in our laundry room and that is where I hang my grooming stuff. You can't see it in the picture, but there is a wal-mart shelf above the peg board.

It is all quite cheap, but very usable.....the most expensive thing I have are the clippers....I think the Moser Arco SE clipper costs about $125....but when you figure how much you save by clipping yourself, they pay for themselves very soon.

Oh, and my dogs, Mattie and Emmie thank you for the compliment


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Sarayu14 said:


> I see very few owners like you. I had a mini poodle come in today whose ear was so badly infected and full of hair that when we plucked it his ear bled. I really commend you on the good job you do with your dog keep up the great work.


 Poor little Poodle  

Buster has allergies so regular grooming is a huge part of keeping him healthy. Ive found that our routine has really cut down on how often he ends up with a skin infection as well as how severe they are. As much as I enjoy having a clean, well groomed dog, its really all about keeping my big guy healthy. During his first 2 years we were at the vets office every couple of months for allergy related issues, in the last year he's been only for his annual "wellness" check up.


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

sm4657 said:


> Actually, my hubby built my grooming table, and I bought the grooming arm on line.....the arm just clamps on. Then he put up peg board in our laundry room and that is where I hang my grooming stuff. You can't see it in the picture, but there is a wal-mart shelf above the peg board.
> 
> It is all quite cheap, but very usable.....the most expensive thing I have are the clippers....I think the Moser Arco SE clipper costs about $125....but when you figure how much you save by clipping yourself, they pay for themselves very soon.
> 
> Oh, and my dogs, Mattie and Emmie thank you for the compliment


Your poodles are beautiful as well  It always makes me happy to see a dog well groom. They always seem more confidence and proud to me. That's awesome that your husband built your grooming table and helped you with the peg board. Handymen are always the greatest, hehee.


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## deege39 (Dec 29, 2008)

It sounds awful, but I find I groom my kids less now that I'm a groomer; A couple years ago, when I worked at a doggy-daycare, Donatello got a good bath and blow-dry once a week. (Just because no matter how clean doggy-daycares are, I didn't want to risk him bringing something home.) Now that I'm grooming about 60 hours a week, coming home Saturday night, bathing another dog is the farthest thing from my mind, and now that I've got TWO, lol! *rollseyes*

Now don't be mistaken, they're not neglected by any means; their teeth are brushed daily and their nails dremeled weekly; But having two short-haired Chis' that don't do much but play around in apartment they don't get dirty enough for weekly baths. 

However, my boyfriend has started chipping in, and when one of the kids starts to smell, (something he doesn't tolerate), he'll throw'em in the bath.  Makes me beam with pride. <3


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