# How often do you groom your dogs? Do you use a groomer?



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Just curious about what people do....

What breed do you have?
Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?
How often/what do you do to groom them?

*What breed do you have?*

Papillons

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*

I groom them myself. Neither of mine have ever seen a groomer.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*

Mine get groomed about every 4 weeks or so. We do a full groom with bath, conditioner, blow dry, etc. They get brushed out and ears combed out. Feet are trimmed neatly with shears and we do a sort of sanitary cut/tidy up the bum area too. I use a pin brush, fine tooth comb (for the ears), shears, and thinning shears.

Occasionally I do mini-grooms where I do nails and comb ears. But I usually forget. :redface:

I would say I spend about 1-1.5 hours a month on grooming both dogs in total.


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## hueyeats (Apr 2, 2013)

Cool thread!

*What breed do you have?*

Great Pyrenees.

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*

Both.
Been to groomers a few times since we have Roman for this 1 year we have him.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*

He has a whole gear full of stuff to groom him with...

2 metal detangler combs... one side for detangling (tight teeth) the other side a regular comb 
Plastic $1 disposable detangler comb(s)
A blade shedder... I love that thing, its awesome tool
A hog hair brush (for smoothing the coat)
A slicker (needs replacement... will be purchasing another soon)
A rake (I still like the shedder better)
A mitten stub brush/ glove thingy (for sitiing down, petting time)
A furminator... (Roman don't like that one too much)... so I don't even remember where I put that thing now.
A vacuum spin brush thingy saw it on TV bought from bed bath & beyond (a total waste of money)

A pair of pro hair dressing scissors I forgot.
To cut his butt and flank area hair & cut out matts etc...

For his nails I have the bamboo brand XL clippers (pink color) with a dremel at the bottom and the septic powder (hidden in the grove).
Use that one just fine for him.
Also a TV commercial dremel... Roman also hates that thing.

I will honestly say I groom him at least once a week. 
During his walks, he gets lots of burrs collected to his face, body & tail... 
so brushing him is a must after his walks & picking off those painful burrs.
Will spend at least 45 mins doing that per week... not inclusive of his other brushing time.
(No he don't look too handsome with those prickly dots on him)

I always bath him 1-2 times a week... 
(Every 3 weeks to be exact, sometime more when he gets dirty from his family hikes and or "swim")

Definitely a total more than 5 hrs to 8 hrs plus per month... that is "my grooming time", not at the groomers'.
Not that I am really any good at grooming but I can honestly say I'll try for my baby.

Add: I too brush Roman with his Arm & Hammer teeth cleaning set.
Yah thanks Abbylynn... ears too. I also have the ear mite cleaners for "JICs".








Dad picking off burrs from Roman's coat...
Roman sitting for his groom.

Good idea to carry a detangler comb (I usually buy them from the $1 store... find plastic ones better & less harsh on Roman's fur plus if you loss it, no problems there...) that is made for "nappy hair" while out hiking, walking, free roaming.
Roman gets into burrs everytime he is "out"... so combing the burrs outta him is a must!


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

*What breed do you have?*
I have a standard poodle.

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*
Katie goes to a groomer. 

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*
Katie gets a full groom every 6-8 weeks. In between, we bathe and brush/comb her 3-4 times. She hates the slicker, so I use a pin brush and medium-toothed comb.

We (ahem, I) also brush her teeth 5+ times a week and clean her ears weekly. As her grooming appointment gets closer (and her fur longer), I brush her ears and topknot to keep them mostly mat-free.

ETA: Bathing and brushing takes an hour maybe; I've never really timed it. I probably spend more time cleaning the house right before the bath and doing laundry after the bath than I do on the actual bath.

Elrohwen's comment about not trusting groomers to groom correctly reminds me of how much I love Katie's groomer. She's a poodle breeder and handler, and Katie looks amazing after a visit to "aunt" G. It's hard to believe how much a clip can improve a dog's overall look.

I truly admire those who do their own grooming including clipping (looking at Abbylynn), but the thought of sharp, moving blades around eyes and toes and other sensitive regions makes me panic.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Doberman/Rott mix .... groomed thoroughly every 4 weeks.

Cookie is wash and wear ... no hair and no undercoat. :/ 

Schnauzer and Schnauzer/Poodle mixes ... time consuming. 

I groom them myself

I bathe them weekly to bi-weekly. I groom thoroughly every 3 to 6 weeks


I use an electric clipper, fine tooth comb, pin brush, straight shears, thinning shears, cotton balls, nail trimmers

I thoroughly brush the dogs out with a pin brush before bathing. Then I bathe them. I do not cut a dirty dog. This will dull your clippers. I use clippers on sanitary areas and areas that I want short. I even and blend areas with the thinning shears. I may use straight shears for the top knots and ears. I pin brush when all done and use a fine tooth comb to pull excess hairs away from their skin. My small dogs do not have undercoats.

I cut nails and clean ears thoroughly with epi-otic.

Each dog with a couple breaks in between the grooming session takes me at least 2 hours.

I sometimes use a doggie parfume: as a finishing touch.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Fun. I like to see how much other people put into grooming.

*What breed do you have?*
Welsh Springer Spaniel

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*
I groom him myself. I don't trust a groomer to do a show groom (they'd probably make him look like an English Springer, or cut off the wrong stuff), and it's not that hard to do it myself.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*
When we were showing more this summer, he got a bath and groom before every show, which was typically once a month. Now that we have a little break, he hasn't been bathed in 1.5 months and probably won't be bathed until his show in November. His coat is like teflon, and after 6 weeks of being outside and getting dirty he doesn't smell at all, his coat is soft, and he looks perfectly clean. I did do a touch-up groom last weekend where I cleaned up his ears, neck, and feet a little. The fluffy feet were really starting to bug me. 

Doing a full show groom, not including bath time, takes up to an hour depending on how long it's been since I last did it. A pet groom takes maybe 20-30min depending on how picky I'm being. The bath is a standard amount of time, and I don't blow dry fully because his hair dries straight on its own. I don't have the patience (and neither does he) for a full blow dry.

I try to do nails every two weeks or so and it takes probably 5 minutes.

Otherwise, I spend maybe 30 seconds brushing him out once a week, or more often if he gets burrs and stickers. He doesn't mat and hardly sheds, so I just make sure his feathers are combed out.

My standard tools are a greyhound comb, slicker brush, pin brush, thinning shears, straight shears, clippers (for neck and top of ears only), and an assortment of stripping knives.


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## Effisia (Jun 20, 2013)

*What breed do you have?*

Newfoundland

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*

I do both. I'm still getting comfortable trimming up her fur and not making her look crazy. Of course, she's in the puppy awkwards stage right now, so her fur looks crazy no matter what I do. The daycare she goes to also has a fabulous groomer, so every so often we spring for a bath and a clip while she's there for the day.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*

I brush every day with both a soft slicker and a greyhound comb.

For a full groom, let's see. That's once a week, usually, though it depends on how dirty she is. Sometimes we go two weeks with just the daily brushing. The daily brushing is more just to get her used to being brushed since she's not shedding a ton (yet). 

For the more intense weekly groom, I use the slicker, the greyhound, and then I go over her with a Mars Coat King. Especially her tail and feathers which grow like weeds. I use just regular small scissor shears to clip up the fur on the pads of her feet if that's needed, then use thinning shears for the tops of her paws and the greasy fur under the ears. *IF *she's calm and relaxed, I'll see about using the thinners to shape up her ears and belly. 

Then she gets some puppy spa time with a coconut oil footpad massage and I'll usually dab some on her nose if it's particularly dry. Of course, she usually just licks that off. We also dremel her nails every 1-2 weeks when they start getting too long. I like the dremel over regular clippers because her nails are really big and hard, black so I can't see the quick, and I don't love the pinching from the clippers. She screams if she even SEES the cat clippers, but she's pretty relaxed for the dremel. 

She gets a bath about once every 4-6 weeks. More often than not I'll let the groomers do this. Our tub is a bit small for her...


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

elrohwen said:


> The fluffy feet were really starting to bug me.


I totally understand. I can't take untidy feet and spaniel feet are the WORST.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Laurelin said:


> I totally understand. I can't take untidy feet and spaniel feet are the WORST.


I complained about them for a week before doing them, and DH was like "What are you talking about? They look fine." No! They look sloppy and I can't take it anymore. lol


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

elrohwen said:


> I complained about them for a week before doing them, and DH was like "What are you talking about? They look fine." No! They look sloppy and I can't take it anymore. lol


I frequently have foot trimming OCD moments. I even have the urge to trim up friends' dogs' feet.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Laurelin said:


> I frequently have foot trimming OCD moments. I even have the urge to trim up friends' dogs' feet.


My friends are lucky they all have short haired dogs. One has an ESS, but she moved 1.5 hours away so I can't take out my grooming OCD on her.


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## hueyeats (Apr 2, 2013)

Oh I forgot...








Roman has a pool and he loves washing his feet before getting into the house (carpeted from the slider door, rug to wipe feet in the house) instead of using a foot cleaning mitten thing I saw selling at Target (and that sock even though its freesize or one size fits all is just too small for him). I am OCD with poops (yes, have to clean the minute he does his business), besides its a good trick to get him to clean any salt (during snow) and or road chemicals off the road during his walks by himself (else he isn't allowed inside and he knows it... he is also naturally "fastidious" too; good habit taught by his dam). My water is free, so I do fill & change his pool often.

While Roman's foot hair trimings is done by the groomers occassionally, I usually am not too particular about it because most working LGD may get washed if lucky, a couple times a year (they needs the hair padding for the weather like snow I'm told), and gets sheared if their hair gets too matted like the sheeps they guard when it is needed from being "out" in rain, snow, sandstorm etc.... 

Roman gets that "al natural" (way of nature) hair cushioning for his feet when he is out on hot pavement during summer, hikes, playing in the snow outside etc... and we do quite a ton of "outdoor" activities.


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## kbt_guy (Dec 2, 2012)

*How often do you groom your dogs? Do you use a groomer?*

He gets his hair cut about every 4 weeks

* What breed do you have?*

Kerry Blue Terrier

* Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*

I groom him myself. 

* How often/what do you do to groom them?*

He gets a brush out/comb out every day (about 10 minutes)
Nails every week (takes me about 20 - 25 minutes)
Bath every week until cooler weather. Then it's every other week. (30 minutes, which includes towel drying, cleaning out his ears, cleaning out the tub etc.)
Complete haircut every 4 weeks. (45 minutes - 1 hour for the clippering, then 2 hours or so for the scissoring. He gets off the table between the clippering and scissoring for a break/rest/play time)

Sometimes I'll shape him up a bit between haircuts.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

None of my dogs go to a groomer. I'm not a very conscientious groomer, to be honest. 

Pip (long haired pit bull) - I do a sort of sanitary trim and trim his feet once every couple of months. If he gets any mats in his tail feathers I'll trim those out as needed. I check nails every week and trim as needed. I brush him daily when he's shedding heavily, but otherwise I honestly don't brush him very routinely. During the summer he gets bathed at least weekly because he has environmental allergies and that helps manage them a lot, but during the winter only if he gets dirty. 

Maisy (plottahoula) - check nails once a week, trim as needed. I really only bathe her when she gets dirty, and I rarely brush her either. She doesn't really shed heavily or blow her coat. She's extremely low maintenance.

Squash (Alaskan Bulldog) - check nails weekly, trim as needed. He blows his coat a couple times a year and I bathe and brush him out 1-2x/week while that's happening, he also has some mild environmental allergies and during the worst of it I'll bathe him at least once a week. But otherwise only bathe him as needed and brush maybe once every couple of weeks or when I notice enough shedding to bug me.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

*What breed do you have?*

~46# mutt, single coated about 1-1.5" in longest areas

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*

I do my own grooming now. Used to go to chain store for his nails before I got a dremel and desensitized him to it.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*

He's basically a wash and wear dog. 
*He gets a bath about every 4-6 weeks, whenever he starts to feel a bit grimey to me. Takes maybe 15 minutes for a bath.
*I try to remember to do his nails every 1-2 weeks. Couple minutes to grind his nails.
*Check is ears frequently, clean if needed. About a minute to just wipe out his ears, about 5 minutes to really clean them with cleaner. He's not a fan so that involves stuffing a kong to shove in his face and get him to hold still while I put cleaner in his ears and he DOESN'T shake it out the instant it goes in.
*He really doesn't shed too much but when he is really shedding I use a zoom groom on him. Maybe 5-10 minutes to fully brush him out. Depends on how much he's shedding, how cooperative he's being, and how determined I feel to do a good job versus coming back to do it again in a few days.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

They go to a groomers almost weekly. ButIm their groomer lol. I bathe both almost weekly if I have time, or I get the bather working to bath them. 

As for grooming. its as needed. after a bath both will get a brush out, how much and how long depends on how much time I have. 

atleast 2 times a month they get a full brush out, nail clipping ear cleaning. feet done. 

Blaze gets minor trimming. sometimes he gets afull clipper comb all over. but normally just once or twice a year in spring when its really mucky out at that time of year.


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## Hellocat (May 13, 2013)

I have a maltipoo. I do all of her grooming, with the exception of her ears, nails, and butt. She goes to a groomer every couple months for a sanitary & eye scoop. I groom her every week & a half. My kids assist me with the grooming. I use a brush, comb, and slicker. I also use small scissors to trim around her face. She gets a full bath at the time of her at home grooming. I didn't realize how much pro groomers charged until recently. I'm thrilled to be saving such a huge amount!

Here is a photo from one of her grooming sessions at home


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## Kayla_Nicole (Dec 19, 2012)

*What breed do you have?*
Wheaten Terriers

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*Groomer, but I'm very close to taking the plunge to home grooming. I need to invest in a table though. 

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*
Full groom/cut roughly every 6 weeks

They typically get a bath or two at home between groomings because they are good at getting dirty. I also comb them out almost every day along with with teeth brushing. I will do some facial trimming on my own as well, to keep their little eye "windows" open between full grooms.


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## kadylady (Sep 23, 2010)

Neither of my dogs have ever been to a groomer, they are both pretty wash and wear for the most part.

*Zoey - Plott houndish mix*, She has a very short, very fine coat, no undercoat. I rarely brush her. Occassionally she gets the Kong Zoom Groom, but it doesn't get much out. I really only bathe her if my husband starts to complain that she stinks or if she gets into something, more often in the summer because we are out at the lake and the bath really helps get the sand out (she loves to roll in the sand). 

*Luke - Golden Retriever/Lab mix*, He has a short coat but a very thick undercoat. This summer he shed awful (I'm guess environmental allergies at play) and I invested in the Kong Zoom Groom....it has been my saving grace. I was using it 1-2 times a week this summer and would get tons of hair out. He seems to have slowed back to a more normal pace and but I still need to try and keep up with the Zoom Groom once a week or so. I bathe Luke slightly more than Zoey because I have found it has helped with allergies this year. 

Both dogs I check their ears at least once a week and do a quick wipe and I try to remember to do nails at least every other week (need to stay on top of that better). In the summer I also have to keep an eye on Luke's paws because they get a little yeasty (again allergies) and I check those every night before bed.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

*What breed do you have?*
Lab mix (with a lab coat)

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*
Myself, never been to a groomer

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*
Roughly once a week, with a stripping knife, curry brush, slicker brush, and bristle brush. In that order. I might do a quick 30 secondish groom with the bristle brush if he gets dusty after a hike, regardless of if he was just groomed or not. I do nails roughly every two weeks. And I trim paw hair and such every few weeks when I notice it's getting long. It takes maybe 15-30 minutes to do everything but Soro enjoys being groomed so sometimes I'll just use the curry brush longer than I need to


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

*What breed do you have?*
Two mixed breeds, one 38 pound spaniel mix with a double coat with long feathering and a 17 pound chi-min pin-terrier-pom-spaniel thing with a short double coat and short to moderate feathering except for a completely ridiculous long haired tail.

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*
Groom them myself, they don't need to be clipped and they are cooperative enough to be safe around me, a dremel and scissors.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*
Weekly they get brushed out well, nails dremeled and foot fur trimmed back top and bottom. I use a slicker, small scissors, cordless dremel and lots of tiny cookies. Max gets small away from the body mats in his pits if he doesn't get a weekly brush out, sort of amazed that that this is all it takes to keep him mat free. Takes maybe 10-15 minutes to do both dogs.

Every couple of weeks Max gets his feet trimmed up to the hock and wrist. Max gets duck tail flip ups which drive me nuts. Takes a couple of minutes per foot, maybe 10 minutes total. Ginger doesn't get that yet at least.

Every couple of weeks to a month they get baths in the backyard using a hose run to the kitchen faucet. Clean wet dog needs to be corralled in the exercise pen so rolling and such doesn't happen while I wash the other dog. Here in southern California I can find a week most any month of the year warm enough to do this without chilling the dogs. Takes 10 minutes to shampoo and rinse each dog, 5 minutes to brush out the dripping wet dog, 5 minutes to put away the hose so 30-40 minutes to wash both dogs once or twice a month.

This is where it gets fun. Max looks much better if I blow him out with the B-air force dryer as he has wavy neck and ear hair otherwise but that takes ages to do properly and won't get out the very strong wave of his body hair. Usually I just clip on a leash and walk the dogs dry, brushing them every few minutes during the course of the walk. Ginger is done in 10 minutes, Max takes about 20 minutes. Usually I take a slicker along, sometimes the pin brush. Bending over to bathe then brush dry the dogs really wears on all the muscles from shins to upper back.

The day after a bath I am recovered enough to trim up Max. He gets a Golder Retriever sort of trim, shorten up the long stuff a bit and closely trimmed ears. I use the little scissors for the edges of the ears and some fairly decent thinning shears for the feathering and taking long hair from around and the outside of the ears. I could trim Ginger's tail but haven't so far as it hasn't caused any trouble with hygiene or mats and we love it. Ears take at least 5 minutes each, butt takes a while as I have to keep brushing and trimming to get it all in spite of the good shears.

If I am on top of things and Max's undercoat is doing its horrible sticky outy thing I strip him out before a bath as dirty hair strips better than clean. I use my fingers, a 12 tooth Mars Coat King stripper on the body, a slant tooth stripper and grooming stone on the legs for that. It has taken 13 years but there is either less of the stuff or I am just good at getting it all out of his coat now. Takes at least an hour to do a good job on Max but I only need to do it monthly where I used to need to do it weekly. Ginger's undercoat stays under the topcoat where it belongs, no stripping needed. I tried a metal flea comb but just back brushing her is getting out the dead hair and only takes a couple minutes.

Other main tool is the grooming table. I just last week built one out of wood that was left over from other projects with a plywood top and a U over it to attach a loop to keep them on the table. I also invested in a $1 plastic bucket so I can select tools from the grooming box to bring outside rather than take all tools outside. I also cut a hole in a lidded cottage cheese container so I have a place for the dog hair that is cleaned off tools and other trash so there is less pick up after the grooming session. Been shoving hair into a large yogurt container for years, never thought to put a hole in the lid to keep the hair from escaping until just now!


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## Foresthund (Jul 17, 2013)

With my Rottie I don't bring him to a groomer,with my past dogs I did though. The Newfie needed it more,although got less then he likely should have gone,but giant dogs cost about $100 for one grooming session.
With my Rottie,I don't really do more then clip his nails,and some basic brushing and wipe downs once in awhile. I now prefer dogs with short or medium coats.


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## V-paw (Jun 1, 2013)

I have a blue Heeler mix

Do it myself, and get paid to go it to others 

I do it either when she gets smelly or no more than every 2 weeks for sure. Sometimes can go a month, blue Heelers are clean freaks

What I do is I usually do it in the bath tub, 45 lbs so it's not bad, soak with warm water, starting at the feet, turn water off, massauge shampoo into everything on her, careful on the face, rinse excessively XD and I do her claws, but she is sensative on them. I occasionally brush teeth as well... :/ and deshedding brush once a week if I want o (haha) and normal brush now and then.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

*What breed do you have?*
Rat Terriers, Boston Terrier, Shep Mix, Chi Mix.

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*
Myself, by and large. Thud is reaching the point where he'll see a groomer; he's just too big to do here in winter.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*
The RT and BT are stupid easy - short, single coats. I wash them, clean out their ears, the folds on Bug's face and they're done. Happens every, oh, 3 or 4 months. 
Kylie's coat is 'slick' single, sheds dirt, doesn't tangle and doesn't shed much at all, so she's pretty much a no grooming needed dog, too, save some feet trimming - probably happens every other month, give or take. 
Thud? Double, shedding, thick, heavy, coat and he gets hot spots if you look at him funny and likes to swim. He's bathed every time he swims with just water and dried, brushed daily, and if he's not swimming would probably still need it every 3-4 weeks because he starts to have a doggy smell. 

I do nails um. When I remember/hear clicking. Every couple of weeks?


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

I'll do one for Jasper. The others only get brushed once a week. Bathed every 2 weeks. Nails trimmed twice a month. Teeth brushed daily. Their breeds are Lab X Pit, Boxer, Min Pin, Basenji.

*What breed do you have?*
Australian Shepherd

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*

I groom him myself. Never been to a groomer.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*

Jasper gets brushed daily for 15-30 minutes. Once a week he gets an hour worth of brushing. He gets a bath every 2 weeks. Teeth brushed daily.

On those days I brush him out really well, then stick him into the tub. I shampoo and rinse really well. Then I will use conditioner and let that set for 5-10 minutes before rinsing. I towel dry him just enough to not cover the floor with water and then its over to the high powered force air dryers. I love seeing that undercoat fly!! Once he is completely dry its back to the grooming tables to be brushed out again. I start with a double row undercoat rake and get out any left over undercoat that I can. I also have a single row rake that I use. Then I use a slicker brush over his entire body. Then I follow up with a pin brush. I also trim his nails, butt fur, and the fur from the pads of his feet at this time. I am OCD about furry feet!! As well as clean ears.


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## RabbleFox (Jan 23, 2013)

*What breed do you have?*
Husky Mix

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*
Groom myself. I might consider using a groomer if I'm feeling fancy, at some point. His nails get trimmed at the pet store.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*
Pin brush
Slicker brush
Undercoat rake
Mat breaker

He gets brushed out ever day/ every other day. Mostly with the pin brush. About once or twice a week I'll break out the slicker and undercoat rake. His coat is so weird... some places there isn't much under coat. His rump and doggy britches accumulate a gray/tan undercoat that needs to get brushed out. Behind his ears will mat if I'm not careful. Hence the mat breaker. Dirt falls right off after its dry. Last time I bathed him was... 2 months ago? Not planning on doing it again soon. If he gets muddy, he gets sprayed down and toweled/blown out. I trim his foot hair. He mats between his toes sometimes? I'm not sure from what, probably frolicking in puddles when I'm not looking hard enough.

I make the pet store trim his nails. Poor fellow has a thing about people touching his feet. He barely lets me put Musher's Wax on; he practically jumps out of his skin if I have his foot in my hand for more than 3 seconds. He's really good at "High-five!" and "Shake!" until I pull the wax or nail trimmers out out... Its a three person job. 8$ for all 4 feet though. Its a steal!


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## Spirit_of_Cotons (Jun 21, 2009)

What breed do you have?
^Coton de Tulear

Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?
^Tried it myself twice, didn't take so he goes to a groomer. 

How often/what do you do to groom them?
^Luke is groomed once a month. I read that if you groom a hypoallergenic dog more than once then they'll start to shed.


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

What breed do you have?

Newfoundland

Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?
Most of the year myself but I plan on going to a breeder that has a force dryer for the next coat blowing (I could have made about 5 more Manna's last time she blew her coat)

How often/what do you do to groom them?
Brushing =daily , undercoat rake, a comb and sometimes a dematter, 
nails=when I hear them click, heavy duty nail clipper I bought at the vets
bath= when ever she gets dirty or starts to smell (shortest time 24 hours, longest time 3 months)


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## LoMD13 (Aug 4, 2010)

Lola is a Shih tzu poodle mix. She gets a full groom every 8 weeks by a groomer with a shave. I give her a quick bath once every other week before her therapy visits. (Takes 20 minutes and then she just runs around and air dries and I run a brush through her fur) I probably spend about 2 hours a month grooming, broken up in short bursts. 

Lucy is a mutt, long haired double coated. She goes to a groomer once in the winter, and I bathe her a few times in spring/summer. She gets brushed out once a week.


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## GrinningDog (Mar 26, 2010)

*What breed do you have?*

Border collie/Australian shepherd mix, i.e. a fluffy BC

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*

No, never a groomer. I bathe, brush, trim nails myself.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*

A couple times a week, I brush her with a undercoat rake and slicker (per great advice here). Every couple weeks, I trim nails. About once a month or as needed, she's given a bath in the tub with oatmeal shampoo. Her coat is very low maintenance and non-smelly. I could be way lazier about brushing and baths if I wanted.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

What breed do you have?
GSD's / Cane Corso / Caucasian 

Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?
Groom them myself

How often/what do you do to groom them?
GSD's brushing twice a week.. 
Cane Corso the only fur I've ever gotten off of her when brushing is GSD hair she has picked up lol.. I have a grooming mitt and do it often because she is such a love over it
Caucasian Daily 

Baths ???? since starting Raw food ,, Seldom in their life time will mist and blow out coat as the season changes.
I may reconsider for the Caucasian next spring when he blows his coat for the first time ??


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## hueyeats (Apr 2, 2013)

Hellocat said:


> I have a maltipoo. I do all of her grooming, with the exception of her ears, nails, and butt. She goes to a groomer every couple months for a sanitary & eye scoop. I groom her every week & a half. My kids assist me with the grooming. I use a brush, comb, and slicker. I also use small scissors to trim around her face. She gets a full bath at the time of her at home grooming. I didn't realize how much pro groomers charged until recently. I'm thrilled to be saving such a huge amount!
> 
> Here is a photo from one of her grooming sessions at home




Awww... All snuggly in the towel.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Ok, I will play, even thoug I am a professional groomer. ;-)
Airedale Terrier (that I show in AKC conformation)
He is handstripped, so I spend 4-6 hours weekly stripping on him. Every week. Cannot miss or the rotation of the coat is messed up. Nailed every other day, dremeled. Bath furnishings (long leg and face hair) every Friday. When showing on the weekend, furnishings are bathed before the class, and again after, so up to 6 times if a 3 day show. Rarely (maybe every 3 months) wash body coat. 

Standard poodle
Weekly baths and nail trim, ear clean. This includes brushouts with slicker and comb. Monthly haircut.


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## hueyeats (Apr 2, 2013)

Graco22 said:


> Ok, I will play, even thoug I am a professional groomer. ;-)
> Airedale Terrier (that I show in AKC conformation)
> He is handstripped, so I spend 4-6 hours weekly stripping on him. Every week. Cannot miss or the rotation of the coat is messed up. Nailed every other day, dremeled. Bath furnishings (long leg and face hair) every Friday. When showing on the weekend, furnishings are bathed before the class, and again after, so up to 6 times if a 3 day show. Rarely (maybe every 3 months) wash body coat.
> 
> ...


Now that is some serious commitments!
& Why I respect the grooming business.


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## SDRRanger (May 2, 2013)

*What breed do you have?*

Very fancy Border Sheprador (haha, BCxGSDxLab). Black white white chest, medium fluff with undercoat, puffier tail and 'pantaloons' (feathering of back legs).

*Do you use a groomer or groom them yourself?*

All done at home, never been to a groomer.

*How often/what do you do to groom them?*

Ranger tends to wear his nails down on his own so I will clip off some ends perhaps every 2-3 weeks. He is bathed if he is sandy/salty from the beach, rolled in something gross or dirty from adventures. This is usually every 2-3 weeks. Bath would include tea tree oil shampoo that is diluted in a bottle and rinsed a stupid amount of time. Towel dry and I'd like to get him used to being dried with a blow dryer for this winter. Afterwards he is brushed and treated

I have a furminator, a groomer mitt for his legs\face and he loves to be polished with a towel. Lately the grooming sessions have been brought on by how many mini Rangers are floating around. 

Hair goes out for the birds.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

Because of her bright white, uber soft coat, people usually assume I spend hours on grooming. The truth is that other than weekly nail trims, Kit really doesn't need to be groomed at all. If I brush her (which is rare), it's more about keeping the hair in the house to a minimum than it is about her coat. Dirt just doesn't stick to her short hair and if it does, it falls off as soon as it dries. She's lucky if she gets bathed a couple of times a year - mostly I do it only if she rolled in something dead or went on an especially muddy hike.


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

I groom myself. no schedual, I just brush, bathe, nails clip, ears and tidy feathers and feet whenever, often enough that they never look ungroomed, but its really just whenever the mood strikes. Rusty I shave down in the warm months whenever his coat starts to irritate me and I have time, how often depends on the weather, I never shave him in winter..this year we only had a couple months without snow so he was only shaved twice. last year I shaved him down quite a few times.


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