# how often should you take a dog to a groomer



## animal-luver (Mar 15, 2008)

i was wandering how often


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

It depends on the dog. If its a high maintance dog such as a shih tzu they need to go every 3 to 4 weeks to be bathed in a tangle free shampoo and be professionally groomed. Then they need a santiary clip and the hair around their eyes trimmed as well as their nails. Then every couple of months if you want their hair short you'd need to bring them in.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

As Durbkat says, it depends on the dog in question and how much you are willing/able to do yourself. Some high maintenance breeds never see a groomer and are fine because their owners can do all their bathing and trimming at home, while some wash&go dogs see the groomer every month to have their nails trimmed.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Esther went to a groomer once and the groomer hinted that she'd rather it not happen again. So, maybe twice-a-year, I give her a bath with the garden hose.

If you're wondering about a pekingese/poodle/yorki mix (peekapork?) it's anybody's guess.


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Lol, what did she say that made you think she didn't want to groom esther? When I got Snoopy groomed the first time the groomer complained about how he wasn't easy enough for her on his first time.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

RonE said:


> If you're wondering about a pekingese/poodle/yorki mix (peekapork?) it's anybody's guess.


Don't those enjoy wallowing in mud?

No wait, that's my dog.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

> Lol, what did she say that made you think she didn't want to groom esther?


Esther is very easy to bath because she likes it. Turn on the hose and stand by with some shampoo and she'll bath herself.

Trimming her nails or cleaning her ears, on the other hand, is like defusing a nuclear device - with about 30 seconds left on the timer.

Thank goodness she has no issues with anal scent glands.



> If you're wondering about a pekingese/poodle/yorki mix (peekapork?) it's anybody's guess.


I'll be right back. I have to go check the boneless pork loin in the Crocpot.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

My dogs never see a professional groomer, even when they get skunked.

I trim their nails and check ears, behinds, etc every two weeks. They get a quick sanitary clip once per month. I asked a friend who is a groomer to show me how to do it and we've been groomer-free for years now.

The trick is having the right help based on the size/tenacity of the dog (I'd put our pomeranian shelter rescue up against Esther any day at the groomer and see who she prefers, most likely Ron would get a free grooming session!), a muzzle if necessary for your safety, the right tools, and a professional to show you the correct technique.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

I was three states away on a road trip with our son when my wife called to tell me she was taking our big lab to the groomer for a bath.

I said, "Are you insane? They'll charge by the pound and it'll be 400 bucks!"

I learned they don't charge by the pound but by the degree of difficulty involved. Cubby was easy (though he didn't like it.) He'd hang around with the groomers all day like some kind of mascot and he'd come out looking, and feeling, like a million bucks.

Bath, ears, nails, scent glands and a new bandanna - all for about $25.

Esther, I'm told, would be more like $400.


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

The groomer I use doesn't charge by the difficulty but they just won't compeltly groom him. On his first time they only groomed his face before they gave up because they "didn't want to overload him".


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

My groomer friend says that since they work on a commission basis, they make more when they do more dogs per day, it doesn't serve the groomer to spend too much time on one dog. They figure an hour or less per dog for the whole process. So if your dog isn't cooperating you may not get a full service in the time alloted for your dog. 

The going rate in my area is about $50 and up. My neighbors with a miniature poodle spend almost $75 dollars per gooming session because they don't brush her daily. So the groomer has to spend more time on the dog and therefore raises the price to reflect the time spent on the dog. However the same groomer has done my papillons (my daughter used to show one of them so I would occasionally pop for a pro grooming before a big show) for $30 each. But the paps are single coated, bathed in a small sink, towel off, blow dry, clean ears, clip nails...they tell me completely finished in 30 minutes or less.


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## golden&hovawart (Jan 11, 2008)

I've never ever taken,one of my dogs,to the groomer whether it was a leonberger,a golden or an hovawart!.They are all pretty much,wash and dry dogs!.I do everything else myself which is not much,just takes time.I brush them,do the ears and feet and that's about all.


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## acanoffleas (Jan 15, 2008)

As a groomer, I can say that the vast majority of groomers charge by breed, not by pound (though it really depends on the individual salon). If a dog is particularly difficult and takes extra time and care, they might add on a few bucks. Price can also vary by what exactly you're having done. For example in my salon, a golden retriever bath is around $30 (which includes a nail trim, ear cleaning, bath, and 15 mins of thorough brushing). A full service groom, or a "golden trim" is everything included from the bath plus scissoring and clippering the sanitary area, feathers along the back of the legs, rump/rear, and feet/pads, and is $50. A premium groom is a shave-down, or basically clippering off all the hair and is $72. So you see more work = more money. I've only been grooming in a salon for 6 months (but have been bathing for a year) and it generally takes me anywhere from 1 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs to completely do a dog. Some groomers can do a dog in an hour or less than (which boggles me...but I'm still just a beginner in the big picture). 

So that all said, how often you take your dog to a groomer depends on a few things - what kind of dog you have and how often you brush/work on your dog at home. If you brush and maintain your dog at home, you can get away without having to see a groomer as frequently. A general timetable I tell my clients is 4-6 weeks, with 6-8 weeks for those who maintain their dogs at home.


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