# Dog show groomers?



## apoirier594 (Aug 30, 2009)

I have a 4 year old Golden Retriever that I brush a lot and bathe every 2 weeks to a month. He has never had his hair cut tho. How do you find a good Show Dog groomer? I am not entering him into a show but would like for someone to clean up behind the ears, trim the whiskers, thin hair to make his legs look straight, shoulders, etc. 

I found this website.. 

http://www.coatsandtailsgrooming.com/About-Coats-And-Tails-Dog-Grooming-Charleston-SC.html

Sounds like the founder has a lot of experience. On the services it says please allow 4 hours for full grooming service, then I called and they said for a show dog look its about $50. Does $50 sound to cheap for up to 4 hours? Thats only over $10 a hour.. hmm. I just want to make sure I take him somewhere good. I don't mind paying more. I did a google search but didn't find anything to promising. 

I live in Charleston SC, willing to drive for a great groomer. Thanks a lot!!


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

apoirier594 said:


> I have a 4 year old Golden Retriever that I brush a lot and bathe every 2 weeks to a month. He has never had his hair cut tho. How do you find a good Show Dog groomer? I am not entering him into a show but would like for someone to clean up behind the ears, trim the whiskers, thin hair to make his legs look straight, shoulders, etc.
> 
> I found this website..
> 
> ...


Different dogs and different coats take different lengths of time to groom, and a grooming usually includes a bath, drying, brush out, trimming, and may include nail trimming, teeth brushing, etc. depending on the groomer. They may also have someone to do the bathing/blow drying... like a hair-washer at a hair salon, who is paid less but is trying to get experience to get into the business.

A "regular" groom is ~$65 for Snowball, but that's for a double-coated, fluffy dog and includes everything above except for teeth. We also live where there is a high cost of living, and $65 was the low end. Petsmart charges $75. (The owners of our salon both have Eskies, so I think they charge less for Eskies than other places do).


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

I just did a check and a local place here charges $70 for large dogs (60-90lbs).

It might be a higher-end place... then again, Gingerkid and I live in Canada, the land where everything-is-more-expensive-just-cause.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I don't live near you so I can't help with specifics, but I will say that you don't need to find someone who can do a "show groom". Typically, people don't groom show dogs professionally - it's done by the breeder or owner or handler of the dog, not in a grooming shop. I have a show dog and I wouldn't trust any grooming shop with his coat, because I know exactly what my breed should look like, and they typically groom pets so they don't have that experience. Most grooming shops near you should be perfectly able to trim up a golden though in whatever style you want. Just tell them that you want, and see if they have any pictures of goldens they have done. Tell them you don't want him shaved at all. Goldens are a very popular breed, so most shops should have plenty of experience. 

The groom itself probably doesn't take 4 hours, but they are trying to fit in bathing and grooming many dogs, so they need some time to work with. Grooming prices are not done by the hour, but by the size of the dog, type of coat, and how difficult it is (dogs who are very matted will cost more, for example). So don't think about it as a per hour fee. I asked a few places how much it would be for a spaniel and they quoted me $65-85, but I'm in a high cost of living area. 

Have you looked for reviews on Yelp or Google?


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

I agree with Elrohwen, you don't necessarily need someone who grooms show dogs, just someone who is familiar with the appropriate groom for specific breeds. Plus, "show dog" grooms aren't always practical for pet dogs. The price seems reasonable. My dog happens to be groomed by a show dog groomer and it's about $80 (but, she's a standard poodle, so her grooming is more involved than a golden).

In addition to checking places like yelp and google reviews, you can also ask people you know or see who have dogs with nice grooms. I've had plenty of people ask about Katie's groomer.


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## apoirier594 (Aug 30, 2009)

Thank You for the replies. I'll Be looking at the reviews soon, good idea. Looking around and asking other owners, do you think I should bring in a couple pictures off the Internet?


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

apoirier594 said:


> Thank You for the replies. I'll Be looking at the reviews soon, good idea. Looking around and asking other owners, do you think I should bring in a couple pictures off the Internet?


Sure, definitely bring in some pictures from the internet. The more specific you can be, the more likely the groomer will be able to give you what you want.


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## apoirier594 (Aug 30, 2009)

Thanks a lot for the replies. I think I have decided to just do it myself. Cause I have heard a lot of people with beautiful Goldens say a groomer will never touch their dog. So off to do some research!


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Here is a site to get you started. My 'miniature black GR' Max gets this treatment. Clean up feet and ears and thin out the fur. Done. 

http://morningsagegoldens.freeservers.com/Grooming.html


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## apoirier594 (Aug 30, 2009)

Thanks Kathyy!

As of now I have decided I want to groom my self, I don't want anyone taking clippers to my dogs coat. I have never cut any hair off a dog before so I have zero experience. I have used the search function on programs and products, most of them are from 2012 prior. I'd like a little update incase anything has changed. 

Just from what I have read in the past couple of days(please correct me/add to my list). To give a Golden a good look you will mainly be using a high quality pair of thinning shears. No clippers, a pair of straight shears(mainly for just tail, and feet?), blunt shears for whiskers, a stripping knife(I hear they are used for fuzzies?). I'll need a dryer, grooming table seems to be very helpful. Can't forget a good shampoo, and conditioner. 

So I am going to order the StrickLand grooming DVD. Should I get his shears(44 tooth) or 44/20 46 tooth? I'td be easier not to order a item per site. 

I plan on spending around $130 for the thinning shears since they seem so important, but would a pair of straight/blunt like these be ok? 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3307+5+134+22035&pcatid=22035

And where should I get a grooming table from? DrsFosterSmith also offer one(below), would you recommend this? If so any of these sizes good for a GR? 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3307+5+104+24706&pcatid=24706

I already have all the brushes and what not(just from petsmart for now). 

Anything else, what do you guys think/and or recommend? 

StrickLand's site(has the DVD and grooming supplies)

http://stricklandsensations.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=7

And my dog is not a show dog, he is 4 years old. I would like him to look as good as possible tho!


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Glad you decided to do it yourself! It's fun when you get into it. I got my spaniel without knowing anything, and now I'm grooming him for show. It definitely helps to have someone show you in person, but you can learn a lot from videos too.

A couple comments. Spending $130 on thinning shears will get you really nice thinners! I would recommend Geib. Mine were about $80 and are Dubl Duck - I really like them, though I'm sure $100+ thinners would be even nicer. The more teeth they have, the finer the cut. So shears with lots of teeth won't take off much fur and will be great for blending. Mine are 46 tooth and spaniel grooming isn't all that different from a GR, so I would recommend that. I'd rather start out with more teeth than less as you can always keep removing fur but you can't put it back if you take off too much. It will also reduce the scissor lines you leave while you're still learning the technique.

For resources, I would check out Pet Edge and Cherrybrook. I think they have better equipment and better prices than Drs Foster and Smith when it comes to good quality grooming products.

I would recommend going higher quality with your straight shears, and not bothering with blunt ended. I use my 7 1/2" shears for everything. $40 or so would probably be a good range (I think I spent $55 and mine have worked well). I don't cut whiskers anyway (I just like the look of them) but if you want to cut them you can do it with regular straight shears. I haven't found any situations where blunt ended shears would be better.

The grooming table looks ok, but expensive. I have this one and it's served me well. I see the same one at shows a lot so I think it's popular: https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemai...859B56CFB3&show=12&view=grid&wec-locale=en_US

What type of brushes do you currently have? Using the right brushes makes a difference. 

For stripping knives, I would get a coarse regular knife similar this to start. There are few different brands out there, but it's this style that you're looking for: https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemai...177A466FB3&show=12&view=grid&wec-locale=en_US

I also own a fine bladed knife that I love for certain areas of the dog (top of head, ears, second thighs) so getting a set might not be a bad idea. For general carding of the coat the coarse is what you need. You want them dull, so take a little time to dull them by cutting through cardboard or wood.

I don't use a drier, but I know that a good forced air drier is key to grooming the GR and getting out the shed coat.

Good luck! You should post before and after pics of your boy.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

As for pulling undercoat Graco22, a member here, has put up a video on how to do it with a stripping knife.
http://youtu.be/D6vy4NnsrTQ

You can use a metal flea comb too. She wrote that my beloved Mars Coat King would cut coat so for a year I used the flea comb. I didn't see any difference plus it didn't work as well so back to my MCK I went. Max looks so shiny when I have removed old undercoat and it keeps debris from starting up mats and snarls.

I have Geib DoubleDuck thinning shears and they are scary good. Don't mess with cheaper but these are likely good enough for your needs. If I buy new plain shears I do want round tipped as I might be less concerned about poking Max's toes and webs and such but the $1 store specials have been just fine so far in spite of all that fuzz he has going on down there so no excuse to buy any yet and I have been trimming those fuzzy feet for 13 years with the same cheap scissors!

Find out more about using this tool for GR but I do like using a stripping stone for his fuzzy lower legs. He tolerates it better than a knife or hand plucking. Max has a horrible 'spay coat' and his undercoat overgrows the shiny hard top coat especially on his legs which is extremely ugly.

While coats vary and your dog may or may not have whatever a correct GR coat is supposed to have pulling old undercoat out seems key to good grooming to me.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Kathyy said:


> Find out more about using this tool for GR but I do like using a stripping stone for his fuzzy lower legs. He tolerates it better than a knife or hand plucking. Max has a horrible 'spay coat' and his undercoat overgrows the shiny hard top coat especially on his legs which is extremely ugly.


Totally forgot about grooming stones, but I love mine. I might actually love it more than the stripping knives so I can't believe I forgot to mention it.

And I forgot about Graco's video too. She was so helpful with selecting equipment when I first got Watson.

ETA: I would look around on YouTube for videos before buying the DVD. A quick search brought up some about show grooming.


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## I8chrispbacon (Apr 11, 2014)

Not a dire need or anything, but you should get a miracle coat brand brush! It's not expensive, and it will embarrass the petsmart ones, not that there's anything wrong with those. The miracle coat is just so much better!


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## Chichan (Apr 1, 2014)

To add to what's already been said,
using a leave-in conditioner spray before you brush your dog (everyday or however often you do it)
will give them a gorgeous and soft coat.


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