Anyone groom their own dog? (Canis familiaris, *your* dog
 

Anyone ever groomed their own dog? How'd it work out? Any recommendations?

My groomer's staff went to visit family in S. Asia for a month. In turn, the other local groomer raised her prices to stupid levels. Meanwhile, I've got a shiz tsu that resembles a mop.

The confluence of these things has me thinking maybe I could cut my own dog's hair. I can get a supposedly decent electric dog clipper off Amazon for $50, which is less than I pay for one grooming session. I could save over $600 a year doing it myself! Best part? He doesn't care if he gets a bad haircut. ;)

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During Covid, I started cutting my own hair and my moms. Then I thought, why not the dogs? Gave it a try and it wasn't bad at all. We had a Tibetan and a Papillon and I gave them puppy/summer cuts. It was very easy to do with the right length attachments.

Corded has more power, but cordless is the way to go.

I used to have 3 Shih Tzus and never got around to grooming them. But I gave them baths and my groomer recommended Quicker Slicker. You spray it on them and brush them as you're blow drying them and it's great. Leaves a nice scent, makes brushing much more tangle-free, and they also dry faster. Also good for just brushing. Available on Amazon, Chewy, and lots of places. This was Bodhi, Gromit, and Zeke, my three boys at the time.

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I used to. I had a Siberian Husky, which is a freaking hair shedding machine..

I bought Sheep shears from a farm supply place near my house in Vermont.. They cut through the Huskies coat like buttah..

A few times a year he would get the full treatment.. shampoo, nails cut, haircut...

I never did cut his mane or head... It was kind of weird he would get calm and chill when I was buzzing his hair off... but would freak out at other small inconsequential things.....

Four years ago we were asked to care for our neighbor's son's dog. She was something like a Shih tzu Yorkie cross and badly neglected. When my wife called a local groomer, the lady refused to deal with the dog again. Apparently the animal had not been trained nor handled ( nor properly nourished,as all her upper teeth were rotted and had to be removed and her coat was falling out.) So my wife started in by enlisting the help of our granddaughter. Over a period of a few weeks, they progressed from brushing and a few essential clips to full hair cuts and nail trims. There were lots of treats involved. The dog regained her health and had three good years with us before cancer took her.

I just cut the “curtains” off the back of our old border collie.
She had a bad stomach and made a mess of things back there.

I admittedly did a hack job with kitchen scissors.
She is 15 y/o and has been travelling with me this summer in the RV.

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The old girl….

Yes, the 1st time not so good, had a beautiful old English sheep dog called Spanky Spangler 2nd, lovely dog but mad as a box of frogs

To save money, we bought a set of electric clippers from a farm shop, gave him a summer buzz cut on my 1st try thought I was doing OK on his grey fur areas, right up until I hit his white fur areas where I realised I'd made huge newbie error

His skin was pigmented grey where his grey fur was but where his white fur was his skin was pink, in too deep so had to continue

Poor thing looked dreadful, like Ren in the below picture of the Ren and Stimpy cartoon

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Mrs Ahab cried, as I butchered her baby, I didn't think it was that big a deal as he's dog, doesn't know or care what people thought of how he looked

I got more skilled with the clippers but they would get too hot to hold, so a full trim took a few sessions

Quite a boring chore for both of us so to amuse myself I'd often do a part trim, sometimes I'd give him a lions mane, or a Mr T mohican or furry ski snow boots, then a week or so later finish his trim

I'd check your dogs skin pigment and don't do a buzz cut

What did y'all do about all the fur clippings? Didn't they go everywhere?

I bought a Furminator brand dog clippers https://www.animates.co.nz/furminator-comfort-pro-pet-grooming-clipper.html and the dogs actually like being done. They are me me me...

I've cut my own hair for years, and have now upgraded to using the dog's Furminator on my hair too. The build quality and quietness is excellent.

It's pretty easy, you just do it LOL

Woof

Watch Dexter for some containment ideas...

I almost always cut my dogs hair outside... I'd gather the clippings when I was done and the wind would do the rest

Clipped him in a utility room not in the house, just swept the fur clippings up

Two large grocery shopping bags full

Ha, I clipped the dogs at GF's house and was having a coffee afterwards. A whole lot of sparrows turned up and started taking the dog fur away. Made good insulating for their nests I guess.

At my place it just blows away.

Yes
 

It's such as hassle

Purebred weim dog. Only thing easier is a dog with no fur.


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Does she have a Busy Bee?

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My chick owns the grooming shop up here and has been at it for 25 years. She is pretty much booked out at least a week in advance and her clients are very loyal. She makes pretty good money at it.

She did however have one of her dumb ass employees working on a small dog cause she was behind and the guy cut the dog's achillies tendon. It cannot be repaired and it's gunna cost her about $6k for it's vet treatment. Worst part is the dog is lame now, so she cries about the dog's condition and the money.

Be careful would be my suggestion.

We use a mobile service called "Zoom To Groom". They come to your house in one of those big vans like a Sprinter van, all self-contained with water, power, everything. I like the one-on-one service our pups get, the groomer gets to know the pups and vice versa and it is much less stressful on our pups, no waiting in a crowded noisy pet store.

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Tried grooming a dog once. Poor guy looked like a lawnmower ran over him, so I quit.

I still trim my current dog's face, ears & tail, but leave the rest to a pro. Trimming the hair in between his pads is a delicate job that I'd rather leave to someone with experience.

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Two miniature schnauzers here. Didn't strip the fur as you're supposed to but they liked the shave just fine. Be very careful around ears and toes. Used to just lay the ears flat in my hand to avoid hurting them. I used a combination of animal clippers and small human clippers and scizzors. Quieter the better.

Outside is definately the way to go.