Do you have your dogs groomed?

[wolf_Q]

Since I now work at Petco as a groomer (actually a bath and brusher for now) I was just wondering how many of you take your dogs to the groomers.

[C.C.'s Mom]

There is only a Poodle groomer in this town, and besides: all I need to do is wash and brush. I do it about once every 2 weeks, depending on how dirty Cookie is or if we go somewhere.
I brush her twice a day.

Dunja goes to the groomer twice a year because her coat matts easily.

Nice job, Wolf Q! Must be so much fun making the dogs look pretty again!

[ChrisH]

I groom Bob myself, every day, or at least five times a week, because of his long hair. I would very much like to take him to a professional and have him groomed properly, (especially to get a haircut!! Lol) but I just can`t afford it. Although I don`t know if he would act up or not, its taken me an awful long time to get him to accept my grooming, and it is still hard work, someone else doing it? Don`t know, he could be fine. Only one way to find out I guess. So Id better start saving my pennies! lol.

[RockyRoad]

Lady and Sally get groomed by me. I can't brush Floppsy, though, he'll flip out and be scared of me. He really could use it, though. His fur is...I can't describe it but it's really weird now. That's just because he's shedding, though. I'm sure it will go away.

[Pam]

Bella, our poodle, goes to the groomer every 6 weeks. We have had 4 other poodles in the past and we always groomed them ourselves. Our first two poodles were toys and one day, after grooming them for two years, we decided to take them to a groomer. We got a call shortly after dropping them off that they were snapping at her. It seems they were only used to us.

Actually I really enjoy the closeness that comes from grooming a dog myself and the finished product is something to be proud of. When we got Bella a year and a half ago we intended to do all of the grooming ourselves. After the first few months we thought it might be best if she also got used to someone else besides us, thinking back to the experience with our toys. I am happy to report she is a *good girl* for Linda and she does such a beautiful job that we just continue to take her back every six weeks. Grooming a poodle is a very big task but it must be done every 4-6 weeks. Anyone thinking about having one of these sweeties (I know I am biased ) really needs to keep that in mind as it is an expense, but a very necessary one.

[Dixieland Dancer]

I groom Dixie and Dusty myself. They see the brush come out and they are in heaven. They are not too fond of the toe nail clippers but have learned to endure the agony!

[Cincy'sMom]

my dogs don't really need to be groomed. We brush them and bathe them when they need it, but Sadie has dalmation like hair that wipes clean, even when she gets muddy and Cincy's, although more lab-like, is not demanding either. We also trim their nails, and although it isn't thir favorite things, they don't mind too much

[anna_66]

I take mine to the groomers every 6 weeks, but I brush them & clip their toenails regularly. They like going and are very good for the girls there, but not so good if I try to bathe them So I pay the $30/dog (but $50 for Huney). It's worth it to me!
Amy, how much do they charge there?

[Rachel]

Hannah goes to the groomer every six weeks. Tucker goes every twelve weeks but I give him one bath in between myself so essentially he gets bathed every six weeks as well. I must keep up with combing Tucker on a regular basis. I can get away with once a week but then it is quite a time consuming process, at least an hour if not more. Combing out Hannah every other week would be sufficient but she is not really very cooperative so it frequently does not get done even on that schedule.

Congrats on your new job Amy. I hope you enjoy it.

[Kfamr]

Simba doesn't need to be groomed.

[Aspen and Misty]

Teddy is brushed every day. His hair is to long not to. He gets abath usually every 2 weeks because we have some problems with his long hair. Chewy gets brushed every 2 or 3 days because he still hates the brush . Chewy probly will not go to the groomers as he ahs short hair liek a LAb but it doesn't fall out so much .

Ash

[Kfamr]

Batheing on the other hand, Simba normally gets a bath twice a week.

[Aspen and Misty]

On the subject of bathing. Is it bad to bath a dog to often? And if so how much is to often? I would liek to give Chewy a bath more often as he always smells like cat litter but I don't cause I heard it is bad for a dog.

Ash

[wolf_Q]

Thanks for replying everyone!! Anna, I remember that it is $33 for a siberian husky, but I'll have to look up how much it is for a chow.

I groom my dogs myself too, that's what I used as my "experience" lol. My dad has always clipped Reggie/Smokey's nails and he never did it too often......so they look pretty cruddy. I clip Nebo's often, and I've done Reggie's a couple of times lately too.

Working at the grooming salon is pretty fun. You always come home smelling like wet dog. And you have never seen anything look at you with utter HATRED in their eyes until you have bathed a cat. LOL. We've had 2 goldens in there already, and both were very well behaved! (one kept lifting her paw in greeting lol) But my, so much FUR! Wow, it's like a sea of gold after brushing them out! I'm constantly sweeping and mopping the floors, and you can never quite get rid of all the hair. It's a good thing I am not allergic!

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Sounds like you are enoying your new job so far!

Andrew and I groom Drake ourselves. It was very difficult to find a groomer that would groom a wolf hybrid. When we took Drake, he was a bad boy and scared the groomer half to death. He had her screaming before we even left. Andrew had to run into the back and bring him out! We were told:"We can not groom your dog. Please take him home and never come back!"

Drake gets a bath once a month and a thorough rinse everytime he goes swimming. He gets his ears cleaned every week (he hates it!). He gets his teeth brushed everynight and gets a summer haircut twice between May and August with a few trims in between. Here's Drake in his summer haircut!



Ash, I was told by my vet as well as other sources I have looked at that too much bathing can dry out a dogs coat and not be too goo for him. Once every month or 6 weeks is ideal.