Confession time....

[sirrahbed]

We had a series of poodles when I was a girl and my mom did her own creative clipping. I remember laughing while she cried and her goofs. After awhile, they always got a summer buzz cut, even if it was not summer.

Good for you trying it out Kim.

I agree that photo penance is needed though.

[Freedom]

Been there, done that, STILL do!

1. It WILL grow back
2. It is summer; a short do is OK
3. Practice, practice, practice!

I found a great on line guide for grooming my bichons. I book marked it, review it regularly. Of course, mine never come out looking like the photos but eh! Who cares, they look better than when I started!

Don't let this stop you. You need to try it over and over, you WILL improve. And it is great bonding time with your pup.

[Shelteez2]

I too have seen my share of owner grooms... but nobody is perfect on their first try. While I think $50 is super cheap for a haircut on a doodle (I charge $90-$100) there is nothing wrong with wanting to do it yourself to save money. If you want you can post pics and I'm sure the groomers will help critique and give you pointers. It would help to also show which clippers you bought and which blades you bought. If you want you can send me pics privately and I can help you out. I can also take pics of dogs as I'm grooming them so that you will have a visual reference.
Don't worry, Callie doesn't know she looks silly (unless you keep pointing and laughing at her) and it is hair, it will grow back.

[4 Dog Mother]

I started trimming my own dogs hair a few years ago. It seems that a lot of the groomers around here don't really know how to do an airedale and after paying a lot of money for sloppy jobs, I thought I could do as well as them - plus Jack doesn't really like the true Airdale cut -he hates having his legs especially brushed.

I asked Amy (Nebo's mom) to recommend a set of clippers and I bought them. And I have posted on here that I truly appreciate groomers jobs and the amount they get paid now. It takes a lot of work and a lot of time for me to trim the dogs the way I want them. I usally trim Dazzi and Taggert once at the beginning of summer and then maybe again have way through the summer. Jack gets shaved a little more often. All 3 could use a trim now and I should do it soon before it gets too long and it takes longer to do. I am also thinking of keeping both Taggert and Dazzi a little shorter year round. I think they both look better and there is not as much hair floating around. I must have been half asleep when I started Dazzi's this spring - I looked at the right blade but my had picked up one of the shorter ones and I didn't realize it at first. Poor Dazzi came out with a "buzz".

Post pictures of Callie, please. I would love to see what she looks like shaved down. Taggert's hair becomes so much lighter underneath. Sometimes it is hard to remember that is Taggert with that light almost blond hair.

[catnapper]

Ok, ok I'll post pictures!

Hubby went back and did some more touch-up and she looks even better. unfortunately the pictures don't truly represent how badly I butchered her. It doesn't look so short in the pics -- trust me, its short!

You can also see where she still needs a little more trimming to even things out.

From the front, there's no change!

Hubby just concentrated on her back and left the rest.

Can you believe what she did to me?!?!


I am MUCH better with scissoring the fur. I scissored her legs 2 weeks ago and did a good job if I say so myself. Funny story..... I was telling my boss how I trimmed the fur off the dog's legs. The look on his face was one of sheer terror. I looked at him and said, "You do realize I'm talking about the puppy, right?" He thought I was talking about Nicki, and that I was trimming her fur after she went to the RB.

Anyway, Callie is a super patient girl and behaved the whole time I botched her shave-job.

[kimlovescats]

Don't worry, hubby and I did that with sweet AnnaBelle! We were worried about taking her to the groomer once she became paralyzed! Well, thankfully, we have a wonderfully patient groomer who absolutely adores AnnaBelle now! Good thing, too!

[jenluckenbach]

She looks fine!! (here I was expecting to see a bald nekkid dog )

Let me know what you bought and maybe I can guide you enough to be willing to try again.

Remember, going shorter is GOOD if you want the clip to last longer.....and MANY dogs can look very good with a short clip.

[jennielynn1970]

Where exactly did you goof, cause she looks good, lol.

The only one I trim around here is Sophie (cat) because she gets messy around her butt. She's got long, fine, flyaway fur, and it just never stays clean. I think I'll have to do Calloway from now on too, so he doesn't end up with hotspots on his butt again. I actually use a hair trimmer that my one boyfriend left here. It's easy to handle, and has guards on it so I can't get too close or nip them. It's just a dinky thing, so, it will do for the kitties, lol.

[jazzcat]

Aww, I think she looks cute. She'll probably enjoy the shorter fur for summer.

Don't feel bad, I use to cut my poodle's hair when I was a teenager. Poor guy, nobody believed he was a purebred poodle because it always looked so bad. Disney was luckier because I always took her to the groomer but trying to save money I'd often let her get too shaggy.