Do you take your dog to the groomers?

[Paige]

Well, how often and what do they get done if they go? Bandit has been once in his life but we used to take my childhood Sheltie in ever two to three months.

I just did a quick de-ugly-ing Bandit's butt hair and checked out his nails to make sure they are still at a reasonable length. It made me wonder how often someone would take a dog like him in to get professionally groomed. He went once when he was young and within 15 minutes I was asked to come pick him up because he was snapping at the groomer and crapped all over himself (he used to be very shy and reactive back in the day). So I've never bothered taking him back and have just maintained him at home since. He certainly does not look like the most handsome and well kept dog ever but he is presentable with a clean coat, decent length nails and isn't matted. In true Border Collie fashion he is pretty hose off and go type of dog who I've never made a big fuss over in the grooming department.

 

[Red.Apricot]

Naw. Elsie's grooming is pretty minimal.

Plus, she hates strangers. It'd be stressful for everyone involved.

 

[JacksonsMom]

Jackson has a mobile groomer come every 8-10 weeks. It's a disadvantage to non-shedding dogs, IMO, lol. The constant upkeep. As much as I love his non shedding coat, I won't attempt to cut it myself, and I just prefer the way it looks short.

So yeah, $55 (plus tip) approx. every 10 weeks he gets the works... shaved down, face shaped, nails trimmed, anal glands if needed, etc, etc.

I feel bad because it's definitely something he HATES and stresses out. But it kind of has to be done or his hair would grow floor-length, lol

 

[Linds]

Wash and wear coats here so never! Can't imagine what I would do if I had a dog that needed to go to the groomer.

 

[Lyzelle]

Zander's only been dropped off at the groomers once. When I got him. He was 12ish weeks old and had been living in a backyard for that entire time. He was caked in mud, feces, fleas, and it was just terrible.

For the rest 7 years of his life, I've taken care of all of his grooming.

 

[Shai]

Kim went when she was a puppy. She was horrible for her nails and I was not exactly a pro, and we were dealing with so many other issues that I was willing to pay someone I trusted to fight that battle for me.

Otherwise, no. I have wash & wear dogs for the most part, though, and the grooming they do need is easily handled at home.

 

[MericoX]

I do my own grooming. I do often take the schnauzers and Lincoln to get their nails done (Tsuki and Charlie I can see the qwik) cuz I'm just not comfortable doing them myself. They are only bathed when needed, and I keep their fur fairly short as it's easier to maintain.

 

[Laurelin]

Nope, have never taken any of our dogs to a groomer. I like long hair but I won't deal with types that need to be professionally groomed. Papillons are really minimal fuss breeds. I do their feet myself every month to 6 weeks and that's it. Brush them maybe a couple times a month if I remember.

 

[Southpaw]

Lucy goes because even though she's a couch potato, she needs to look cute lol.... so I am not taking a clipper to her myself.

She gets done roughly every 8 weeks. Bath, trim, fluffed out. Nothing fancy, just the necessary so her hair isn't all gross and overgrown. I think she behaves fine, I can't imagine her being a pain. And the groomer sure acts like she likes her lol. She hates going and I have to carry her inside because she puts on the brakes as soon as we get out of the car, but she just hates being away from home.

Juno doesn't need to go.

 

[CaliTerp07]

Yeah, Lucy's hair gets long and out of control if it's not cleaned up every 3 months or so. She's actually going tomorrow. They bathe her, brush her undercoat out (YAY!), and trim around her ears/pantaloons/feathering. They also trim her nails, squeeze out her butt, and brush her teeth.

So yeah, $55 (plus tip) approx. every 10 weeks he gets the works... shaved down, face shaped, nails trimmed, anal glands if needed, etc, etc.

Oooh, I need to look into a mobile place! We pay $75+tip!

 

[Paige]

Undercoat is the worst. I happen to own the fluffiest Border Collie known to man kind. His hair is so thick especially around his butt.

 

[JacksonsMom]

Oooh, I need to look into a mobile place! We pay $75+tip!

I LOVE the mobile service, though I will say that price isn't the norm. My stepmom happened upon her in an ad over on the Eastern Shore, where my dad lives. So we schedule her and I go over there, and we get all 3 dogs done at the same time. And then it just so happened she gave Jackson the best haircut he ever had! So I stuck with her.

Mobile groomers in the Annapolis area are all $70-$90 it seems. But when you have a dog like Jackson, having them come right to your driveway, no caging, and done within about an hour... it takes away sooo much more stress (though he's still not happy) but he's very stressed in vet-like environments where he has to be caged, etc. And I was paying the same amount (actually $60) to drop him off at a place for 4-6 hours, and I HATED doing it to him. So it's worth it for us!

 

[Saeleofu]

I took Logan once in the fall because I just did not have time to de-shed him. I ended up taking him to Petco and they did a fantastic job. I prefer to do it myself, but apparently Logan loved it there and the groomers adored him, too.

 

[katielou]

Abe is pretty wash and wear but I send him once a year around thanksgiving so he is pretty and smells good for when family is over mostly because we are just to busy at that time of year to do it ourselves.

 

[PWCorgi]

HAH!!! I took Frodo to Petco once to have his nails done (the guy talked me into it when I bought stuff earlier that day), and I think they clipped one nail before I made them stop and took him home. He was soooo stressed. Gave the groomer a huge tip still though.

I would be more than thrilled if I could drop Frodo off at the groomer for de-shedding. But that isn't ever gonna happen

Wash and wear coats here so never! Can't imagine what I would do if I had a dog that needed to go to the groomer.

Uh, my guess would be take them to a groomer, or learn to do it yourself, or let them get disgusting and matted. There's not all that many options

 

[Toller_08]

Not anymore. We sent past dogs to the groomer when I was a kid, but then I learned how to do things myself and so none of our dogs have been to the groomer in almost 10 years. Echo (our Rottweiler) used to go twice a year for a bath and blow dry and they'd also sort of show groom her I guess. Not like Rottweilers really need trimming, but they always did a bit of tidying up to her and she looked great. Then Tango (Toller/Border Collie) went once and I was amazed that my dog had ears and feet, and from them on decided to learn to do it myself. I can't imagine if I had to send Dance to a groomer. I groom her monthly - that would get costly. I don't need to do it that often, but now that I know what a tidy Toller looks like, I can't stand for her to get too fuzzy and out of control.

 

[Teal]

Never have, never will!

I do plan on having a coated breed in the future, and I will do the grooming myself. It's fur, it grows back.. I'll figure it out! LOL (I do have some grooming training and experience, though)

 

[Sit Stay]

Nope, never. Quinn stays pretty clean and has a very easy care coat and is a breeze for doing nails, brushing, cleaning ears, etc.

 

[Linds]

Uh, my guess would be take them to a groomer, or learn to do it yourself, or let them get disgusting and matted. There's not all that many options

You forgot the "Shot myself" option. That's what I think I would choose. Can't imagine paying the amount of money on a continual basis for grooming, paying for the equipment myself of being able to deal with a gross and matted dog. Dislike even minimal grooming

I had Emily's Macky for just over a week and managed to get her matted :rofl1:

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

Jack gets groomed every two months or so. He doesn't mat, even with minimal brushing, but his coat kind of grows all over the place. A good friend of mine has her own grooming shop, so I take him there - I trust her, and he behaves very well. I don't know if I would feel as comfortable just dropping him off at a Petsmart/Petco. I usually pay about $50 in total, including tip.