kiesha09 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I have two long haired dogs who I usually send to the groomers every 8 weeks to be professionally groomed. However, if I knew how to do it myself I probably would as it is quite expensive. But where do you learn this skill? I don't want to become a professional groomer or anything like that I just want to clip my own two dogs (without them looking totally stupid). So for those of you who clip your own dogs - did you learn from a mentor, or books or you tube videos or did you just give it a go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjelkier Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 My dogs breeders have taught me how to groom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiesha09 Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Unfortunately both my dogs are from the pound so I can't go to their breeder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 (edited) What kind of coat do they have? I used to clip my poodle x coat and also my aussie shepherds coat in the summer (for ticks). I just bought a clipper set and gave it a go! It came with some attachments that allowed you to alter the length of the cut so you can't really do that bad a job. You can also neaten them up with some scissors after if you're not happy. I'd recommend getting a good quality set of clippers though, as I find the ones at work much easier to achieve a neat cut. I think the brand is Oster or something like that. You change the clipper blade itself to get varying lengths rather than a cheap plastic attachment. eta= it did look better when the dogs were done professionally but it didn't look "horrendous" when I did it myself. Edited July 4, 2011 by aussielover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiesha09 Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 One is a maltese x poodle and the other a maltese x lhasa apso. To be honest I'm not brave enough to just give it a go. I would need to learn a little bit about it first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 If you do buy clippers they come with an instructional DVD (not sure how useful it is though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zug Zug Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 (edited) There are some fantastic instructional videos online - you can google the breeds that are most similar (in coat and appearance) to your two, and they will show you through step by step. I groom my girl (and groomed my bichon as well until he died recently). I only started about 2 years ago. I had always been curious about it, but my early attempts had been truly AWFUL! But with the right equipment and a bit of practice, Zamba looks pretty nice after I groom her these days. I think so anyway! Critical thing to work out early in the piece is: - what kinds of brushes/combs suit your dog/s coats (ask people on here - they will tell you straight away. I would say for a poodley coat a slicker and a steel pin comb and you're all set) - what kinds of scissors (a lot of personal preference here, but as a minimum you need a straight pair and probably a curved pair. You may also want some thinners with the breeds you've mentioned) - what kind of clippers if you're going to do that (most do - I do - it's a lot quicker than attempting to scissor the whole dog!) - a step by step process to going over the dog (you will get this from people here and from the online videos) It does save a lot of money, but the flipside is it takes a lot of time. I have come to really enjoy doing it, and the dogs have looked SO much better since I've been doing them myself. Largely because I am touching them up every few weeks, because it's easy and the stuff is there ready to go. Previously, I would go 7 weeks between appointments so they would go from very short, to quite wooly. Now they stay pretty nice. I say go for it! Edited July 4, 2011 by Zug Zug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charley101 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I have two long haired dogs who I usually send to the groomers every 8 weeks to be professionally groomed. However, if I knew how to do it myself I probably would as it is quite expensive. But where do you learn this skill? I don't want to become a professional groomer or anything like that I just want to clip my own two dogs (without them looking totally stupid). So for those of you who clip your own dogs - did you learn from a mentor, or books or you tube videos or did you just give it a go? Where abouts are you in SA ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Just have a crack as they say there is only a week between a good and a bad haircut. No seriously, as Zug Zug said there is literally hunderds of grooming instructional vids online. With my lot, I knew how I wanted them to look and good groomers in my town are few and far between so I decided to have a go myself, it did take a few goes but I do feel now I can clip them with confidence and have them looking the way I like. It does take a little pracitce especially with thier faces depending on how you want them to look, I have on occasion taken a bit too much from here and there but it soon grows back. I use the km ss Wahl clippers, they cost around $350 with Stainless steel attachment combs for different length. I started out with a set of wahl sho pro clippers that cost me around $100. They were great but when I did started doing all 4 I decided to shout myself a better set and my Auntie is still using my old set. Are you close by to any tafe I think they do have grooming courses occasionally, perhaps you could look into that. In the time I have been clipping my lot (about 4 years) I have never had any mishaps such as cut skin etc. It really is not as hard as it tends to look but in saying that I won't clip other peoples dogs and would not like to groom for a living, I think there is a big difference in clipping your own dogs compared to clipping other peoples. As much as I enjoy clipping my own, I really admire pro groomers it is definatley not a job I could do full time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcop Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 [ Where abouts are you in SA ?? yes where abouts in sa are you near Mt. Gambier ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldiesRgr8Poodles2 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I dont know how good it i but I know the WEA runs a grooming course that is to help with home grooming. Its not aimed at people wanting to be proffessionals but it could be something to look into. As a groomer I have to say that unless you actaully have a go you will have NO idea how pysically taxing it is on your body. One client of mine recently tried and it took her 6 hrs to get 3/4 of one of her dogs done. Then I had to fix what she had done. She never realised how HARD it is to groom a dog let alone at home without proffessional grade equipment and a dog will usually be worse for their owner than a groomer. Call the WEA and give it a go. Just let your groomer know that you are giving it a go because you need to save some money but if you cant do it will they still be happy to groom your dogs again? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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