Are you thinking of getting a dog that needs regular clipping such as a schanauzer? Do you want to have the expense of regular clips? These are two questions to consider if you want to have a dog like this. If you already own one then you’ll know what I mean. On the other hand some other dogs such as my silky terrier shown in the picture above just need a tidy up every few months. This year I’ve kept Morgan’s winter coat much longer than I normally would because I noticed last year that she shivered on the colder days. Recently I had to get her clipped much earlier than I intended because her foot kept getting caught in her fur when she scratched herself and now she seems to be coping much better, but you wouldn’t believe how quickly her hair grown back.
When you need to use a groomer here’s a few of the options you have and I’ve shared the experiences I’ve had over the years.
Take your dog and have it groomed and pick it up later
The Grooming parlour
The vet. Some often have a groomer come to their place a few times a week
These are two very good options if you can’t stay while your dog is groomed. If you’re going to leave it you just need to think about whether or not you like the idea of your dog sitting in a cage for a while. Most animals seem to be OK and over time they tend to get used to it.
The groomer comes to you
The trailer with the hydrobath
You’ll need to arrange to be home for this one. The dog is washed and clipped while inside the trailer. Most people seem to favour this option. You might have to provide the electricity and possibly the water, but these days most trailers seem to be self-sufficient. If you have a regular session and you can’t be home you might be able to let the groomer take the dog from the backyard and return it. It all depends on the groomer.
If they can park their trailer in your driveway they will, but if that isn’t possible they’ll do the wash and clip on the street.
Having the trailer come to us wasn’t a bad idea. We had three dogs being done at one session and it worked out pretty well. Two were just having a bath and the other was having a quick and easy clip. The groomer we used was quite happy to do it this way and she didn’t mind being at one location for a while, but in majority of cases groomers only work on one dog at a time at each session and this is definitely the case with complicated clips.
If you your dog doesn’t need to be clipped the hydrobath is also a great idea for bathing big dogs. It’s much easier than doing it yourself particularly if you’ve got a dog with a thick coat such as a german shepard.
Inside your house.
This is the one I use now. I have to wash Morgan before Liz arrives and the only problem I have is that as soon as I wash her the little devil goes outside straight away and rolls in the dirt!
I feel better knowing that Morgan is safe inside in her own environment. She’s a lot less stressed and it works out cheaper. It’s also less time consuming for the groomer
Another way I’ve done the inside clip is to get a few other easily clipped dogs together and have them done in one session. Once again it seems to work out well for everyone.
Do it yourself
I did a grooming course and I was absolutely hopeless, but I do know a woman who clips her own dog and it looks fabulous, you’d never know that it hadn’t been done by a professional. Find a grooming course and give it a go. You might find that you’re quite talented and it will definitely be cheaper and more convenient than the ones above because you can do it in when it suits you.
As for choosing a groomer it’s the same as choosing a hair dresser, if you see a dog with a really good clip ask the owner who did it. You might find that it takes a few clips by various groomers before you find the one you like, but once you’ve found them you’ll love looking at their results.
When you need to use a groomer here’s a few of the options you have and I’ve shared the experiences I’ve had over the years.
Take your dog and have it groomed and pick it up later
The Grooming parlour
The vet. Some often have a groomer come to their place a few times a week
These are two very good options if you can’t stay while your dog is groomed. If you’re going to leave it you just need to think about whether or not you like the idea of your dog sitting in a cage for a while. Most animals seem to be OK and over time they tend to get used to it.
The groomer comes to you
The trailer with the hydrobath
You’ll need to arrange to be home for this one. The dog is washed and clipped while inside the trailer. Most people seem to favour this option. You might have to provide the electricity and possibly the water, but these days most trailers seem to be self-sufficient. If you have a regular session and you can’t be home you might be able to let the groomer take the dog from the backyard and return it. It all depends on the groomer.
If they can park their trailer in your driveway they will, but if that isn’t possible they’ll do the wash and clip on the street.
Having the trailer come to us wasn’t a bad idea. We had three dogs being done at one session and it worked out pretty well. Two were just having a bath and the other was having a quick and easy clip. The groomer we used was quite happy to do it this way and she didn’t mind being at one location for a while, but in majority of cases groomers only work on one dog at a time at each session and this is definitely the case with complicated clips.
If you your dog doesn’t need to be clipped the hydrobath is also a great idea for bathing big dogs. It’s much easier than doing it yourself particularly if you’ve got a dog with a thick coat such as a german shepard.
Inside your house.
This is the one I use now. I have to wash Morgan before Liz arrives and the only problem I have is that as soon as I wash her the little devil goes outside straight away and rolls in the dirt!
I feel better knowing that Morgan is safe inside in her own environment. She’s a lot less stressed and it works out cheaper. It’s also less time consuming for the groomer
Another way I’ve done the inside clip is to get a few other easily clipped dogs together and have them done in one session. Once again it seems to work out well for everyone.
Do it yourself
I did a grooming course and I was absolutely hopeless, but I do know a woman who clips her own dog and it looks fabulous, you’d never know that it hadn’t been done by a professional. Find a grooming course and give it a go. You might find that you’re quite talented and it will definitely be cheaper and more convenient than the ones above because you can do it in when it suits you.
As for choosing a groomer it’s the same as choosing a hair dresser, if you see a dog with a really good clip ask the owner who did it. You might find that it takes a few clips by various groomers before you find the one you like, but once you’ve found them you’ll love looking at their results.