Do It Yourself Dog Grooming - Save Big Bucks!

One of the not-so-desirable Cockapoo characteristics is that they need to be groomed every six weeks or so. That's not a bad thing if you're rich. I'm not. At $65 -$75 dollars a dog, taking two dogs to a groomer is too costly. It would run about $565 - $650 a year.

So we bought a nail clipper and an electric trimmer. Then came the hard part - using them!

Prince Alvin, the Groomer's Dream
At 7 months, Alvin is (sometimes) calm AND he's been groomed by a professional. He does not seem to mind the clippers. As long as I hold his head, he's lulled into a trance by the sound of it.

These dog grooming clippers induce a hypnotic state for Alvin.


Sir Simon, the Groomer's Nightmare

This puppy may look innocent, but he's a little monster. Grooming Simon is not easy. Besides the fact that he has the attention span of a flea, the only way we can use the trimmer is if someone is feeding him treats at the same time.

The bad news is that during today's grooming session he ate a few too many treats mixed in with a few hair balls and barfed them up an hour later. He also has a few barer patches when he moved unexpectedly. He's good for about 2 minutes; then, he loses focus on the treats and starts moving.

The good news - over the last 3 times we've groomed him (once a week), we found out there was a puppy underneath all that hair. And he should associate grooming and the treats. Eventually, his grooming will get easier.

DIY Dog Grooming Tips
I can understand why you would not want to groom your dog on your own. But here's a plan that might work:

1. Get a cheap pair of clippers, scissors, brush, and a nail trimmer. Some dog grooming packages come with a DVD showing you how to groom. Note that the dogs in these DVDs are always perfectly calm!
2. Get your dog groomed professionally at least once. Take pictures so you know what he's supposed to look like.
3. Once you're ready to clip your dog (wait until he's at least 6 months old), get someone to help you . They can hold the dog's head so you can clip.
4. Feed the dog treats while you clip if he's not cooperating.
5. Clip in short increments of time - no more than a few minutes.

Best of luck with your DIY grooming!

valmillsy