Anyone Groom their own Yorkie?
 

I'm actually looking for someone in the Bay Area or Sacramento area who grooms their own furbabies. All the horror stories I read about professional groomers scares me and with the way the ecomony is effecting me,paying 50 bucks isn't the solution now. Please share your pics of your furbabies that you groomed on your own! Even if your not in my area I would love to see(maybe I'll fly your way! LOL J/K). But Milo would truely appreciate a NEW haircut! His hair gets matted so much easier since its much longer!

I used to be a groomers assistant, so i went and bought a pet clipper and I groom Fiona myself! :)

I'm soo tempting to cut his hair myself but wanted some advice or help before I go ahead and do it. Plus I don't want to mess his hair up!

Use lots of conditioner, let it set for 2-3 minutes while wet, then rinse and use a leave on spray conditioner while you dry him. This may help with matting if you want to leave his hair longer.

I will never let a groomer touch my babies after that groomer took off part of my Coco's ear. I have nightmares about it. He must have been yelping like crazy. I groom them down short in the summer because it is hot. In the cooler months, I just use the clipper with a larger blade so it doesn't take too much off. It just cleans them up. It is time consuming but I know they will not be hurt again. God knows what is going on at the groomers after I drop them off. No way!!!
I don't show them or anything so they look just fine. And besides it's cheaper ;)

you know I am a "do it myself" type of girl and I had never groomed a dog in my life but went ahead and bought some awesome clippers and a 1" comb so the cut was not so short on her body. and if you look at my avatar that is what i ended up with... ITS GREAT!!! I was scared to hurt her but took my time and did fine. Make sure she has a bath before grooming because if their fur is dirty it will dull your blades faster. I am no expert but I loved it so much that i went on petedge and bought a grooming table... now I cannot wait to groom her again...hahah

Good Luck with everything :) :)

In the warmer months I do it in the backyard on a table. So I don't have to worry about the hair getting all over. My daughter helps me. It is easier with another set of hands. They are actually very good when I do it. Even my Trix, who hates the bath, her nails. She gives me the most trouble. She really doesn't mind it. If I have to stop half way through and let her run around a while then I go back to doing it a little later.

I cut gatsbys body but i dont like to cut his face he squirms and wiggles and i hate it im afraid to hurt him so i pay 6.oo and have his face cut by the groomer i stand thear and watch and he sits pretty like he never dose for me

I have groomed our schnauzer for years. I'm trying to learn on Rily now. He does well with the clippers, but hates the scissors around his face. I have groomed him twice already, but both times I had my vet's tech help me with his face. I'm hoping he will settle down and let me do it next time. I'm going to get a groomer's noose to see if that helps. Good Luck! :)

Jeri Cunningham who lives in Hercules grooms all 9 of her dogs, plus all the puppies she's ever sold that live close. (she doesn't sell out of her area) Contact her. I just know she would be more than happy to have you over and show you how she does different styles. She's amazing! Her YT name is her real name. ;)

I groom my five. They may not look perfect but they're cute enough for me!:p

Ive always groomed on my own. You learn your own tricks. I don't use clippers, only scissors. Face and feet/use baby round scissors. In the body/barber shears. Lots of conditioner--rinse well. I cut when they are sleepy.

I can't understand, why you think that professional groomer has more chance to cut- harm your baby than you, who never hold scissors?
To reduce risk of cutting your baby, you can train your yorkie stay still, while brushing and touching his paws, ears, etc. It is good to know how to groom by yourself, but it is silly to be scared of groomers. You should ask people for the professional groomer. Some breeders provide grooming for their baby as well.

You people are amazing!! I have learned so much from this site, now if I could only learn to groom!! My two babies don't like to be brushed but I do brush them every other day mainly to make sure they don't have anything that I need to know about (grass spur, etc.). I keep mine cut short in the summer, in TX it gets to triple digits and stays that way for several months. I was thinking about letting them grow a bit longer this winter. I have what I think is a great groomer. She does put them in a crate when I take them but I take both of them at the same time. I have not found any cuts on them nor have I seen her be rough with any of the dogs she grooms. She does it out of her house and I don't think she is expensive. She is always gentle with them while I'm around, she has a dog of her own so she must be a dog lover. I have seen the groomers at Petsmart and would never take my dogs there. I have read the reviews of some of the groomers in my area and would never take my babies to them. But it would be neat to learn how to do it myself. I will keep reading everyone's posts and who knows???? :)

I groom my pups. We almost had a person groom them a few weeks ago, but it was tooo difficult to set up a appointment. I have a regualr set of clippers and I just went out and bought the small compact one. It is great for ears and bums and for small pups in general,. I will be taking pictures tomorrow. :)

I wasn't scared of groomers before one loped off part of his ear!!!:mad:

I also groom my Lucy. She used to get so nervous once at groomers, that I've decided to give it a try. It was scary at first, but now I'm like a pro :)))
I would definitely suggest grooming yourself.....

It's easy to groom them--just takes a little practice. There are MANY amazing videos on youtube. Just type in "how to groom yorkies". I learned from watching the videos and my studying pictures of yorkies haircuts that I liked.

1. Buy a good quality clipper---good for feet, sanitary area and ears
2. Buy a good set of human hair scissors
3. Comb

Start by taking a little off at a time...you can always take more---but, can't glue it back on.

Also---think vertical on the body---trm in vertical sections vs. horizontal...or you get a shelf of hair--not attractive! Some people use clippers all over the body--with a guard set to the length they want the coat. I use scissors and fake it---think aveda hairstylist! Trim their ears in an inverted v...feet trim between the pads---and the hair on top should not go past the feet on the floor.

There's more tips--just watch videos and look at magazines for pctures you like! It gets better every time!

I groom Uni myself. She has NEVER been to a groomers. I was offered a job as a groomer about 10yrs ago. I think I would have been awesome! :p Here's two pics of her. One recent (the action shot) and one from a few months ago (on the couch). I started getting her used to brushing, cutting, etc when she was a baby. I"m growing out her hair now.

I groom 5 dogs also. Two of them are puppies and the other 3 are adults in full coat. I don't trust the groomers to be gentle with them. Also, grooming is a traumatic experience for them and taking them to a foreign place and kenneling them concerns me. You can also open yourself up to disease and infection if they are stashed in the kennel while waiting to be picked up or groomed. The very few times I have groomed mine they get bathed and clipped but they look so ugly when I get them back. I can bath them at home.

One thing I always recommend to those who do want to do their own grooming is to take the pups to Pet Smart to get the nails done. I think the nails is the most challenging thing in grooming. It costs $7 per dog where I live and you can do it on a walk in basis. I now do the nails on mine and that is my least favorite part.

The second most challenging part is the ears. I used to just shave them until someone showed me how to cut them around the outline. It takes practice.

I feel it is a good way to spend more time with my dogs and further bond with them. Personally, I really enjoy making my dogs look pretty. That is one reason the Yorkie breed is so appealing to me.

I've been slowly learning how to groom Jackson myself.... I have started keeping up in between groomers but he still looks so much better after getting back from a professional groomer. I'm lucky that I found a woman who is in a small shop and is very good with him and always does a good job but it gets costly at $50 each time, plus tip. I'm aiming to try and get him groomed 3x a year tops and do the rest myself.

Here's what I did to Jackson by myself though, I mainly keep up with trimming his face, butt area, etc.

First photo is when he really needed a cut.
Second photo is after I trimmed him up.
Third photo is him after getting back from the groomer.

So, I can clean him up but when he really needs a grooming, I take him in. :p