Duhhhhhhhh
 

Ok first I want to say THANK YOU YORKIE TALK..... WHY???? Ok this morning I was going to take the girls to the groomers. We don't go a whole whole lot for two reasons. I do really well with them myself. and on a retired teacher's salary, two yorkies can cost as close to 100.00 per grooming session as you would want to come (That time their regular groomer was booked and I took them to Pet Smart, is was over 100.00:eek:).

So I take real good care of the girls, we get washed and combed out real well once a week with touch ups in between.

So this morning I am facing the groomer (and the bill), I got up and read the thread about tipping the groomer (lord doesn't it cost enough already???)Someone just mentioned in that post that they bathe, dry and comb their kids out and only take them to the groomer for nails and other things they don't know how to do. That was exactly my situation. Also my girls were all messy. Once upon a time I took my yorkie (one now deceased) with hair all tangly, I'm thinking, that is the groomer's job. When I picked my child up he had been scalped BALD. The groomer just flatly said, " He was matted, and surely you don't think WE are going to take the time to comb all of that out."

Since that experience I have always seen to it that they have NO excuses. I always see to it that my kids are perfect when they go to the groomers.

So I decided to bathe my girls, blow them out, comb them perfectly and just tell the groomer they don't need baths, just do the rest of the stuff. Problem was I didn't know how they would feel about that. Would they STILL charge me full price??? Think I am cheap???

Well they were just fine with it. No problem at all. Final charge with taxes for BOTH girl 33.00.. Good lord:eek: That is a LOT less than it had been. I asked about future visits, are you ok with this in the futre? NO problem. I am so thrilled, and I would never have even throught of doing such a thing until I read Yorkie Talk this morning. I just thought that was what they did, how they make their money, and on that day you are at their mercy.

Over the course of a year, this will save me a significant amount of money. So thank you yorkie talk, and some more of you out there might want to look into this.

i guess i'm very lucky my groomer only charges me $ 16.00 dollars for everything and i get to pick out the bow that i want that is bath, nails,
cut just love my groomer

Not these folks babes....two girls, normally close to 90.00, next closest place, over 100.00, next closest place (that chopped Mika's beard off like Mc Tavish), around 90.00, cheapest place 70.00, but I have watched them walk away and leave dogs unattended on that leash thingy whereas if they were to jump or accidently fall off the table, they are a goner.

16.00 for everything???? Now THAT groomer I would tip big time.

This is why I do the grooming. :)

I wish I knew what to do, but nails especially scare me

I do too.

I have nail clippers for cats.They are just the right size for my girls.Start out trimming them long.For the ears I just shave about a 1 inch off the tip both sides.Shave around their butt and trim around there feet and pads with small scissors.I have small grooming clippers for butt and ears.I think I paid $20.00 for at Wal Mart.I have a kid tooth brush and use Virbac C.E.T toothpast for teeth.Try it and you will see it is not that hard.Good Luck!

Thanks for the Info.!!
I have been thinking about this lately.
Riley will probably need to go for a first groom, in a month or two. I am seriously thinking of investing in some good clippers.... some videos.... and doing it myself. The groomers I have been checking out here, in DC, are about $70.00. I will swing by my vest office who is only a few blocks from me, to have nails trimmed.

Wow, I want to use that groomer. I get charged $40 each here.

my groomer charges me about 20 for everything bath, dry, brush, cut, nails, and a teeth brushing if i had a girl she would also put the top knot in and paint her nails in dog safe polish.

my advice look in the phone book for a small groomer that works out of there home they are cheaper and normally pay more attention to detail

Well maybe so, but the house groomer I had once before was even more, booked solid all the time and acted like she was the only show in town.

It's hard to get a bargain in Memphis on anything.

she is a older lady and has been in her location for about 20 years now i think she has a few granddaughters helping out sometimes but she is the only one that does my porscha as she does all yorkie that come to her

Tell her to start a franchise...call it AFFORDABLE GROOMING...we clean your dog, not take YOU to the cleaners.;)

That's so funny and really a memorable slogan for a business!

I'm so glad you found that you could do that. It's wonderful!:D

Yeah me too . Yorkie's are not exactly Low maintaince doggies. I ended up with two by default and was wondering how I was going to support my one.

They both come due for yearly shots on the same month, and that is another big whop.

I had Shadow groomed the first time by a professional groomer. I did not like the way she cut, and I did not like the fact that I could not stay with her. I know that's how most do it, but for the first time????

Anyway, I started grooming myself. Didn't look so great the first time, but I'm learning. First time took over an hour with my hubby helping. I'm much better now. The only thing I can't do is the nails. My husband does that.

Well I can tell ya that we have a fantastic groomer and she absolutely HATES it when someone tells her to shave a dog. Even when we bring in a new foster, she tries everything to get out any mats first and only shaves if absolutely necessary.

She charges $38 for the shampoo, dry, cut, bandana (ours refuse bows), nails, ears, and anal glands.

We go every 5-6 weeks and it does get pricey with 5 of them and a foster or two.

I am looking into to learning more myself and have ordered a table, clippers, 3 different blades, dog tub, two different scissors and a comb from PetEdge...it was pricey to get all the stuff, but pales in comparison to the groomers bill every 5 weeks.

Once my wife gives me permission, I will order the video! :D

We plan to still have them go to the groomer, but would like to move it out to every 3 months, but will definitely have to do some heavy maintenance in between.

I have been doing all my grooming for a year now. The only thing i have left to learn is expressing their anal sacs. Is it harder than it sounds?

That I actually learned to do at the vet's office. It's not terribly difficult, but it is terribly yuckie. :eek:

One of the perks of being human. :D Besides all this wonderful stuff we get to do for all these great babies!!!

Here's a video that shows how to do it that I found on YouTube. It has all the good info and shows how. It is kind of gross, so if stuff makes you weak to your stomach, this video may not be for you!

Also, I think they could have chosen a much better name for the video. Sorry, not my choice.


I wear latex gloves when I do it though and use the paper towels. Just be sure not to squeeze to hard, you don't want to hurt them! :)

oh wow! Thanks. Looks like this is how i will be spending my Sunday afternoon :)

Listen thanks for posting that, I would be more than willing to do that for my girls. That is no problem. When I see them scooting their butts around on the carpet I know that is what they need done. I can do that, it doesn't look that mysterious now.

Another Yorkie talk point going on the chalk board.

lately i've been bathing mine at home and taking them for light trims and nails. Ihaveone yorkie and a /lhasa apso and she is a stubborn thing. Shes a handful and hates the blow dryer at the groomer.So i thought id do half the battle at home. It does save.But my groomer isn't too bad.For bath haircut and nails its 30 and i ussually tip 5. My yorkie has gotten tangles and she took him down to a buzz cut but I think he's still cute. My yorkie can see the hairbrush and sometimes he will run . Some times if he's calm and sleepy in my lap i can get some brushes in. But we get super short cuts some times.

First: Many groomers give a break to fosters and rescues... seems like a few don't?

Second: For Misti1 http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...d-schultz.html

Free Groomimg help: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...book-free.html

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...cerella02.html

You're fabulous! :thumbs up

And POO! our groomer gives no discount. :(

KJC
I'm going to watch these when I get home from work, thank you.

Oh not me! The YT Library has a lot of useful info.... nice place to visit... and if you find anything good in your searches for Yorkie info... you can request that it be added to the library to make it easier for others to find....:D

Geez! My Vet even gives multiple dog and rescue dog discounts! I think they deserve a ????? review in the Groomer review forum and I'd be looking for a new one! I mean gosh, it's not like they're Show Dogs.... ya know? On top of that they're tiny! They could put five on one table, or all in the tub together! (JK) They should never do that! Some may have long hair, but it's not like they're Afghan Hounds.... now that's alot of hair there!

You're welcome dear! I missed you while you were gone.... you always had me laughing..... love your idea for 'affordable groomers' have your dog cleaned without being taken to the cleaners! Too funny! Hehe! :D

Grooming can be a lucrative business! When I had two cockers spaniels in full coat every 6 weeks we made trips to the groomer. $100 for the two (wash, dry, trim, demat if necessary, bandana, tooth brushing) It got to be too expensive so I bought clippers, table, shampoo, etc to do it at home. 2-4 hours out of a Saturday. I did this until my babies passed away.

On to my yorkie...$45/ 4 weeks wash, dry, trim, nails and teeth. Troy gets more touch ups than my cockers since he's smaller and lot less work. Weekly baths, ear cleaning, teeth at home. And I can finish that in about 15 minutes.

To the OP, good for you for finding a good solution.