Do you groom your own babies?

[yorkietalkjilly]

I do. Ever since I heard of a dog's eye being severely burned by something accidentally put on it at a trusted groomer's establishment years back, I've been leery to take my dog in and leave it. If they delegate and have a new kid wash a dog or take them over to clip toenails or anything, however briefly, bad things could happen. I know that is paranoid but I can't help it. I've seen some of the assistants in the grooming establishments and many are not exactly the most attentive and dedicated dog groomers around. So I just groom Tibbe myself and that way I know he's safe and nothing scary is happening to him. Peace of mind!

[Britster]

I don't! lol. I suck at that kind of stuff, and just prefer to leave it to the professional! We also have a mobile grooming tho- I used to leave him at a place briefly, and HATED it, so this works out best for us. He sees her about every 10 weeks. I keep him short.

[RileyDC]

I groom Riley myself.... He lets me do anything to him... He is Great
during his bath... He Loves being brushed and blow dried... and he sits
and let's me do whatever trimming I need to do... He has also lets
me trim his nails but I am still a little nervous to do them so I will do
just the very tips but will swing him by the vet every few months for a
Really Good nail trim...

[LuvTaycieGirl]

I groom Taycie as well. I invested in good clippers and they have payed for themselves over and over again. I did take her a few times to a local groomer and it wasn't a bad experience it just wasn't what I wanted.

I like grooming her because I can do it as often as I want. I usually trim her every 1.5 to 2 weeks and that way she always looks freshly cut. I love it and because I stay on top of it it only takes me about 15 minutes

[hobbette]

I would like to groom mine, but I'm just to nervous... I've trimmed her but and tipped her ears when she was a puppy, but I don't even like trimming her nails. I think there were some neat videos showing someone fully grooming their yorkie in the grooming section.

[gracielove]

I am Gracie's part time groomer. She does have a professional groomer that she goes to about every 3 months. I keep her trimmed up in between her groomer visits. I just use my little round tipped scissors to trim her feet and butt. I have regular hair scissors to cut her length if I have to. It's a pretty easy job since she is accustomed to me doing it and she is a good girl anyway. She gets a weekly bath and blow dry so she knows the routine pretty well.

You are right to be cautious about leaving your baby at a groomers. There are so many really bad ones out there. I finally found a very good place to take Gracie. I drop her off and then pick her up after an hour and a half. They are really great people and have a boutique in their home. I live not far from there or I would never leave her at all. I would never consider leaving a pet for hours at a time at a groomers shop.

[Lioncross4]

There are GREAT training videos on youtube! I have groomed mine since day 1--ok, she had a few rough cuts at the beginning! But, I have it down to a science now.

[Potter]

I have groomed Pao myself for the past 5 years. Wasn't happy with the number of groomers we went to. He always comes back being shaved too short or they nicked his paw or something, never mind I have to pay a chunk of money plus tips so I took matters in to my own hand. I have a pair of haircut scissor, a pair of layering scissor, a small shaver for the eyes and wala...I save a ton of money not having to pay the groomer or drive to the groomer's. I do buy good shampoo though and I do bring him to the groomer's for nailcut but I never leave him there.

[MyMochi]

Thank you all for your wonderful responses!

I called around to area groomers and each one requested me to leave my baby with them for a minimum of 3.5 hrs and I could not remain or watch as he would be groomed. I haven't been apart from my baby since I brought him home and I couldn't fathom leaving him with strangers. I'm sure it would have been very traumatic for him. I found the mobile groomer who is more pricey but so well worth it. The groomer allowed me to stay in the the mobile unit and it made him so much more comfortable.

I'd like to groom him in between to prevent the shaggy look. I do keep him in a teddy bear cut, never trained his ears to stand, I love them floopy!

Thank you for sharing all your wonderful babies' stories with me!

[chattiesmom]

Welcome to YorkieTalk. Glad you joined our growing family of yorkie lovers.

I groom both of my little ones. I keep "the old man" Peppy in a very short cut for convenience. Lollie, my show bitch I groom myself. I don't feel comfortable leaving her with anyone. I am new to the show ring so I have one of my show buddies give her a quick touch up before she goes into the ring.

Self-grooming is a great way to bond with your baby and teach discipline. I love the hours I spend with Peppy and Lollie brushing and massaging then. They love it as well.

[AngelFae]

I've had Blazer groomed once so far- he's only 5 months old. I had to leave him at the groomers for a few hours and I HATED it! I didn't mind the cut he recieved, I was almost 100% happy with even. The only problem, of course, is that it grew out really quickly! I keep his eye area and sanitary regions clipped myself and right now, for winter, I'm letting his coat grow out. He doesn't mind his baths and he loves to be combed so he is really easy to work with so far.

[skittlz]

I groom Sonic, and he usually falls asleep when I groom him lol

[CoCos_Mom]

CoCo gets a bath once a week - more if needed. She will be a year old on the 19th of November and she only just went to the groomers for the 1st time 2 weeks ago. I took her to PetSmart and her groomer, David, did a fantastic job! When we checked in I went over everything about what I wanted done. When I picked her up, she was pefect and her hair felt like pure silk!!!

I trim her if needed, but I won't trim her nails. I feel better if a professional does it. Since CoCo's hair growls so slowly, I don't think grooming bills will be a big deal for me - especially if Petsmart keeps giving me $5 off grooming services. I'm not looking at cutting her hair until spring when the weather warms up, so I'll make my decision then about who will groom her.

[JasmineNoelle]

My little yorkie, Jasmine, will be four December the 24th. I have always groomed her myself. She is so easy to bathe, do dental care, clip her nails and cut/clip her hair. She loves, loves the blow dryer. I have kept her in a short cut, but I am now growing her coat out, can't wait to see what she will look like. I have always used Andis clippers. On the other hand, I usually take Prissy, our ten year old poodle, into the groomer. I started taking her to the groomer soon after I brought her home and she got used to Lea grooming her. I have groomed her several times, but she really prefers Lea to groom her because that is who she got comfortable grooming her. One of my big "pet" peeves is a pet owner that doesn't take care of their pet's coat, nails and teeth! Prevention goes a long way to keeping a pet/best friend healthy. (Along with healthy diet, exercise and vet care and lots of love)

[Wylie's Mom]

We groom all 3 at home - mainly bc we aren't comfortable with leaving them in strangers' hands in a vulnerable position; when Wylie was a pup, we had bad experiences w/ multiple groomers and from there we made the decision to never let that happen again.

I don't think we do near as good a job as a groomer can do, but we do the best we can. I like the CC comb (or the generic one from YT member Mimimomo - GET IT! ) for general combing and for mats and face work. I have multiple brushes, but I find I mainly use that comb.

We use my hubby's clippers to shave Pfeiffer's ears. For some reason, we don't have to shave Marcel's ears; I guess he does that himself (?) . Both Pf and Marcel are in full coat. We keep Wy in more of a puppy cut, so I trim him w/ a scissors. I don't trim/cut any of their paws - they seem to stay fine. We don't trim butts either, which seems fine for them; we do trim the boy's 'pee string' furs.

That's about it!