Home Grooming
Home grooming often causes professional groomers to cringe and clench their teeth.
The main reason why groomers cringe when they hear, "I groom my pet at home", is because the majority of pet owners are uneducated in the proper way to brush and bath their pet.
There isn’t any reason that you, the owner, can’t do some grooming at home. It is important and will give you the satisfaction that you are aiding in the care of your pet, not to mention that if you can’t get into the groomer when you need too, you can manage the fur at home until your appointment.
The most beneficial home grooming you can do is brushing. Plain and simple.
Brushing removes dead coat and dirt, spreads the natural oils throughout the fur, prevents matting and also acts as a bonding activity for you and your pet.
Home grooming is more than a quick brush, read more on brushing.
Bathing at home can be a double edged sword. If you aren’t ready to commit to brushing properly before the bath, please, don’t bath your pet. You can inadvertently cause your pet to become matted which can create a whole series of really bad stuff. The bathing process of home groomers, is the one thing that makes professional groomers cringe and shudder.
Of course, sometimes bathing at home is necessary, especially if your pet has discovered a mud puddle or a dead squirrel.
If you own a breed of dog that has an abundance of hair in the ears, plucking in between grooming appointments will make life easier on the canine and the groomer.
The groomer or veterinarian may even request that you pluck the ears at home.
But, if you are planning on doing all the grooming at home, do all the grooming including ears and nails. There is nothing worse than seeing a home groomed pup with a couple years’ worth of ear hair or nails come into the shop. Read on for ear plucking.
Nails strike fear in the hearts of most owners, with good reason.
This is the one area where blood spills the most. This is also the area where irreversible mental damage can occur if done improperly over and over.
If cutting the nails makes you start to sweat, read up on it, to prevent the yelp and the blood.
Or you can take your pet into the groomer or veterinarian for a regular nail trim.
If your home grooming plan includes shaving your pet at home, the best advice I can give you is to purchase good equipment.
Cheap clippers or clippers for humans are not worth buying. There is a reason the clippers only cost $30.00-$40.00. They are cheap, don’t work very well and may break half way through the shave. The clippers you should buy, will range anywhere from $150.00 and up. Most clippers come with a #10 blade. Look for a set of clippers that have a removable blade so you can change blades if you want. A #10 blade shaves very, very short. Sunburn short (your dog has a higher chance of sunburn with this length).
The lower the number of a blade, the longer it will leave the fur.
However, the lower the number, the harder it is to get through the coat. The fur must be thoroughly brush and have no matts with a longer blade. I can’t tell you in words how to shave, but I will tell you to take your time. It is very easy to cut a dog with clippers.
Grooming a pet takes time and patience. Especially for one who has very little or no previous expereince.
Don’t expect that you’ll get it done cheaper than a groomer.
Don’t believe the advertisements that promise you’ll save money by grooming yourself.
It can be a time consuming job. It is a lot of work to groom properly, The results can be exhilarating or devastating. Expect to spend money on quality equipment.
Don’t think that your local groomer is going to be willing to invest time and energy to teach you to groom your dog, even if you offer to volunteer in exchange for grooming lessons. A groomer with a good reputation won’t have time.
And think about it, why would we?
Our equipment, training, supplies and shop set up have cost us anywhere between $15 000-$30 000, or more. Regular maintenance and supplies can run a shop more than $1000.00/month.
So you can understand why we aren’t begging to teach you how to professionally groom your Muffy for free.
There are a variety of grooming videos available that teach you how to do it. Some grooming schools offer private classes to owners for their individual pets. Of course there are a variety of books available as well.
I have taught you, through this web site exactly the same things I teach my clients for free. I figure you might as well learn the proper way to brush and bath your pet at home, so that I don’t have to skin it like an apple because of improper bathing and brushing practices.
Good luck and have fun. If you can’t have fun, make sure you have a good groomer on speed dial!
If you are still set on grooming at home, check out these videos for purchase.
