# Is it difficult to trim your dog?



## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

I have a cockapoo puppy and I've heard bad things about local groomers. Can someone explain how to do it if you think it won't be hard? All I know is I'll probably do it before bed so she won't be as active.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

One of dogs is a chihuahua/papillon mix - my first long haired dog. I brush her 3 times a week to keep the knots to a minimum. I trim her foot hair, and a couple other places. As far as actually grooming the dog, I would probably have a pro do it....until I was comfortable doing it myself.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

Yeah unless you're giving him/her a buzz cut leave it to the pros


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## jennandjuicetm (May 4, 2014)

If you're concerned, skip petsmart and petco. Go for a local groomer. Even if your dog us super confident and friendly I would ask the groomer if you could bring her by for a visit to get her used to the place. Listen for the answer and the tone of the groomers answer. I the groomer genuinely sounds like they think it is a great idea then they moght be okay. If they scoff because they think youre spoiling your dog or because they just think its dumb I wouldn't use them. Their answe will tell you how versed in dog behavior they are, if they are willing to meet you and your dog before hand then they will probably be more likely to go slow and properly introduce her to being groomed. The last thing you want is a groomer who slaps a muzzle on her and calls it a day. You can also ask to watch them groom her and for any tips on getting her used to being handled and groomed. Their answer to the latter will tell you a lot as well.


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## Seki (Jul 10, 2012)

Find a GOOD groomer, but yeah, I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself. I had a cockapoo growing up and he had gorgeous long fur. We usually went to a local groomer, but when she went on a vacation for a month, we took him to a different groomer. It was awful. My poor dog's ears were all nicked from the clippers, she had cut both ears a different length, and she had shaved his sides and left his belly fur long! Needless to say, we never went back to her and remained faithful to our regular groomer until the dog's death.

Make sure you ask the groomer how they handle your dog; which restraints they use, how they clean up, etc. Ask if you can see the area where they do the grooming. We found out later that the awful groomer who had nicked my dog's ears had muzzled him right off the bat (which made him CRAZY, he hated muzzles) and had also vaccumed his fur. Had we known this (our fault for not checking), we never would have taken him there. He was terrified of vaccums!!


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

I found 2 local groomers. I'm going to the worse one only because the one with really good reviews doesn't have an opening for a few weeks and it's almost 100 degrees here. I'll definitely follow your guys advice! We already made the appt, but when I go, I'll ask if I can look around. I'm not sure if my parents will let me just cancel if I don't like it, but at least I can try. I'll be going to the better groomers after that.


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## jennandjuicetm (May 4, 2014)

Ask if you can watch them groom her.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

I dropped her off this morning. I couldn't watch because she wasn't next, but the place seemed fine. It was all one room, and you can see in from the front window, so they're obviously not hiding anything.


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## cindygao0217 (Jul 3, 2014)

Watch them groom it take 4 hour reminder


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Doing it yourself takes practice, like many other things in life. Don't skimp on shears, expect the first few times to look a bit funky. I've been grooming my own dogs for better than 40 years, the first try with the family poodle when I was 12, looked like the dog got bit all over, or got in a fight with a lawn mower. Dog didn't care, fur grows. Having 2-3 dogs at a time the shears, strippers, combs & so on paid for themselves long ago. I looked up my shears, they're listed on Ebay as antiques, go figure!


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## cindygao0217 (Jul 3, 2014)

My dog double coat got destroy but the petco grooming I told the. To just trim him but they groom him now his double coat got destroy i even email them for they take no responsible for it so mad about it
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Mars Coat King is an awesome thing for double coated dogs. Clippers will destroy the coat, the coat king is a lot quicker & easier than stripping. Hate to see what a groomer charges for a good hand stripping, and it's not something I'd trust a corporate owned outfit to do.


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