is it bad to trim my dog's hair by myself?

Question

hi everyone. i just adopted my first dog. it is a shih tzu. I've had her for one week and just recently took her to have her coat trimmed. as many of you pet owners know, this can be expensive. i was wondering if i could give her trims like once every 2 weeks. i heard somewhere that it was bad to cut a dog's hair by yourself. is this true?? i'm new to all of this so any suggestions would help. also, how often should i give the dog a bath? they told me about once every other week, but with my dog's long coat, this sounds like too little to me...

Answer 1

There is absolutely no reason why you can't cut your own dogs coat. Watch the groomer trim your dog and have him/her show you how to do the face (the hardest part), pluck hair from the ear canal, shave the tummy, empty anal glands, trim toe nails, remove the mat between foot pads & how to trim them round. Some shops won't let you stay with your dog. Find one that will allow you to stay so that you can watch.

If you want to keep the coat long it does require a lot of brushing to keep the coat matt free. Make sure that you can run a comb through the coat before you bathe. Hair is like leather, it shrinks as it drys and will only make matts harder to remove.

There is far more to grooming a dog than people think. I allowed and encouraged owners to stay while I groomed their dogs and most were amazed at what all it intailed.

Answer 2

I had a border collie that we would shave ourselves. You just have to be sure and not skimp on the trimmers. If you go cheap you risk getting the hair stuck or actually nicking your dog's skin. And be sure to keep them well-maintained.

If your dog doesn't have sensitive skin then it should be okay to bathe weekly. If she does, then once a month is recommended.

Getting it groomed initially by a groomer would be great and then just keep the dog trimmed when needed by following the lines of the groomer is pretty easy and then when the dog gets kinda ratty looking then I'd take her to groomer again.

Kinda like mine and my husbands hair...we go to a stylist once every 3 months and then the gals at Great Clips get it after that until it needs cleaned up again. We save a lot of money that way!

Good luck!

Answer 3

Of course you can! The more you do it the better you'll get at it. In fact, go to PetsMart they have electric clippers that you can buy and they come with "how to books" on the correct way to trim the fur of different breeds! If you use a good moisturizing shampoo that is especially made for dogs you can safely bath your do every week or two.

Answer 4

Sure, though I would suggest doing a little research as to how often you should be trimming the dogs hair. The coat can become damaged depending on the breed due to excessive trimming.

RO

Answer 5

Id give it a shot! if u know what ur doing! use dog clippers to trim her sides and scissors around her eyes (but be careful!) It is very expensive to go to the groomers all the time! bathe her as needed but not to often u dont want to dry out her skin!

Answer 6

No its not bad to trim your own dogs coat. In time you will get good at it and the dog will learn to stay still while you do it.

Answer 7

Of course it is!! Have faith in yourself! I recently saw a book and clipper set called "Dog Grooming for Dummies" I saw it at Walgreens, but check bookstores or the web. The "Dummies" series are great books. I bet it will walk you right through it. Good luck!

Answer 8

It's ok to cut your dogs hair by yourself, just be careful. I have a lhasa apso and I cut her hair. I reccommend giving your dog a bath every week or so.

Answer 9

Hi
I have 3 dogs who need their fur cut, so as you can imagine it costs me a fortune. I bought some clippers and do it myself now and also bath my dogs i have saved a fortune.

Jeanette