We have a Golden Retriever, Carl.
He is absolutely beautiful until you get up close. And man, does he smell.
This morning, I'd had it. Dog hair everywhere, and the dirt that comes inside with it. Gross!
My husband cuts his own hair, so I thought hey, I'll give the clippers a try.
And lo and behold, it worked wonderfully. Though, for the sake of being sanitary, for future grooming, I'll probably invest in a pair of clippers for the dog only - something like this.
Here's what I did:
- Gathered all my tools - clippers, a pair of scissors, a dog brush (I love my Furminator, it is amazing), ear cleaner, paper towels
- Coaxed Carl out to the garage, where I clipped him to his lead and tethered him to an object heavier than he is - my husband's weight bench with a bunch of weights stacked on top.
- Went over his coat thoroughly with the comb.
- Buzzed him with a #3 guard.
- Used the scissors to trim around his toes
- Cleaned out his ears with ear cleaning solution and paper towels.
- Gave him a treat for being such a good boy!
I would have bathed him as well but this process took a good hour and I was filthy and exhausted. But he looks SO much better. And once you've invested in the tools and done the grooming yourself a few times, it sure beats a $50-$75 trip to the groomer.
However, I will not be learning how to express anal glands. That, my friends, I will leave to the professionals.
1 comment:
You are a brave lady! I remember my dad doing that to our collie dog and made the dog look like a lion. Didn't shave his head or the end of his tail. Maybe you should try it next time :)
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