At 1.5 years old, Milo had become the scruffy puppy. Even though I use doggy conditioner, brushing him wasn’t much fun and it didn’t last long. I’d be lucky if I got one side of him brushed before he’d take off and not let me do any more. The hair around his neck and chest always looked messy and I was tired of it.
A few weeks ago, I started looking into getting him professionally groomed. Expensive!! Add to that the negative reviews and horror stories I’d read about dogs getting injured, I researched how to groom him myself. There are a tonne of videos available on YouTube and lots of information to be found about it. So, I went to the local pet store and picked up some clippers and scissors to do it myself.
I took advantage of the gorgeous Easter weekend weather at my folks’ last week to give Milo a bath in their large sink and groom him outside in the sunshine. Less mess than trying to do it in my apartment. It was actually very easy to do, having watched the videos before. I’m really pleased with the results and best of all, Milo hasn’t needed to be brushed all week. Today, he’ll get a face wash and a light brushing and he should be good for the week.
Total investment in supplies was around $130 with taxes. The local groomers wanted $75 to start plus taxes. But even more important than the money I’ll save, is that I don’t have to leave Milo with a stranger where he’d no doubt be very stressed and could possibly be injured too. Plus, I can do spot touch ups as needed whenever I want to keep him looking his best.
I used the 4FC blade for Milo. I had wanted to do some additional work with the 10 blade around the tidy areas and his tummy, but he’d had enough of me fussing so I decided he looked good enough. I was shocked how much hair/fur came off and how different he looked when I was done. I tried to use the attachable combs but they didn’t work for Milo at all.
Grooming your own dog might not be for everyone, but for Milo and I, it’s the best option. What about you, do you groom your own dogs/cats?
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