# How often to have my boy groomed?



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

My answer kinda comes from the perspective that you can do all the grooming yourself.... 

But timing depends on what you specifically want... 

Bertie is groomed about every 1-3 weeks. That's either a full show groom or it's tidying up back to the show groom. If you go on the morningsage page - it's essentially that. There's no real secret about what is trimmed and where. 

Jacks is really much easier since his ears don't get that shaggy and I don't have to fuss about shaping his feet it's a more basic cut/groom around the outline and quick shape that takes me about 1/2 the time it takes me to groom his brother. 

Jacks (while bathed every week or so) is groomed (meaning blades coming out of the tool box) about every month. He could probably have his feet trimmed up as often as his brothers' feet are, but I don't fuss as much.

You could probably go longer than a month - but to me that's getting kinda shaggy.

*** Meant to add, since your guy is a puppy - I would not worry as much. Probably won't have to until over a year and coat starts to come in for serious.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

I bath and groom Bella about every 3-4 weeks. As long as I brush almost daily, she doesn't really get the doggy odor. I'm pretty frugal, so I do all grooming myself. All you need is thinning shears and strait shears with a rounded tip. I use the Morningsage site as well for instructions. I still need to reference the site when I'm grooming the ears.


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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

:doh: Sort of forgot that his real coat won't even be in the mail for a long while...embarrassing. My other two Goldens were BYB rescues and neither ever had much of a coat, so pretty much they were bathed and brushed out every once in a while.

Thank you for your expertise and thoughtful replies. I looked at the Morningsage site and while in theory it certainly looks possible, I must confess that when it comes to my pets and sharp objects I am a complete gutless wonder. Griffey's breeder is probably still laughing at me because she gave me his booster vaccine, but I'm having my vet administer it anyway!

(Did I mention I am an LVT? Every time I put a needle in an animal I flinched...)

Anyway, I was thinking that having him groomed as a puppy would be a good experience for him, socialization-wise, as he'd be handled by strangers and be on his own for a bit. Of course, this may also be a total rationalization of my cowardice. Hmmm.

Thanks again.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

@Noreaster - I have a good friend who is the same way. She's been a long time golden retriever owner and I vaguely remember she had been involved in conformation when she was younger. Scared to death to cut or clip anything on her dogs though and bathed only every 2 months. 

I referred her to one of my mentors and I assume that either she will go to this lady to have everything done whenever needed, or my mentor will get her past any nervousness about "RUINING" her dog.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Unless you can find a groomer who gives "show cuts," I would not bother. Pet groomers really don't know what to do with goldens. I taught myself how to groom my dogs, and while I'm certainly not a professional and it shows, I trust what I'm doing with my dogs way more than any pet groomer I know.


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

I think that if you can at least learn to trim the feet, that goes a long way to making a golden look neat.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

I just posted this in another thread but anyway - Max goes every third month. He gets bathed, Hobbit feet trimmed, ears cleaned, the whole shot - he looks quite delicious when it's all done. In between, I get him in the shower and scrub him up, but I can't keep the matts out of his butt fluff and so I trust her to fix my butcher jobs when I have to do some cutting. (Thank the Goddess, his coat is thick enough to hide my ooopsies!)


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## Pammie (Jan 22, 2011)

I have just recently started doing some grooming on Bryley! I really enjoy the cutting of the fur and how my amateur attempts look better than un-groomed! I also use the Morningsage site as a guide. Cutting his fur is really quite satisfying in a weird way! I also enjoy bath time and the after-bath spunkyness that brings on and would not want to miss out on those laughs!

Honestly, I also am one of those worriers that fears a groomer may mistreat my pup if he would not stand still (he won't) or get mouthy (he will) and I do not want him on a grooming table with the neck thingy.

Grooming can be a nice bonding experience! :heartbeat


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## Goldylover2 (May 1, 2014)

I haven't had my pup Caleb who is 14 months old groomed yet. I trim his nails, clean his ears and have given him a handful of baths. I've trimmed under his ears and his back side by his tail and his tail. But no professional groom just yet. He has a ton of energy and I hope he acts good when I do take him to a groomer this spring.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Pammie said:


> I have just recently started doing some grooming on Bryley! I really enjoy the cutting of the fur and how my amateur attempts look better than un-groomed! I also use the Morningsage site as a guide. Cutting his fur is really quite satisfying in a weird way! I also enjoy bath time and the after-bath spunkyness that brings on and would not want to miss out on those laughs!
> 
> Honestly, I also am one of those worriers that fears a groomer may mistreat my pup if he would not stand still (he won't) or get mouthy (he will) and I do not want him on a grooming table with the neck thingy.
> 
> Grooming can be a nice bonding experience! :heartbeat


I took Max to a place that was recommended when he was about a year old. They wouldn't let me stay with him, so I left, but after about an hour, I went back. They had him up on the table, he wasn't happy, and they weren't happy that I came back. They didn't do what I wanted, so I paid and never went back.

Where I take him now, I stay the entire time and she never puts him on the table, she gets on the floor with him. I seriously love this lady.


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## Goldylover2 (May 1, 2014)

Pammie said:


> I have just recently started doing some grooming on Bryley! I really enjoy the cutting of the fur and how my amateur attempts look better than un-groomed! I also use the Morningsage site as a guide. Cutting his fur is really quite satisfying in a weird way! I also enjoy bath time and the after-bath spunkyness that brings on and would not want to miss out on those laughs!
> 
> Honestly, I also am one of those worriers that fears a groomer may mistreat my pup if he would not stand still (he won't) or get mouthy (he will) and I do not want him on a grooming table with the neck thingy.
> 
> Grooming can be a nice bonding experience! :heartbeat


I've always worried about that neck thingy. Groomers are supposed to have a line on their neck and the back side. So they don't fall off the table. I'm not sure how many actually follow those rules. Did you read the story 6 months ago or so. Where a lady took her Newfoundland into petsmart and 4.5 hours later the dogs temperature was up to 109 degrees. She died the next day. Her usual groomer was out for the day so a different person groomed the dog. How terrible would that be.


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

I'm a groomer and I do bathe my younger girl every 2-4 weeks depending on how dirty she gets. My 15 yr old girl I do every 4-5 weeks-she doesn't really get very dirty, but those feet and ears need done! As far as concern about dogs being on a table and with a noose around the neck here are my observations: Being up on a table can make an energetic dog relax and stand still making it safer to groom him. As far as the neck noose-if the dog is too heavy for me to catch if he does try to jump off the table, I do him on the floor. If the groomer is being responsible, she will not leave the dog just standing on the table in a noose! She will always be right there to catch him if anything happens. Honestly, the only dogs I use a rear noose on are hyper/jumpers, or old dogs who need the assistance to stand up. The rear noose just ends up getting in the way and messing up the groom otherwise. Really though probably at least 90% of the dogs I groom are fine on the table and don't try to jump off. Finding a trust worthy groomer is hard though-many are in it for quantity instead of quality since a lot of groomers are paid commission rather than hourly. I would avoid places like Petsmart or Petco.


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## SableHart (Dec 4, 2014)

We just took our dog to the groomer for the first time and for being a skiddish girl she did really well. I must admit though that I am not a fan of her trimmed. I must not have clearly communicated that I didn't want her trimmed because she came out looking a little goofy with her ears and paws trimmed. Thankfully it will grow out  This dog doesn't have a fluffy coat so I don't feel that any trimming is necessary. My last girl however was a bit more of a messy coat that we did trim up.


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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

Thanks, everyone. I still haven't taken him in, although I did have her put him on the grooming table for a few minutes before class one morning. He was fine with it.

One great thing about this particular groomer is that it's the same building as our training classes so Griff is quite comfortable there and the grooming area is right behind the cash register so everyone can see and hear what's going on.

We'll see if I get organized enough quick before it get super hot inland.


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## Denlie (Nov 3, 2011)

I am a novice at grooming my girls. Bathing, ear cleaning, nail trimming and brushing is fine, but cutting their hair makes me nervous. Even with the great youtube videos and information online. Grooming is NOT my forte. 

But, I find that I am able to somewhat keep up on their feet and ears after they have been professionally groomed. Nothing show-quality, but I can stretch out costs to about every 5-6 months. Besides the cost factor, I think that it's nice bonding time and helps to know your dog from nose to tail.


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## ktaylor320 (Jul 15, 2015)

Pammie said:


> I have just recently started doing some grooming on Bryley! I really enjoy the cutting of the fur and how my amateur attempts look better than un-groomed! I also use the Morningsage site as a guide. Cutting his fur is really quite satisfying in a weird way! I also enjoy bath time and the after-bath spunkyness that brings on and would not want to miss out on those laughs!
> 
> Honestly, I also am one of those worriers that fears a groomer may mistreat my pup if he would not stand still (he won't) or get mouthy (he will) and I do not want him on a grooming table with the neck thingy.
> 
> Grooming can be a nice bonding experience! :heartbeat


I too have been wondering about grooming, as my Rex is 17 weeks! I have to say, from a lot of your pics of your dog, he looks so similar to Rex in the face! I hope that's what Rex grows up to look like because he is BEAUTIFUL!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I trim mine every 6 weeks, and do it right on just that one day,letting everyone soak in Pro Gro before final rinse, and straighten coats with a towel. It is an 8 or 9 hour project to do all of mine so I either set aside a day off to do them all, or drive down to MA and do them with my friend Indya who is a magical show groomer. In between I bathe them on muddy hikes and brush every day with my splurge Mason Pearson brush. I always use lots of some cheating product like crown royal magic touch even though it isnt perfect for the coat it is so helpful, and have been known to strip out some spay coat on the older dogs who just have ridiculous amounts of coat and clipper the bottom of the feet instead of do it by hand. My guys are hiking 7 days a week, so I really love Chubbs shampoo bars that degrease pine pitch and super clean without hurting the skin or hair, so I wash with that and then a second time with something like Isle Of Dogs. For a dog actively showing, it is different. Then, I bathe once a week going from very warm water to cold rinse at the end, and work alot on trimming tiny details. I am very particular about how I like the feet.


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## Kim1607 (Aug 6, 2015)

I really want to try to groom my puppy. I'm glad to find all this information.


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## rizwanyounis516 (Nov 18, 2015)

I think if you can trim his feet then it will be a golden retrieve.


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## wmax (Dec 1, 2015)

you could groom him yourself, I like to groom my dogs myself, you could bond while you do it


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