I know some of you are dog groomers... just thought I'd give you a bit of a laugh.
My family has never owned a long haired dog before, so we're pretty cheap when it comes to getting the Shih tzu groomed (it costs $50!). He's about 9-10 months old now. Since we got him (3 months) we've taken him for 2 puppy trims (they do the face, the feet, the ears, and a "sanitary cut" - oh, and clip the nails). We've also taken him for one full groomingat Petsmart. The groomer listened to what we wanted very nicely, said ok, and then proceeded to cut him how she thinks a Shih tzu should look. Not what we wanted, I don't like the big poof ball on top of their heads. That was a while ago... since then we've been trimming his face and feet ourselves and just letting the rest of the hair grow. It was getting a little ridiculous... he was getting new mats every day, and he hated being brushed because it was always so tangly. When he was clean it wasn't so bad, but he's a little ragamuffin who doesn't stay clean for long - he's always in the pool, rolling in the dirt, running in the dewy grass and then digging... it was just to hard to care for his hair. My parents are gone and I don't have the cash to take him in to the groomers, so I decided to chop it all of myself. With scissors. That aren't very sharp. His hair is all different lengths now... and I didn't know what to do when I got to his head! Poor little guy.
Here's what was left when I was done with him:
And here's the little tyke himself:
Pictures are taken with my webcam, sorry about the poor quality.
I'm going to see if I can get my parents to let me purchase a grooming arsenal... I figure I need electric clippers, big curved scissors, little curved scissors, and a nice comb (I watched an informative video on youtube after I chopped all of his hair off... wrong order).
Any general tips from dog groomers are welcome... or if you know what to say to the Petsmart groomers to get them to not make my dog look like a weenie, I'm all ears.
Not that he doesn't look like a weenie now
Will the other dogs at the dog park make fun of him?
My family has never owned a long haired dog before, so we're pretty cheap when it comes to getting the Shih tzu groomed (it costs $50!). He's about 9-10 months old now. Since we got him (3 months) we've taken him for 2 puppy trims (they do the face, the feet, the ears, and a "sanitary cut" - oh, and clip the nails). We've also taken him for one full groomingat Petsmart. The groomer listened to what we wanted very nicely, said ok, and then proceeded to cut him how she thinks a Shih tzu should look. Not what we wanted, I don't like the big poof ball on top of their heads. That was a while ago... since then we've been trimming his face and feet ourselves and just letting the rest of the hair grow. It was getting a little ridiculous... he was getting new mats every day, and he hated being brushed because it was always so tangly. When he was clean it wasn't so bad, but he's a little ragamuffin who doesn't stay clean for long - he's always in the pool, rolling in the dirt, running in the dewy grass and then digging... it was just to hard to care for his hair. My parents are gone and I don't have the cash to take him in to the groomers, so I decided to chop it all of myself. With scissors. That aren't very sharp. His hair is all different lengths now... and I didn't know what to do when I got to his head! Poor little guy.
Here's what was left when I was done with him:
And here's the little tyke himself:
Pictures are taken with my webcam, sorry about the poor quality.
I'm going to see if I can get my parents to let me purchase a grooming arsenal... I figure I need electric clippers, big curved scissors, little curved scissors, and a nice comb (I watched an informative video on youtube after I chopped all of his hair off... wrong order).
Any general tips from dog groomers are welcome... or if you know what to say to the Petsmart groomers to get them to not make my dog look like a weenie, I'm all ears.
Not that he doesn't look like a weenie now

