Question For thoses of you with long haired dogs or cats

[jacks'thunder]

Do you take your animals to the groomers or groom at home?

Just kinda wondering your opinion on why either way

Thanks

 

[ErikaS.]

I try to brush my Collie as often as I can, but I also take him to the groomers because with a dozen goats, 4 minis, 2 small kids, 7 cats, and two more dogs (whew! LOL), I don't have enough time to keep up with the tangles. I also have a medium haired Maine Coon cat that is easy to brush- so no groomer for him.

 

[disneyhorse]

We have two mini Australian shepherds here (they are on the larger end, about 50 pounds maybe) and after a while just figured it's easier to shave them. Less shedding around the house (they are indoors most of the time) and less grooming.

Having body clipped plenty of minis and having a good set of clippers on hand, it doesn't take long.

The long haired cat just gets brushed occasionally and if she gets matted hair we just snip with scissors on the worst little mats but most just pull out if you keep up on them.

Andrea

 

[Minimor]

My Shepherds don't need much in the way of grooming; when we did have a little dog--a mixed breed that had hair that grew and grew and grew I always clipped her myself. We have long haired cats but I don't take them to a groomer--we try to keep them combed out & if there are any knots that start to form we snip them off if they won't comb out.

I have a Grooma comb that I bought as a mane comb for the horses. I never used it much on manes, but one day tried it out on one of our long haired cats & it worked great. The teeth are not solid--they rotate--and I guess those rotating teeth are what makes it work so well on cat fur. It will loosen knots that other combs just hang up in--it does great at removing those knots as well as any loose fur.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

we have one longhaired cat, but we dont brush him for fear he'll take one of our fingers off. yes he's that bad. the second he sees you coming at him with a brush he's growling and if you get close enough that he thinks your gonna try and brush him he attacks, teeth, claws, the whole 9 yards. he's a major sweetie otherwise. if his hair starts getting tangled or matted we shave it off and he actually likes it! he'll sit there unrestrained for me to shave him, but come at him with a brush and you better be prepared to lose a limb!

 

[Jill]

We have long haired dogs (shih-tzu's and a collie) as well as three long haired cats (2 Maine Coons, one mixed long hair). We do all the grooming ourselves. I'm honestly afraid to leave our dogs at a groomers (too over protective and an extroidanarily gifted worrier). We just either clip our dogs or scissor cut them. They NEVER look professional, but always look cute. We occassionally brush our cats, but that's very rare. They do not get mats. Also, for whatever it's worth, shih-tzu's don't shed. Our collie always looks freshly brushed but rarely actually is

 

[Matt73]

Our Ragdolls don't need brushed often at all; they hardly ever matte. Casey, our Himalayan, on the other hand, has the most luxurious but nightmarish coat. It's very fine and will start to matte just looking at him lol. He'll, especially, matte under his chin, armpits, and belly...and we got a huge matte out off his back about 7 months ago

Many cats love to be brushed rigorously; if the two Ragdoll girls do get a small matte somewhere, I can rip it out with a comb and they LOVE it

Casey is very sensitive and the slightest tug will make him cry

So we give him a gentle brushing maybe once/week. If there are mattes we just brush over them. Then,avery month or two, with very sharp scissors and Kevin holding him I carefully cut the mattes out; I have to hold the junction where the matte meets the skin and cut along. It's a delicate operation that I'm very good at; I've never nicked him once (should have taken after my dad and become a surgeon). He looks a bit "chopped" up afterwards, but he's much more comfortable.

 

[little lady]

I take our Shih Tzu to a groomer but between groomings I am comfortable keeping his paws and legs trimmed. Our cats are short haired so just a brushing for them.

 

[leeapachemoon]

My long hair cat is a lap cat so I comb him all the time while watching tv. He never mattes.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I have three powderpuff chinese cresteds and one collie and a tibetan spaniel. I do all my own grooming. With 5 dogs, I cannot afford a groomer. My experience with my cresteds is that clean well conditioned coats don't mat badly. I do a weekly comb out and every other week I bathe and condition. That fluffy coat dries fast under a blow dryer. My collie gets monthly or bi monthly baths and weekly comb outs. Takes very little time to groom everybody if I keep up with it. Take off a couple of weeks and I can spend a few hours on the collie alone. The tibbie is easy and doesn't tangle much. I have a decent pair of rechargable clippers and I keep the underbelly short and clipped and their butts and feet trimmed up too.

 

[chandab]

We have two mini Australian shepherds here (they are on the larger end, about 50 pounds maybe) and after a while just figured it's easier to shave them. Less shedding around the house (they are indoors most of the time) and less grooming.

Having body clipped plenty of minis and having a good set of clippers on hand, it doesn't take long.

The long haired cat just gets brushed occasionally and if she gets matted hair we just snip with scissors on the worst little mats but most just pull out if you keep up on them.

Andrea

I had an Aussie, and once I read about the minis, I often wondered if she might be a large mini; I don't know how tall she was but in shape she weighed about 45#. I never shaved her, but did sometimes trim the really long hair on her back legs. She got brushed regularly. We have one long-haired cat, he gets brushed when he needs it and the occassional bath when he needs it (like after he's been in a fight in the cow corral and is covered in manure).

 

[Shari]

We groom Nari nearly every day. She has the most powder soft long fur I have ever seen.

 

[Katiean]

Brandy, the GP mix sheds ALL summer

. We can't keep the hair off of the carpet. We do brush her. She doesn't get matts. She is groomed at home. She is now larger then she was in the picture.

The poodle goes to the groomer. I tried and she has loose skin and I have nicked her. I would rather have someone else do the job. The yorkie that is with her is groomed at home because she is 13 and very fragile. The groomers won't groom her. She is 1 3/4 lbs and she feels like she is going to break.

The Chins are all wash and wear. We do give baths and brush. That is all they need.

We then have 1 long hair and 1 medium hair cat. We groom our own. All of the other cats are short hair.

They all keep me busy.