How much time do you spend grooming?

A few minutes once every 4-6 weeks? Lol

I bathe the dogs every 4-6 weeks. At that point they get their nails trimmed, ears cleaned, and a coat brush/blow out. Takes me maybe 20-30 mins per dog, depending on how dry I actually get them.

I don't mind having dogs I have to brush and clip and groom....I just don't want to do anything more frequently than every 4 weeks. No maintenence brushing for me, unless it is to get dead coat out for anti shedding purposes. Lol I just....despise brushing to keep a coat mat free.

What breed is Schen?

Jose` gets brushed once in a while, his nails Dremeled about once a week.

Maurice, my little black toy Poodle gets brushed pretty much every day, maybe every other day sometimes...brushed through, then combed. He's clipped short so there are hardly ever any tangles...maybe one little one. So, it takes about 5 minutes. He gets a bath about once a week, sometimes I go for 2 weeks. The drying with the hair dryer takes about 15 or 20 minutes while brushing. Dremeling once a week or so, and shaving his face, feet and sanitary area about once a week or two weeks. I scissor him into shape myself...just an even all over type of clip.

Matisse on the other hand is my toy Poodle in a Continental show clip because he's still showing. It takes about 45-60 minutes every day to brush through him, every square inch and make sure a comb will go through too. So a pin brush and comb, spray stuff to dampen the hair for less breakage. First all the bands must come out of his looooong hair on his head and neck. Then after he's all brushed through, right down to the skin, the bands go back in.

He gets a bath about once a week or 10 days. First he must be completely tangle free. Then bath, then drying and brushing all the while the stand dryer is drying him. That takes about an hour...maybe 45 minutes. Then brush/comb again and put the bands back in. Then there's Dremeling, shaving the face, feet and sanitary area about once every two weeks. He goes to a professional groomer to re-do his Continental before a show. I do the scissoring between. This last time I made a real disaster out of him. lol. But it will grow back before the next time he shows.

Their ears need to have the hair plucked out of the canal area. I sometimes pluck a little but leave it if I can for the groomer or the vet. I hate doing that.

So, there's probably no other breed as labor intensive in the grooming department than a Poodle, especially in a show clip.

Here, they're not freshly shaved but the basic idea...

Maurice

Matisse

I trim nails when they look long, maybe every two weeks, so a half hour for all four dogs, I'd say.

Recon gets a good brushing and bath once a month or two.

Patton gets brushed every few months with a bath.

Pilot gets a bath every week or two.

Lexi will probably get a bath every 3-4 months. I've had her for over a month and I've not bathed her, yet...

I used to hate grooming, now I am starting to enjoy it. I also am feeling more motivated to do it the more I learn how important it is.

However, I shaved both dogs probably a month ago, closest to winter I have ever done. I have read that letting the hair grow out doesn't really make much of a difference. I think that may be true for some breeds or something, otherwise it's just plain false. Chloe has been cold and has been shivering and really seeking cuddles from me, or angel if I won't give her cuddles and then she stops shaking.

(Since she also loves playing in the snow, I have ordered her a hurtta winter jacket, should arrive tomorrow!)

I really don't shave the dogs that often... Maybe 4 times a year or so, I'm not really sure.. It doesn't seem very frequent. I brush them at the same time. Other than that I don't brush that much, I prefer to cut mats out than combing them out, and the dogs, especially angel, prefer it that way as well. However, I got a bunch of new brushes and such this year and they have made a big difference when brushing them making it more enjoyable for me and the dogs.

Chloe always takes longer to groom because her hair is so much worse than angels as far as collecting little mats and such. For example, when I was really lazy not motivated to groom them and I didn't brush them at all between shaves, angel would have maybe 5 mats. Where Chloe would have 50.. Ok maybe I'm over exaggerating but way more than angel.

Their nails were getting pretty long, so I have been cutting them pretty frequently to attempt to recede the quicks. They are getting a lot better now and are almost to where I would want them. But the quicks seem to not really be going back much.. I wonder if there is a point where the quicks will not recede any further?

Either way, nail trims done every week or so now, will be less often when the nails are where I want them, takes maybe 10 minutes per dog.

Shaving them and brushing them in between while we wait for the clippers to cool down, takes probably anywhere between 1/2 an hour to an hour per dog. Depending on how much brushing/cutting/and if nail trims are needed.

Fridays are "grooming day", we do nails and bath if needed. Brushing is unnecessary.

I brush Elsie about once a week, for probably 15 minutes. She gets a bath once a month; that takes half an hour if I do a quickie bath, two hours if I do it right. Nails get done once a week or so; they take maybe five minutes.

Her coat is easy, low maintenance--it doesn't mat up, it doesn't shed that much.

Zobby gets bathed about once a month, more if he rolls in something. His nails get done once a week.

Schen is a nearly 6 month old Powder Puff Chinese Crested

Most recent picture

OMG! Freakin' adorable. I love those dogs. There's one in my handling class. But he's not a power puff...just that velvet, barely any hair except those places where they have some hair...really cute personality but a tad skittish.