What all do you guys do when you groom your dogs

[mmarie]

Bella gets a bath 2-4 times a year, depending on how often we are away (we have her groomed whenever she is in boarding) and if she starts to smell like a dog (not that often actually, she's generally very nice-smelling ). She's gotten a couple extra this past year as she was in boarding when we had a major slab leak and when we moved, plus she got an extra bath when the old house went on the market as it got her out of the house when pictures were being taken and to make sure she was extra-clean smelling. Poor girl.

Duke has gotten a number of baths in his short life, as he has gone through a lot of experimentations with the dirt and mud. I'm really not a big fan of puppy smell, so hopefully when he gets a little older he won't need as many either.

Neither are a big fan of being blow dried, I have never had either anal glands excreted and won't ever unless problems arise. Ever since an ear injury Bella doesn't like people playing with her ears, so I don't push the subject unless they look pretty dirty (they never do to me, although I'm sure once or twice they've been wiped out by the groomers). Duke has had lots of ear cleanings, as he always seems to be getting dirt and mud in his ears.

Bella should get her nails trimmed more often then she does, but the groomers give me a hard time about doing it because she growls. She REALLY doesn't like anyone but me or my mom or my sister touching her feet--due to a couple of injuries on her feet. So my sister does it when I can get her to do it, once in a while she is muzzled at the groomers for it, and whenever she has an accident and has to be sedated I have the groomer cut them all the way back. Duke has yet to need a nail trim, but I'm going to try to make it a fun thing to have done with lots of treats for good behavior, and pray to god he doesn't hurt his paws.

As a puppy I brushed Bella and her teeth daily. I found over the years that brushing her that often wasn't necessary--her coat doesn't really tangle, and for her most of the time it seems to make shedding worse. When she blows her coat she gets brushed quite often though. The teeth just kind of slacked off as it was quite a process (bad mommy!) but she's been getting RMBs with Duke lately, and all of a sudden her teeth are cleaner and fresher than they've ever been. So we've found our official toothbrush for all the dogs--it cleans teeth and it entertains them for hours!

I think I'm learning that dogs will be dogs. I do what I can to keep them clean--if they don't like it I'm not going to do it, although I will look for other ways to get it done (like bones for her teeth). My husband has pretty bad allergies, but I let him know before we got married that if I had to choose between him and Bella, he was the one going to the dog house so he better get used to taking allergy medicine or get used to washing his hands a lot. I will, however, do extra cleaning around the house to keep both of them around together

[mjbgsd]

My dogs both get a brushing 2X a week unless they are blowing coat which happens after winter, I clip and dremel their nails once a week, clean their ears once a month since they are almost never dirty, and I give them baths once every two months, also using the doggie blow dryer which works wonders. Isa gets more baths if she's going to a show. She maybe a performance dog, but I like her to look her best. I've been slacking on brushing teeth though...

[bergwanderkennels]

Quote: if they don't like it I'm not going to do it,

My dogs are poped up on my table at 8 weeks of age and learn from very young to accept the blow drying from a forced air dryer, being a dog groomer aside that was the best 125.00 dollars I could have ever spent, the freedom to wash the dogs when it is cold in the fall and not have to worry about them getting a chill from being left damp.

By the way Hella my GSD loves to get blow dried and it (and it makes those curls she has straight )

[headtripparade]

Bud and Lou get an actual shampoo bath every 4 months or so. If they get dirty in between we just hose them off.

They get their nails clipped every couple of months and they get brushed every week.

That's about the extent of it... they aren't old enough for me to even consider brushing their teeth yet. Dental chews work fine for now.

[TrackingPuppy]

They get a bathe twice a year or whenever they start to smell doggy or they have found something good to roll in. Teeth = raw bones. Toe nails about once a month. Brushing three dogs. each rotates to get a section of body brushed every third day while i check for fox tails, burrs and such.