Is this a good deal? What you you think?
Well Maggie went to the groomer today. I dropped her off at 7:30 am. At 10:00 Bonnie (groomer) called to say she and her helper have been at it for 2½ hrs and decided to give Maggie a rest - they got most of her head and front legs done and the session was very stressful on Maggie. At noon I called Bonnie and suggested that maybe the whole job could be done more quickly and with less stress to all if Maggie was sedated. She agreed and said it had been done before. We checked with their vet (Bonnie is part of an office of 4 vets) who agreed but said they would require a total physical exam before they accepted the liability of sedating her. We agreed to undertake the remainder next Tuesday. During the afternoon they spent several more hours on Maggie and probably reached the 50% mark, shaving her belly and inside of hips. When I picked her up at 5:30 Maggie was on the grooming table with muzzle on, seemingly more relaxed with the operations. While there I raised the question of cost if we did the dogs on a regular basis. The answer: if done monthly she would do Maggie and Barney for $35.00 - total. Sounds like a bargain to me, considering all the time I put in on trying to demat Maggie myself and considering that this grooming of Maggie will cost over $200 including the vet exam and sedating. Their normal charge for grooming a large long haired dog with no severe matting is 85.00, plus $20/hr for dematting. The 35.00 figure would include any mats that develop during the month plus cleaning of ears, teeth, and doing the nails. Any feedback from you all will be most welcome and appreciated. Thanks. |
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| Am I understanding this right? If you bring them both in once a month, it'll be only $35 total? Is she shaving them down or doing actual scissors trimming and shaping? Heck, $35 a month for a bath for one dog would be a bargain to me. Honestly, grooming with sedation for $200 sounds very reasonable too. Clyde is almost $100 each time all by himself now. Plus, it sounds like this woman genuinely cares about the welfare of the dogs. My people are nice but I don't get semi-hourly calls! |
| That sounds a real bargain, I pay £90 which is about $162 for Smeagol to have a bath brush and scissor clip, he is usually at the groomers from 10am until 4pm. He goes about every 3 months. If I could get it done that cheap for 2 dogs i would definatly go for it.
Chris Frodo and Smeagol |
| Sounds like a good deal to me. Heck, it'd be worth it just for the peace of mind!
Jill, maybe we should move to St. Louis . . . |
Oh man! I'd definitely take her up on that deal! I would LOVE to find someone to do both of mine, and do a great job, for triple that amount per dog! 
Good find, George!! |
| Sounds like a GREAT deal George!
I would jump at the offer Elissa |
| Thanks all, for your evaluation. There's no contract involved, and if it doesn't keep me on top of the matting problem then I'll look somewhere else. On the other hand if it keeps the dogs free from mats and keeps them clean, especially during the winter months, when I really don't have bathing facilities and don't want to get the whole basement wet, then it's well worth it. And yes she does seem to be very sensitive to the comfort of the dogs, though I do hope to give her some detailed information of OES grooming, what gets trimmed and what doesn't and importance of trying to maintain the full coat with a minimum of stripping.
Apparently some of you are acquainted with grooming under sedation. Will keep you all informed, hopefully with pics of the finished products. Next big challenge is the CGC test; I think Maggie is almost ready now, though bullheaded (spoiled - didn't you all spoil your first born? I spoiled her since I got her as a pup) Barney has a way to go. |
| I personally would not like the idea of sedating for grooming... however, if you feel it is safe and your dog has been sedated with no ill effects than I guess it would make things easier.
Really though, I feel it is so important to learn proper line grooming, with the proper tools, including combination comb, pin brush, grooming table, a good dryer, nail clippers etc... right from the day you bring the pup home. They don't NEED the grooming at that age, but getting them used to it as part of a regular routine makes thing so much easier when they do need it. To keep an oes in full coat, you really need to follow the guidelines for maintaining a show coat, even if you are not showing, if only for the dogs comfort and not the aesthetic appeal of an oes in full glorious coat. The one difference in maintaining a full coat on a pet compared to a show dog is that on a pet you can strip out some of the undercoat, leaving less opportunity for matting. If the undercoat is stripped a full line grooming would take far less time, and would have to be done less often. When a routine is established, to maintain an adult oes in full coat will only require a full grooming session, approximately 45 minutes to one hour, every 4 or 5 days, maybe once a week if not showing. If the undercoat is stripped you could probably get away with once every 2 weeks and still have a beautifully maintained, and most importantly, comfortable oes with healthy well aerated skin. |
| Sounds like a good deal to me, but I would not have my dog sedated...That is just me tho, if your dog does fine with it, go ahead.
Not everyone enjoys grooming their dogs...I am one of those  ... hubby does the grooming in our house and it takes him about an hour per dog every 2 weeks or so. I take care of the occasional mat(s) as they appear. Works for us.  |
| Thanks, Stacy; I agree with you 100%. I have been able to do this with Barney, who got used to grooming from day one. However I have never been able to get ahead of the matting with Maggie since I rescued her last June, and this late in the season I really don't want to shave her. After the groomer worked on her for almost 4 hours, I was concerned that too much stress would turn her off grooming altogether. Also the two of them really play rough and I think this enhances the development of mats. The alternative would be to keep them apart, which is not realistic. Hopefully when Barney outgrows his teenage rebellion stage he and Maggie will get along better. Even though Maggie is the dominant dog, Barney eggs her on. Just like a teenage brother teasing his older sister.
You can imagine the family situation; if they go at one another in the house I'll say "Hey you guys, cut it out." They stop for a while and then they go at it again. Usually these session only last about 5 minutes. Then they both lay down next to each other. |
| Oh I'm sorry, I had forgotten maggie was a rescue.... well it certainly makes sense then not to overgroom when she is first adapting to your family... may I ask why you don't want to just shave her down and start fresh? It would save hours and hours of work on her, plus it will give you a chance to allow her to enjoy the gentle grooming of a short coat before it becomes more tedious..... |
| Stacy, If it were earlier in the year I would definitely shave her down. However if we did it now, even assuming their hair grows back at a rate of 1"/month (some other thread reported this to be the rate of growth) that would only give her three months to protect herself against our 0°F or below we sometimes experience in January. And would the undercoat also grow back at that rate? I'm open to the idea, but this is my only concern. What do you think under these circumstances?
Anyone else with input here is certainly welcome. |
| Thats a great deal . When i got bobby he was 9 months old and severely matted and a bit miserable . But after a good bath and brush out of all the mats he was so proud of himself it is well worth it. I am sure she felt like a million dollars after that. And its great you rescued her well done. |
George wrote: Stacy, If it were earlier in the year I would definitely shave her down. However if we did it now, even assuming their hair grows back at a rate of 1"/month (some other thread reported this to be the rate of growth) that would only give her three months to protect herself against our 0°F or below we sometimes experience in January. And would the undercoat also grow back at that rate? I'm open to the idea, but this is my only concern. What do you think under these circumstances?
Anyone else with input here is certainly welcome. I understand... we have pretty harsh winters here, and the coat length is something I try to keep my eye on. Both my girls were clipped down this summer, Sky now has over 2 inches of coat, and Dancer has about an inch of coat so far. I don't leave them outside long though either, just out to pee and right back in. Plenty of breeds are short coated and do fine as well, dobermans, boxers, danes etc.... however, since oes have the coat to keep them warmer, I like them to have about 3 inches for winter. I guess you just have to do what you think will work best for you and Maggie  |
| Well phase one is over. Both dogs are mat free, bathed and groomed. They look great. Barney got his "do" today. Tomorrow is his first birthday. They are scheduled for monthly grooming through the end of the year. At this point she will probably only be combing and brushing along with the bath, cleaning the ears and expressing the glands. I don't expect her to do any shaping, though I did give her the instructions for show grooming an OES. I'm not so sure either one of us know anything about shaping an OES for showing, and I don't plan on any confirmation shows since both are neutered. Maybe obedience trials, or herding down the road.
Phase II: wish us luck. I'll be on vacation Oct. 16-22 and we plan to challenge the CGC tests that week. I think Maggie will do good, but Barney is a bit scatterbrained. |
Happy Birthday Barney!!!! 
Please post party pictures, looking forward to seeing Barney and Maggie in their party hats  |
| Does any one know why you cant show a neutured dog . In ireland it is the thing to do if youre not going to breed it prevents any more unwanted puppies stuck in shelters . There are enough little pups looking for homes . So why is it frowned upon with show judges. .. |
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